This book demonstrates just how well magazine nonfiction can be. The journalists selected are not particuarly well-known, but they are masters of their craft and present highly enjoyable reads. Susan Orlean might be the best-known of the bunch, just because her most recent book, "The Orchid Thief," was highlighted in the 2002 movie "Adaptation."

For starters, Orlean's piece "The American Male at Age 10" was a fascinating look at today's youth. Each piece is outstanding in its own way, but may I also present as standouts "TV Without Guilt" (a family whose television is on approximately 16 hours a day) and "The Man Who Couldn't Read" (profile of an illiterate millionaire with two college degrees).

As a bonus for those with an interest in feature writing, "Author's Afterwords" has the writers briefly describe the process of finding and executing their ideas. But if you are an aspiring writer or just appreciative of quality writing, this book is a must-read.

With the second "Viv Powers" mystery out and a third due in 2004, author Letha Albright has a bona fide SERIES on her hands. And what's the most important thing in a series? The lead character, of course.

And heroine Viv Powers has character in spades. She's passionate, intelligent, wry... and very good at being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Her day job is writing for a regional magazine, but she picks up a new night job -- sleuthing -- when a land dispute leaves two people dead. Who's to blame? The men who want to open a racetrack in Talequah? Any one of several townspeople, all of whom seem to have motive? Or even Utlunta, a Cherokee legend that might actually exist? Albright keeps the reader guessing until the very end.

The book starts off a tad slow, but the second half runs at a full gallop until the conclusion. There also seems to be a love-triangle-in-the-making: Viv is going to have to choose between her current boyfriend (Charley, a musician) and an ex-lover (Hutch, a detective). Too many peripheral characters clutter the pace at times, but it's otherwise a twisting, turning gem of a mystery. The plotline dealing with Utlunta, a Cherokee witch with a deadly stone finger, makes for truly chilling moments.

Pick up Albright's debut, "Tulsa Time," then read "Daredevil's Apprentice," then wait in line like the rest of us for more Viv Powers books. If you live in Tulsa or Talequa, Oklahoma, there's extra incentive to read these books, as Albright does an excellent job describing these locales.

All in all, this book was easily digestable, and more importantly, very useful for those who want to experiment with biographical or memoir writings. Although the book is short and sweet, it also points to many other books (Bird By Bird, Writing Down The Bones, Autobiography of a Face, dozens more) that both legitimize the book and offer further reading.

The topics were thorough without bogging down the book: You will get valuable tips on how to describe things with all five senses, how to write scenes, how to move around on a timeline, how to tie your writing into "the bigger picture" and so on. There are also ethical and legal topics Barrington touches upon: when to use names, what constitutes libel, what to consider if you're writing about living people, etc.

Moreover, there are several writing exercises at the end of each chapter to help you develop ideas. The exercises are nice because they make the book flexible. If you don't do the exercises, you could read the book in about 2-4 sittings and get a good overview of the memoir. If you invested the extra time to do the exercises, you would be able to hone your craft to a much greater degree. It's really up to the reader...

It's honestly hard to like Oasis sometimes because they're so darn full of themselves. It's bad enough that the Beatles proclaimed they were bigger than God, now we have to listen to Liam say they're bigger than the Beatles?!?

If you can get past the grating personalities, they do put out some fantastic music, admittedly. And this album, albeit a bit streaky, does show flashes of brilliance that warrents a purchase.

Most noteable are "Live Forever" (still brings tears to my eyes thinking about a friend who died in a car crash years ago), "Rock N Roll Star" and "Supersonic." But the cornerstone is "Married With Children," with a simple melody guaranteed to stick in your head, bitingly sarcastic and hilarious lyrics, and a singalong factor that's a perfect ***10***. It's a freaking great song, and I urge you to track it down one way or another even if you don't buy the album. I think this saying is cliche', but really true in this case: the song is worth the purchase of the whole album.

I'm surprised at several of the amazon reviews that seem to have taken reading this book as if it were a chore. Yes, it's long, but I, for one, found it strangely absorbing.

Do not be afraid of long books. Wolfe engages in an impressive cast of characters and takes time to develop many of them. His narrative flow is superb. I enjoyed not only the plot and the characters, but the writing style as well. The author has a certain way with the English language that is captivating, and concepts like "boys with breasts" (aka today's skin-n-bones models), "saddlebags" and "hubba ho" can be both though-provoking and laugh-out-loud funny. Wolfe has a unique sense of humor, considering he routinely does things off-beat like naming a black maid "Auntie Bella" (antebellum?).

Wolfe seems to love his characters (even the unsympathetic ones) and takes readers along for a wild ride with characters like Roger Too White (a "beige brother" lawyer and Morehouse grad), Serena Crocker (a money-chasing second wife), Martha Crocker (a bitter first wife), Raymond Peepgrass (a money-chasing bank geek after the first wife), and Conrad Hensley (a bitter blue-collar worker reborn in prison). The antihero main character, however, will blow you away. Charlie Crocker is as much tall tale as real man. A real-estate giant in Atlanta, as well as an ex-football great, Charlie teeters on the brink of bankruptcy and personal ruin. At times like watching a train wreck, one never knows exactly what to think of Charlie -- he can be both sympathetic and unsympathetic to the extreme.

