The main purpose of this film is to warn people from the dire personal consequences of unfaithfulness. It argues that betraying the ones that trust you is - more than anything else - betraying yourself.

Some of the characters in "Magnolia" are agonizing their infidelities, cheatings and betrayals - not because they got caught - but because their conscious is eating them alive. One character reaches the point in which she can't live with herself anymore. It doesn't matter how much time one manages to suppress and silence the haunting thoughts; they will eventually come to get the best of him. And even if he's managed to live in total denial - they will grab a hold of him on his deathbed.

People that are involved in such acts will feel extremely uneasy watching this movie, people that are on the brink of engaging in such acts would probably think twice, and people that are not even in the surrounding areas - for the time being - will try harder to fight and avoid them.

If the above materializes - the movie has fulfilled its goal.

There's a beautiful and amazingly fitting song near the end of the movie, "Wise up", and it's chorus is sung by all the characters in an overpowering climax: "It's not going to stop, it's not going to stop till you wise up". In the context of this motion picture - its significance becomes crystal clear.

Kaplan's "GMAT" book is good for getting into the right state of mind needed to succeed in the test and learning the powerful strategies for solving the hard questions. The strategies are similar (if not identical) to the strategies given in the Princeton Review book, though the latter explains some of the techniques better (and there lies the strength of the Princeton Review).

The CD-ROM is the heart of the bargain.

Packed with hundreds of questions and explanations, this CD provides countless hours of invaluable practice. In fact, the CDs of other companies I checked out don't begin to compare to Kaplan's.

Nevertheless, there are two things you need to know in advance so that you won't be disheartened once you start working on the CD:

The first is Kaplan's motto - "no pain no gain". Once you begin solving tests you'll discover that they are painfully difficult. The level of the tests' questions sometimes rises above the level of the real GMAT questions, but only sometimes. Bear in mind that the actual test is very hard and is made to challenge everyone, therefore it's mandatory not to be intimidated and to experience as many hard questions as possible.

The second important thing is to remember that the test scores they supply are no way near the actual results you will eventually get on test day, probably because they use a different score calculating method from the one ETS uses. The reason for this might be rooted in the book and CD makers' possible goal - though not state out loud - to draw you to enroll in one of their preparation courses. Take my word for it, after seeing results for your first scored test - you WILL want to sign in immediately. Remember to take it in perspective.

To sum it all up, keep in mind that as long as you make progress and keep on getting better results in adaptive tests from different sources you're on the road to success.

Most customers will neglect this rather old and outdated book that has no attached CD-ROM. However, as you can see, the price of a used copy is low and you'll probably be able to get it in the local library.

Why bother getting it? Because in order to succeed in the test - you'd want to cover as much ground as you can.

This book has a few interesting features:

The verbal section is thorough and has an interesting part that covers fallacies, even though they are quite rare on the test. You will learn what are ad hominem attack, tu quoque, post hoc ergo hoc, guilt by association, equivocation and more.

The math section has a unique feature that is not to be found in any other book I know of - a scale that ranks the difficulty level of each question. It helps saving precious time by ignoring easy questions and concentrating on the hard ones. There is a wide variety of tests you can solve only for the hardest questions you can immediately identify. Each question comes with a comprehensive solution.

Checking out the content of this book will reveal the fact that it's almost useless; Not only is the theoretical material incomplete (to say the least), but also the examples and test-like questions given are too easy.

However, the CD-ROM is the bonus and the heart of the bargain; it is one of the best I've used and it includes a feature that cannot be found elsewhere. By and large, the useful material on the CD are the tests - you get to take 6 full-length adaptive tests that are similar in level to the real GMAT. The extra-value of these tests is the feedback offered after taking them; you can get information not only about your general score, but also about the level of difficulty of each question you solved. The score you will get is a good approximation to the score you'll get on the real GMAT.

Bottom line - 5 stars for the tests and one star for the book.

The 2004 and the 2003 versions of the book and CD are identical, so you can be satisfied with a used version and save some bucks.

The Math Section -
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ETS's "GMAT" is valuable for its math review; it's one of the most comprehensive and thorough reviews I've read - and this is its strongest link. Nevertheless, it looks as if most (if not all) this background material is included also in the "Powerprep" software that is sent to you upon registration to the test. Bear in mind that the software also includes tests with many questions you've probably done if you have solved the questions in the book. The result is a score that does not represent your actual performance on test day.

There are well-explained answers to each of the questions (ones you won't find to the practice tests of the sofeware) that help to develop knowledge and understanding. Even so, the biggest problem this book has is the fact that - although it has many questions - there is no indication about their level of difficulty - and this is a major drawback. I wasted a considerable amount of time doing easy to mid-level questions I shouldn't have done at all. Some people commented here that one should do the last third of questions - but the writers of this book failed to include this important piece of information.

All the above comes to show that you should not be impressed with the large number of questions the book offers (274 questions on data sufficiency and 441 questions on problem solving) - most of which would hardly advance you. The logical conclusion you can draw from all of this is that it is imperative to buy other preparation books (such as Kaplan's "GMAT" and Peterson's "GMAT CAT success" which I also reviewed).

Another key disadvantage is the lack of some powerful test taking strategies and techniques that are included in other books and help a lot to crack a few types of the harder questions.

If ETS really wants to help test takers it should make considerable changes and improvements in this book.

