Arts

For what seemed like the thousandth time, Paul Rinzler sat down at the piano bench, fingers poised above the pearly white keys. It had become ritualistic, but Rinzler once again began to play the McCoy Tyner solos he had so painstakingly transcribed and had so lovingly learned to mimic.

Groups hand out so many stamps of approval that they’ve almost become worthless. Do you really give a shit that yet another person has stepped up to back Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama? I mean, most of these approvals seem a bit forced and solely based on the power of the club or group to tell people what they think, as if a majority of people actually cares.

Religion is a part of most human endeavors, and it has worked its way into films for many years. When it comes to how modern cinema meshes with religion, there are many ways they tie together.

According to religious studies professor Stephen Lloyd-Moffett, there are at least three kinds of religious films, including “inspirational” films, films focusing on religious questions in a secular way, and films in which religion is the backstory for a character.

It’s a normal day: You go to work, come home, eat dinner and go about your other daily activities. Now imagine that all of a sudden, everything goes fuzzy and you wake up in an alley in New York City in 1968 with no clothes, money or clue where you are.

This is the life of Henry DeTamble in Audrey Niffenegger’s incandescent novel “The Time Traveler’s Wife.

If there’s one thing I love more than eating, it’s talking about food. And I don’t just mean like, “Oh, that’s yummy.” I’m talking full-on, in-depth discussions on the contrasting textures of a well-made Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup to hour-long debates on whether Tom Keller’s Ad Hoc restaurant is a true expression of his talent.

In the most liberal sense of the word, religion helps people find meaning for their existence, gives them a reason to have hope in desolate situations and provides them with a worldview by which this oftentimes-chaotic society may make sense.

Art, in its most generous view, attempts to preserve life as it is and seeks to reach for something higher.

When Demetrius Klein’s wife, Kathleen, suffered a stroke two and a half years ago, their roles were undeniably reversed.

He had always been the artist in the relationship, devoting much of his time to his professional dance company in Lake Worth, Fla., and she had been the one who nurtured his creativity.

They say you are what you eat. But when you eat what’s on your feet, how does that speak about your chic? Shoes don’t change all that much. Sure, sometimes Nike or Adidas will fill the sole up with air or put a spring in the heel, but for the most part, we see the same designs over and over.

Congratulations, Diablo Cody, for winning one (an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay) for all the pseudonym-bearing people of the world. Of course, the real question is: Would “Juno” have been picked up if it were by Brook Busey-Hunt? Oh, and congratulations for making me second-guess the name I have so n„ively accepted for the last 21 years of my life.

Midterms getting you down? Upcoming finals stressing you out? Well, the San Luis Obispo-based band Siko wants you to know that it is here to help you relax. Describing the band’s sound as “groove-rock,” Siko combines mellow rock sensibilities of the Red Hot Chili Peppers with a touch of funk and even hip-hop.

An enthusiastic blonde and apprehensive brunette appear onstage in skirts and ’60s-style apparel while multi-colored lights shine bright upon them. Three large images on screens in the background set the scene of a high school dance.

A refreshing and genuine set of characters perform onstage to an almost empty theatre, since it is a dress rehearsal, yet the cast acts as if an audience is there watching, performing the play to its finest high points.