  I review recent optical observations of supernovae (SNe) conducted by my
group. The Lick Observatory Supernova Search with the 0.76-m Katzman Automatic
Imaging Telescope is currently the world's most successful search for nearby
SNe. We also use this telescope to obtain multicolor light curves of SNe. One
of the more interesting SNe we discovered is SN 2000cx, which differs from all
previously observed SNe Ia. Another very strange SN Ia that we studied is SN
2002cx, many of whose properties are opposite those of SN 2000cx. Extensive
data on SNe II-P 1999em and 1999gi were used to derive distances with the
expanding photosphere method. Results from spectropolarimetry suggest that the
deeper we peer into the ejecta of core-collapse SNe, the greater the
asphericity. We are using Hubble Space Telescope data to identify, or set
limits on, the progenitors of core-collapse SNe.