The verbal section -

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In this section, the examples abound on all subjects, but still, for better constructed and analyzed material you should seek out other sources. It's evident the writers haven't spent much time shaping a system that will categorize different kinds of questions and suggest general guidelines for dealing with them.

Analysis of an issue and analysis of an argument -
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These sections are quite poor in substance. They offer 3 scored compositions for each section in addition to explanations of the scores. Other than that, all you get are many pages of possible subjects for analysis for your practice. My advice is to look on the bright side, as this book is the only one I know of that actually scaled and analyzed test takers' essays.

Actual rating - 2.5 stars.

The Math Sections -
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The most important piece of information that is excluded from the editorial overview is the fact that most - if not all - the questions included in the math sections appear as part of tests given in the CD-ROM attached to the main preparation book Kaplan offers called "GMAT". In other words, the math part of this book is a printed edition of many questions that are explained exactly in the same way in the CD.

There is no any substantial additional material, except for a forward before some questions, emphasizing their exceptional difficulty, and occasional notes indicating how "an 800 test taker" would deal with the questions.

In all, I wouldn't recommend this book to somebody who wants to improve his math skills if he's already bought Kaplan's excellent "GMAT" with the CD-ROM.

The Verbal sections -
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I can't say here what I said above (about the same questions given in both this book and the CD-ROM of "GMAT") because I haven't completed all the exercises offered in the CD-ROM. As for the material itself, it seems that the writers did very well in here, since there is an in-depth analysis of the hardest types of questions in the critical reasoning, reading comprehension and sentence correction.

To sum up, if your weak link is your performance in the verbal sections - and if you prefer written material to a computer screen - this book can be of help (though you should check out first their outstanding CD-ROM, that offers more material than any other CD I've tried, and decide whether it's enough or not).

As human beings, struggling our daily battle, we need someone to look up to. We need an example of endurance. We need a shining beacon of devotion and commitment. We need a paradigm of virtue.

Jack Bauer and David Palmer serve that purpose in the significant and extraordinary "24". Watching them in action in every episode is inspiring - and inspiration is the name of the game.

In the phenomenal second season the developments in the series are overwhelming; if the first season changed the way we look upon the products of the small screen, the second season enhances everything and take the events and action to new heights we've never imagined.

Consider the fact that every bit of information you gather on the show before seeing it will reduce the experience - so all you really have to do is to take a seat and prepare yourselves for one of the wildest rides of your lives.

In "Blood Work" Clint Eastwood returns to his memorable Dirty Harry, maybe for the last time. Even if the name of his character is Terry McCaleb, you can't go wrong - this is the old Harry we all know and love.

The legend of Harry started some 30 years ago, with Eastwood chasing serial killers and struggling with inept cops - and guess what? Almost nothing has changed. Nonetheless, the age does show its marks and therefore the pace of things is way slower; his heart is not what is used to be. It even gets to the point in which he needs a heart transplant. Would that predicament stop Harry from doing his favorite job?

Eastwood also directed this thriller and it's nice to see him talking about and with the actors he's chosen for the film in the "Extras" part of the DVD that proves to be a great addition to the movie.

The Periplus Myanmar map is an indispensable purchase you must make before you enter the country in order to plan and execute your trip, since you will find it very hard to find one once you are in.
I strongly recommend it in addition to the Lonely Planet guide (see my past review) as the two tools to the serious and organized traveler.

Inside, you'll find 6 maps:

1. A big Myanmar map (1:2,000,000)
2. A map of Bagan area (1:35,000)
3. A detailed map of old Bagan (1:15,000)
4. A city map of Yangon (1:35,000)
5. A detailed map of Central Yangon (1:17,500)
6. A map of Mandalay.

All the maps are well printed and help a lot to get around in the country. The best places to see are highlighted in red. Inside you'll also find a few useful traveling tips for a kick-start.

In the following I am going to count some of the benefits the viewers get out of watching the amazing "24":

1. An insight into the formidable, violent - but also exciting - world of war against terror - "24" emerged right after the terror attacks that destroyed the Twin Towers and started to give the horrified, but also curious viewers, a glance at the gray and mysterious area most were vaguely aware of - in a never been seen before approach of 'documenting' events in real time (each episode illustrates the events of a single hour in the lives of the characters).

2. Somebody to admire - There are two dominante roll models in the show:

Jack Bauer, the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) operative, strikes the common viewers as the ultimate hero of all times. Nobody is really close to the level of the combative competence and shrewdness he demonstrates time and again - along side with dedication and commitment to his family and country.

David Palmer, the California presidential candidate, also appears as one of the wisest, most devoted, sincere and patriotic characters ever to hit the small screen.

Nevertheless, both are vulnerable.

3. An escape form reality - Upon watching the series, the viewers are going to forget about everything that bothers them and concentrate on the events that keep on happening by the minute on the screen. The action is non-stop; no other series in the history of television had reached the level of intensity this series has reached. There is nothing else one can think of while watching it that it's almost therapeutic.

4. A family get-together - Finally there's a TV series that can hook everybody - adult and minors - side by side in mutual respect. Yes, it is violent at times, but no more than the things everybody sees in movies and in the news everyday. It is also a great source for conversations and debates about the unconventional, controversial and shocking situations that are presented on the screen in an unprecedented density.

5. Something to look forward to - When was the last time you really waited for a new episode in a TV program? Was it back on the days of "Dallas"? Well, the drought is over; you are going to stay breathless during and after most of the episodes, anxious to see and know more. The best advice I can give is to take it one at a time.