Close friends and PLNU alumni Dustin Ansley (13) and Ben Hammond (14) heed the call of adventure. The pair have individually and jointly embarked on numerous endeavors, including hiking the Sierra Nevada mountain range, traveling to Peru and climbing Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro. But one bucket list item remained elusive until recently: the opportunity to climb Mount Everest.

Chelsey Kamen (20) is an artist and entrepreneur at heart. From running lemonade stands and selling homemade jewelry as a child to marketing museum exhibitions and handling business accounts, Kamen has found ways to channel her passion for art while developing the business acumen she has today.

Emily Thomé (21) loves travel, writing, the environment, and meeting new people. These four elements have commingled into love for her job as a grant writer for Plant With Purpose.

Harrison Wise (17) doesn’t consider himself an outdoorsy person. But he loves serving as a camp director at Meadow Ranch Camp. “The main portion of my ministry here at Hume is working with youth, pastors, and counselors from churches,” Wise said.

In the darkened theater auditorium, Harris Smith (’13) scanned the rolling credits. Under ‘Set Lighting Technicians’ for the Hollywood unit, his name prominently appeared. He leaned back in his seat and felt a sense of accomplishment. He had just attended a special 70mm IMAX screening for the most important film of his career so far: Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.

Things came full circle for adjunct literature professor and PLNU alum Eddie Matthews, Ph.D., (’14) on April 13, 2023 in a way he had never dreamed. He found himself in PLNU’s Colt Auditorium sitting across from journalism professor Dean Nelson, PhD. As a student, Matthews would sit in silent rapture during Nelson’s interviews at PLNU’s annual Writer’s Symposium by the Sea. But this time, he was the subject being interviewed as an audience of colleagues and friends listened intently. The occasion: the U.S. book launch of his debut novel, Border Memories, published by Watermark Press. . . . The novel represents the culmination of Matthew’s educational and writing journey thus far.

When Jonathan Moyer (’00) left Kenya, he couldn’t predict he’d return years later to give back to the place he called home for eighteen years. . . . “It was a leap of faith and an act of obedience to understand my deep calling, which came after that trip,” he recalled. This deeper calling materialized in 2016 in the form of Africa Thriving, a 501-C3 nonprofit charity whose motto is to provide clean water, food, and Bibles to rural communities in Africa.

For Nathan Keys (’14) the act of storytelling also became a part of his identity at an early age. Keys is the author of The Epic of Marindel: Chosen, a fantasy series conceived from a Christian allegorical perspective.

For most people, hiking the PCT may seem an unfathomable feat. But AJ Wolf (14) and Dakota Wolf (Hills, 17) were fueled by adventure and determination to conquer the trail. Along the way, they discovered things about themselves and their responsibility to God’s creation.

After working professionally in the music business, Chaz Celaya found himself at a crossroads vocationally. After contemplating the brevity of life and what was important for him and his family, he wrote down his goals and prayed, feeling God guide him toward an academic teaching career and, ultimately, PLNU.

Dr. Mary Beth McCabe, DBA, professor of marketing with PLNU’s Fermanian School of Business, remembers her first solo trip. McCabe was 14 years old when her parents decided to move from New York City to Chicago, news that was incomprehensible to her at the time. Chicago seemed so foreign (she initially thought it was in farm country) compared to the cultural metropolis that informed her childhood upbringing.

When Travis Carter (06) first stepped foot onto Point Loma Nazarene University’s campus, he couldn’t foresee how the next four years would profoundly change his life. Fresh out of high school, he was looking for something different. He’d grown up in Temecula and played organized sports, but there was something about the location and the people that drew him to San Diego.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved expanded medical use of an opioid-based drug. The announcement garnered much criticism from numerous healthcare professionals.

A local couple has been assisting former women inmates recovering from substance use disorders in Burley, Idaho.

A man driving under the influence of alcohol was more threatening than Michael Myers this past Halloween after causing property damage and injuring multiple people in Visalia, CA.

Government and healthcare officials have been discussing ways in which to bolster substance abuse treatment in Harrisburg and other areas of Pennsylvania.

Residents have been debating the necessity of an upcoming addiction treatment center in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

A proposal has been presented to the city council of Shreveport, Louisiana to establish a needle exchange program. If approved, the effort may cut down on the increasing rates of HIV and Hepatitis C in the city and also provide an opportunity to connect individuals to local addiction treatment resources.

