"Pandemonium" and "Democracy" are amazing albums. Aside from some rather puzzling diatribes against democracy and other modern institutions, these albums contain moving, poetic, and unforgettable images. "Absent Friends," for instance, is profoundly melancholy while "Lanterns of Hope" is wonderfully hopeful. "Whiteout" from Pandemonium is a glorious, vicious, and relentless assault on the senses.

This new release, however, contains little creativity and very few

They ramble on about various issues, like genetically modified crops and unjust wars, and delve into X-Files-esque paranoia about implants that will observe our every move.

They've lost their wondrously cacophonous harmony, if I can describe their style thusly, and replaced it with simple thrash-metal banality.

"Asteroid" is quite enjoyable, if one doesn't pay much attention to the lyrics.

While procrastinating over an essay that needed writing, I once reached for the nearest book on the library shelf. It was a critical discussion of the role of the Schlemiel figure in Jewish literature. I was hooked instantly on Jewish literature, and have read everything that I can find, especially the work of Isaac Bashevis Singer.

Shadows on the Hudson was astonishingly difficult to read. I found myself profoundly depressed for the two weeks I spent reading this novel. It is dark, despairing, and hopeless.

The epilogue, however, makes everything clear. This is not so much a novel as a treatise on religion. This book demonstates why religion is an essential part of humanity, and also explains why Judaism is so unique.

This is a very important book.

I first discovered The Fast Show while in England. It is a sketch program that consists of several recurring characters.

It is blunt, crude, and very, very funny. I have played this countless times, and it hasn't lost its appeal.