Comedian, motivational speaker and author Charles McFall likes to use his talents to help people "level up". - But while that's a gaming term (appropriately, since one of his podcasts, From the Helicarrier, is about his favorite game),

by Dot Cannon Not many bands can say what Big Bad Voodoo Daddy can. - Twenty-plus years after its inception, the band still has its original core members.  They were the featured band in the 1996 independent film Swingers.

Singer and songwriter Deanna Della Cioppa knows how to connect with an audience. - In live performance, she can make listeners feel like they're "just hanging out" with her--even as she soars into Streisand hits,

Hanging upside down and staying in character wasn't difficult for gifted actor Jeffrey Weissman. - Neither are directing, interacting with audiences as historic characters, teaching, or creating a one-man show. -

About all this robot isn't doing, is asking, "Do you want fries with that?" - (Notice the ketchup and mustard containers at the top of this display, on the exhibit floor at the recent Automation Technology Expo West.) - And Les Graham,

Programming a robot takes--how long? - Well, if we're talking about a simple task--and this robot--a couple of minutes. - This is Baxter, a robot created by Rethink Robotics.  Baxter's original purpose was to take over repetitive industrial tasks...

Costume designer and model Clio McClure is looking forward to February 28th. - That's  the date she returns for her second year as a costumed model, for Long Beach Carnevale 2015. - Long Beach Carnevale, now in its third year,

Carnevale and  Mardi Gras are two different things. - Carnevale is a Venetian masquerade that started in the 11th century.  In 2012,  Long Beach Carnevale organizer Joseph Mascheratti brought the festivities to Southern California. -

As Dr. Gay Toltl Kinman travels all over the world, she's usually plotting a murder. - Gay, who has been honored for her work in law and community service, has  eight award nominations for her writing.  Her books include mystery novels,

Sustainable living, designed to evolve over the next hundred years? - In a nutshell, that's the vision at the core of the world's first sustainable smart town: Fujisawa, located twenty-seven miles from Tokyo. -