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UCLA has descended ““ ascended? North is up, right? ““ on the University of Washington for a suddenly critical Pac-10 clash. Seattle is colder than the Oregon State offense right now, so expect the weather to be a significant factor in this one.

I rarely take the time to appreciate how beautiful the Kerckhoff Grand Salon really is. With its intimate stage, chandeliers, balcony, long curtains and large windows, the room is basically begging for a concert.

Thursday night, it was filled with the cacophony of CEC’s latest free concert, this one featuring Dominant Legs, Young the Giant and Best Coast.

San Francisco’s Dominant Legs band played an upbeat set of funk-inspired modern rock. At first, I was skeptical that the band would impress, as their first song sounded a bit disjointed. However, by the second song, the band began settling into their groove and began to grow on me. Dominant Legs’ shimmering keyboards and vocals were grounded by their use of prerecorded beats in combination with a live drum set. This led to an incredibly drum-heavy yet airy sound, making the music equally appealing to both the swaying hipster to my right and the couple awkwardly freaking to my left.

If anyone thought Daniel Day-Lewis had it too easy in “My Left Foot” ““ he played a man with cerebral palsy who could control only that one extremity ““ there is “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” the almost unbelievably difficult story of Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric). The former editor of “Elle” magazine was left paralyzed by a massive stroke in 1995, affecting his entire body except his left eyelid.

The 2007 film, directed by Julian Schnabel, starts from Bauby’s first-person perspective as doctors struggle to understand his condition. We eventually escape Bauby’s head, but this is still in every frame and every way his astonishing tale, and it leaves you emotionally drained and with renewed passion for life. There are few processes more arduous to watch than Bauby learning to communicate via targeted blinking with his speech therapist, and few more ultimately rewarding. Bauby eventually dictates an entire book to a woman sent by a publishing company, the memoir that became the source material for the film.

Amalric would go on to play the devious Dominic Greene in “Quantum of Solace,” but not before “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” raked in awards around the world, including four Oscar nominations.

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” plays Thursday, Nov. 18, at 3 p.m. in the Santa Monica Public Library.

Photo courtesy of Miramax Films

While I have very few complaints about the alternative kitchens of food trucks, the mobility and size of food trucks inevitably decrease the reliability and amount of equipment each one has.

The UCLA baseball program has signed eight high schoolers to letters of intent during the early signing period, and there are some familiar names in the bunch.

Two hours before the doors opened, a line started at the front of Royce Hall that already reached the end of Haines Hall as fans sat in anxious anticipation to see performers ranging from fast-rising YouTube stars to well-known dance crews. The B HERE campaign ended its tour dedicated to the importance of hepatitis B testing at UCLA

Wednesday night, with an art exhibit in the Ackerman Grand Ballroom throughout the day and ending with special performances at night in Royce Hall.

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