A program that assists inmates in addiction recovery in Albany, New York celebrated its third anniversary this month.

The Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) passed a set of revisions that may affect employees across the U.S. The provisions specifically address drug testing, workplace injuries, whistleblowing and employment termination protections.

An organization in Fredericksburg, Virginia that serves multiple counties is now offering a peer recovery group.

Law enforcement officers are partnering with a substance abuse treatment provider in El Paso, Texas to encourage local residents to turn in unused or expired prescription medications.

A nonprofit addiction treatment provider in the U.S. is currently expanding its treatment base and implementing new programs to assist patients. The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, based out of Center City, Minnesota, is collaborating with healthcare providers around the country to develop new approaches to opioid addiction treatment.

A company based in Dublin, Ohio was recently designated as one of 12 companies awarded funds for technological projects focused on fighting the opioid crisis. Last month, the company received $200,000 to develop an app that connects opioid addiction treatment patients with counselors.

Last week, Gov. Colyer announced a new plan to increase substance abuse treatment and prevention measures in Topeka and other Kansas cities.

City council officials voted 3-2 to allow a new addiction treatment center to be built in Bradenton, Florida.

A number of school districts across the U.S. are debating measures regarding student and teacher violations for drug use. In order to make schools safer for adolescents, some officials have suggested administering drug tests to confirm suspicions of illicit drug use on campuses.

Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation representatives recently revealed plans to open an outpatient addiction treatment center in Bellevue, Washington in January 2019. The center will be the foundation’s 15th clinical location in the U.S. and benefit individuals in the Seattle metropolitan area.

In an effort to expand its drug and alcohol addiction treatment in Albuquerque, the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) announced last week that one of the local hospitals will be relocated.

A nonprofit organization based in Greeneville, Tennessee that serves multiple counties will now connect individuals to addiction recovery resources.

Federal grant funding will go toward expanding addiction treatment measures in Springfield, Oregon and other areas of the state affected by drug overdoses.

Seven people died of suspected drug overdoses at the Trip to the Moon music festival in Hanoi, Vietnam on September 16.

The first two days had been a breeze, but lack of sleep eventually started catching up with Rick Eisleben as in spring 1969 he continuously spun vinyl in the broadcast booth of what was then called Radio Chapman. Somehow he made it through almost another full day as friends and colleagues “encouraged” him to stay awake — in one case by hovering over him with a Coke bottle full of water.

Noriko Shinohara could have done anything when she arrived in New York City as a 19-year-old art student. She chose to devote her life to avant-garde artist Ushio Shinohara, 22 years her senior and famous for his “boxing” paintings. Their 40-year marriage, plagued by alcoholism, an unstable lifestyle, and the sacrifices required to create their art, is chronicled in the Oscar-nominated documentary Cutie and the Boxer.

He brought dinosaurs back to life, delved into the dangers of nano-technology, and spun an epic yarn based on Beowulf, but fans of Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, and Timeline—the books that defined Michael Crichton‘s career—may not know about his early years as a writer of gritty crime novels. What’s more, they’re just as engaging and memorable as his bestsellers. With new life breathed into these works by Hard Case Crime, Crichton’s legacy lives on; readers can afford to lose a few nights of sleep to get through these suspenseful early page turners.

It’d be enough if Los Angeles was merely the heart of the movie industry but the city is also home to some of the greatest movie palaces and vintage theaters still operating today. Forget the multiplex; the best way to experience cinema is at one of these theatres.

Don’t worry if you can’t make it to Park City; Park City is coming to you. This weekend (August 8-11) the Sundance Institute will debut its first NEXT WEEKEND event in Los Angeles. The four-day mini-festival happening at the Sundance Sunset Cinema in West Hollywood features panels, filmmaker workshops, and screenings culled from the big event that takes place every January in Utah.

Years before he brought dinosaurs back to life in the best-selling novel Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton (1942-2008) was writing medical malpractice dramas and sexy crime capers. Released under the pseudonyms “Jeffrey Hudson” and “John Lange,” the books not only helped pay for medical school, they showcase Crichton’s early experiments with style.

Regina Spektor knows how to spin a catchy pop song. The adorably quirky musician, sometimes referred to as the “Joni Mitchell of her generation,” has been touring and promoting her latest album, What We Saw From The Cheap Seats, which came out in May 2012. As busy as she has been, she still found time to create new music.

