The Hossein Omoumi Ensemble brings a Middle Eastern musical flair on stage as it performs classical Persian pieces at the Irvine Barclay Theatre.

ASUCI and Southern California-based production company MopTop Lobster presented Monday Night Comedy at the Anthill Pub's fourth show of the fall quarter this past Monday. Featuring five comedians, jokes ranged from political humor to stories about watching pornography.

Nintendo has a tin ear for music games. The latest, "Wii Music," from its "Touch Generations" series, can't carry a tune beyond "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

t seems as though with the release of "Synecdoche, New York," the inevitable and long-awaited directorial debut from one of cinema's most prominent writers has finally come to pass. Charlie Kaufman creates a world where he plays puppet master for not only the verbal level of character interaction, but for the film's overall display as well. Kaufman's work is enhanced by the truly all-star cast, which runs the gamut of Oscar worthies to independent film starlets. While the audience experiences the stellar script materializing before its eyes, the content does, however, veer off course as things wind down into overly symbolic and somewhat impractical referential gestures.

A crowd of eager punk rockers, hipsters and music fans gathered at UC Irvine last Tuesday to participate in a question and answer session with legendary musician Ian MacKaye, organized by the non-profit campus group Acrobatics Everyday. MacKaye is best known in the music world as the frontman of "straight edge" punk bands such as Minor Threat, The Teen Idles, Fugazi and The Evens. He is also the founder and owner of the independent rock label Dischord Records.

In 1980, the revolutionary album "Back in Black" was released, packed with sharp, staccato riffs and punkish screams. Now, 28 years later, that infectious sound has returned. AC/DC has rolled back the years, and once again brought out the schoolboy outfit to create "Black Ice," which can be considered as the sequel to Back in Black.

Jigsaw has returned with yet another disciple ready to take on his work in the much-anticipated fifth installment of the "Saw" series, "Saw V." Like clockwork, Lionsgate releases a new "Saw" movie every Halloween, and diehard fans have come to anticipate a new effort every October.

Record Number of Voters Register at UC Schools; Donald Bren's Name Dropped from Law School

COMMUNITY: Student organizations raise awareness of domestic abuse in relationships and march on Ring Road.

ELECTION: Political Science professors debate merits of each presidential candidate's platform.

CONFERENCE: Humanities programs host bloggers to discuss blog medium's merits in Internet democracy.

ECONOMY: UC representatives comment on the precarious status of funding and tuition.

INITIATIVE: Students return from landmark journey to the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Proposition 11 is the most common-sense issue Arnold Schwarzenegger has supported for years. The act finally wrests control of the district lines from the cadre of politicians who have gerrymandered this state into a bureaucratic monolith.