Wolfe seems to have a "take it or leave it" quirkiness that will engage some readers to the fullest and turn off others completely. Yes, you might have to sift through some of the author's annoying habits, like describing IN GREAT DETAIL every item of clothing every character is wearing at any given moment, but the experience of reading this book on the whole was very satisfying. I was left frustrated at the end, in fact, because I had no one to discuss the book with afterward. It really leaves a residue on the reader and begs to be thought of long after the last page has been turned.

I give it two stars for trying hard. Eugene Levy and John Corbett make for nice scene stealers, and there are a few laugh-out-loud funnies that happen along the way. It's a "cute" movie, a decent date movie at best.

But the plot? Oh, please. Predictable, boring, and mildly disturbing. At one point I turned to my wife and muttered "Oh look, they're cheating on their fiancees, isn't it wonderful?"

I had a valid point, too. Underneath the "cutsyness" of this movie lays some pretty dark stuff. We as the audience are encouraged to forget about all of the infidelities and straight-out stalking John Cusak does because he's looking for his "soulmate." And his current relationship isn't even that bad!!! Yet he pushes on with the encouragement of his best man (Jeremy Piven) as the movie glosses over the fact that he is destroying a perfectly good relationship.

A few factual goof-ups knock this movie down another notch. Most notable is when Kate Breckensale realizes she has mistakenly taken her friend's wallet once she has boarded a plane. So tell me just how she was able to get on the plane without showing her identification?!? It's a glaring omission in reality.

One final critique: The characters seem to suffer from that annoying "Saved By The Bell" phenomenon. You know, where Zak, Kelly, Slater and the gang (I'm taking you on a ride to 1991, sorry) could sort things out with one simple explanation, but instead always decide to take the roundabout way through webs of lies and over-the-top schemes? That's what this movie feels like. The two star-crossed lovers have ample opportunities to make it a simple 'yes' or 'no', instead I felt like I got the runaround.

Hey, take it for what it's worth. It's not a terrible movie, but I can't help feeling it was botched somewhat. The idea exceeded the execution, if you will.

I picked up this DVD because it was filmed in my hometown of Memphis and it seemed to be billed a pretty funny "1980s" movie.

But the film is mostly disappointing, plauged with bad acting and poor production quality. The fat kid from "Head of the Class" was the saving grace, but most of the characters, including Judd Nelson, were just so wooden. I don't think they had a very good script to work with either. The laughs come few and far between. And Judd Nelson talks like a normal guy, but reverts to this weird Italian thing where he struts around going "yo" whenever a good-looking girl is around.

If you want to see a funny "1980s" type of movie that takes place in a school, why not go for REAL GENIUS, SIXTEEN CANDLES, BETTER OFF DEAD or SAY ANYTHING. See? I just thought of four better movies just off the top of my head.

Maybe I was expecting too much. I really did want to like it, but there are definitely better movie choices out there.

I held off buying this album, which runs about 40 minutes in length, in favor of longer albums by other artists so I could get "more for my money." I could'nt have been more wrong.

This album is worth its weight in gold. Beautiful, uplifting, words can barely describe it. The rythmns and technical ability of Coltrane & Co. is ear-bending and mind-boggling. Sometimes simple rythmns and note combinations make for beautiful music, but Coltrane's hymn is a complex woven tapestry that should please your senses and warm your heart. I love the insert as well -- Coltrane's poetry matches the best of David's Psalms. That's a strong assertion, but one that I think many would back up.

Watch out: John Fogerty and Co. really made an addictive record, and although it clocks in short, it is so sweet. The title track is indicitave of the whole album -- not overly complicated, over before you know it and extremely catchy.

Songs like "Bad Moon Rising," "Lodi," "Cross-Tie Walker," "Sinister Purpose," "Commotion," etc. will leave you humming along uncontrollably. If you are a fan at all of classical rock or just plain good music, then this belongs in your collection.

Now for my John Fogerty anecdote (sorry, Johnny Dale!). John met Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber ("Phantom of the Opera" et. al.) at a party. Weber praised Fogerty with a back-handed compliment, saying "You guys were the greatest three-chord band of all time." John slaps Weber on the back and says "Andy, we were a two-chord band." But whether it's three chords they know or just two, the guys are incredible...

Is this movie trying to take itself seriously? I must admit that it's visually stunning, and has moments of pure greatness where the emotions soar. BUT...

In the end, it comes off a little too "comic book" to be a great film. Overly trendy, the movie seems to pander a lot to the latest pop culture. Hardly any of the music is original, and it gets a little tedious after awhile hearing turn-of-the-century characters belt out "Like A Virgin" or "I Will Always Love You." And sometimes, Ewen McGregor just runs around with an idiot grin singing "Come what may..." over and over.

A great movie with a lot of distractions is no longer great, to sum up. I found it to be very promising, but very average. Same goes for the extras on the DVD -- there are a lot of chances to shine but few times where it actually happens. Buyer beware: Rent it first to see it suits you.