After traveling since Wednesday from Skywalker Ranch to San Francisco with the swiftness of lightspeed, Star Wars: Course of the Force’s lightsaber relay race, a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, invades Los Angeles tomorrow, Friday, July 12th.

If you see a cadre of menacing, white-helmeted storm troopers racing down the street, don’t panic or rush to your Millennium Falcon. It’s just participants in the Star Wars: Course of the Force lightsaber relay. After last year’s debut, the race in which participants dressed like their favorite Star Wars characters run from Skywalker Ranch in Marin County to Comic-Con in San Diego over the course of eight days, makes a triumphant return to the annual comic book convention.

Whether it’s for his outspoken politics, his onstage antics, or his extravagant costumes, the Rocket Man still has the ability to make headlines. Last week, Elton John released the first single off the upcoming The Diving Board, his first solo album in seven years. The album will feature 15 new songs, 12 of which are collaborations with his long-time lyricist Bernie Taupin. The album’s first single, “Home Again,” combines John’s now baritone voice with a soulful, restrained melody that evokes a

Lavish, lyrical, haunting, and epic in scope, Once Upon a Time in America is Sergio Leone’s most spectacular spaghetti western—except that it’s set on the mean streets of Brooklyn during Prohibition. This weekend Cinefamily will celebrate Independence Day by screening Once Upon a Time in America not once, but three times.

Where would we be without the wit of Johnny Carson on late-night television? The legendary chat show host visited America’s living room from 1962 to 1992, amusing the masses and keeping their eyes on the screen. Tonight, Turner Classic Movies launches Carson on TCM, a series dedicated to the best celebrity interviews Carson conducted. Each hour-long segment, which will debut on Monday nights in July, contains five interviews and will be followed by a feature film of the last interviewed actor.

It’s impossible to not be impressed by fireworks. And on the Fourth of July they’re integral, complimenting the festivities spirit while keeping hungry dogs and pesky squirrels away from burgers and hot dogs. This year, we’ve compiled 10 events where you can enjoy pyrotechnics in red, white, blue, and every other color of the rainbow.

With the Los Angeles Film Festival behind us and summer blockbusters (Man of Steel, World War Z, The Lone Ranger) hitting multiplexes weekly, it’s nice to know there are some under-the-radar alternatives.

Every wonder what it would be like living in a snow globe? Maybe it would be nice—until you realized you couldn’t escape. That’s the premise of Under The Dome, a new series in which a giant bubble covers a Maine town. Once the invisible dome drops, citizens must fight for survival amid pollution problems, lack of oxygen, and food shortages. The show, which premieres tonight on CBS, has been adapted from the Stephen King novel of the same title.

New Girl star Zooey Deschanel is no stranger to music; she’s even sung in many of her films including Elf and Yes Man. But she used to be shy about sharing her musical side—until she met musician M. Ward on the set of The Go-Getter.

To describe the music released by Los Angeles label Stones Throw Records as “eclectic” or “left-of-center” is an understatement on par with saying Kanye West has an ego. The diamond in the rough of indie record companies, Stones Throw was founded by Chris Manak (aka DJ Peanut Butter Wolf) in 1996 and has put its weight behind hip-hop, world music, and modern funk—to name just a few genres. The influential homegrown music label gets its due in Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton (This is Stones Throw Records).

The ‘stache is back. That’d be the caterpillar on the upper lip of Ron Burgundy, the legendary 1970s San Diego newscaster immortalized in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

Most viewers knew him best as mob boss Tony Soprano, but James Gandolfini, who died yesterday at age 51 while in Rome, was a versatile character actor who was shining onscreen before–and after–he hit it big on The Sopranos.

Summer doesn’t officially start until tomorrow but all around Los Angeles there are events and exhibitions that are closing fast. If you’re like us, you hear about a cool event, make a mental note to check it out, then procrastinate and/or completely forget about it until the day before it closes and you’re frantically scrambling to get a ticket. This blog post’s for you: a list of exhibitions and events closing by the end of June or early July. Hurry; the clock is ticking.

It’s fun trying to look for Alfred Hitchcock in his own films. During the title sequence in North By Northwest he misses the bus and in The Birds he breezes out of a pet shop with his two dogs as Tippi Hedren enters. One of his earliest cameos was in an extended scene in his 1929 movie Blackmail. (We won’t spoil it for you but here’s a hint: He appears in the London Underground for 19 seconds.)