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The talents and achievements of eight film actors singled out by the author for the depth, authenticity, and artistry with which they portray their characters are discussed. The actors include Kate Winslet, Mickey Rourke, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Dakota Fanning, and Jean-Claude Van Damme.

The author reflects on actors and actresses. Despite the Writers Guild of America strike there are still going to be wonderful performances by actors and actresses because of what they know. He feels actors and actresses speak of the truth in the knowledge they know about inner life, joy and grief, and the intricate roads of the human heart.

This article discusses radio disc jockey Don Imus, the racial slur that offended a Rutgers University women's basketball team, and the media rules regulating what can be said on the air. The author purports that we live in a culture where racially and sexually edgy material is often considered brilliant comment, even art.

The article discusses the revelations that certain key scenes in James Frey's memoir "A Million Little Pieces" were fabricated. Memoirists are furious that Frey falsified and misused a medium they used to express painful memories. Publishers place the burden of proving books accurate on their authors. Various people question why Frey did not label his book fiction, which was how it was categorized when he first attempted to sell it to publishers. INSETS: The Boy Who Wasn't There;Write and Wrong.

Presents an interview with actors Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, who are set to start previews of Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple," the play's first revival in 40 years. Reference to their 2001 hit, "The Producers"; Thoughts on theater acting; Chemistry between actors; Backgrounds on Broderick and Lane.

Discusses the popularity of the music, motion pictures, and literature of South Asia in the United States. Success of the Indian musical "Bombay Dreams" composed by A.R. Rahman in New York City; Consideration of the success of Indian novelists such as Jhumpa Lahiri, Michael Ondaatje, and Arundhati Roy; Incorporation of Indian music in albums by Jay-Z and Panjabi MC; Popularity of Indian director M. Night Shyamalan who directed motion pictures such as "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs." INSET: That's Desi, As in Desirable.

Offers observations on the inadequacy of popular culture in the United States to address the impact of terrorist attacks against the United States. Belief that some entertainment is inappropriate following this type of tragedy; Direct response to the attacks by various entertainers, including singer Michael Jackson and performers who donated time to a telethon; Changes to scheduled programs which resulted from material which is similar to the attack; Possibility that these changes may be neither permanent nor appropriate. INSET: The Fallout in the Fun Industries.

Focuses on how the baby boom generation is parenting its children in the United States. Challenges facing the millennial parent, including the loss of the extended-family structure, the influence of advertising and peer pressure; How technology contributes to the erosion of parental authority; Views of psychologist Dan Kindlon who wrote 'Too Much of a Good Thing: Raising Children of Character in an Indulgent Age'; Discussion of whether parents are doing a good job.

Offers news of the world for the week of December 24-30, 1995. United States military policeman Martin John Begosh as the first American injured in the Bosnia peace mission; Suspension of United States sanctions against Serbia; Illness of Pope John Paul II forcing him to miss the Christmas Day Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome; Other briefs.

Presents brief news tidbits for the nation for the week of December 3-9, 1995. President Bill Clinton's veto of the Republican balanced-budget plan; Bob Dole's postponement of a vote on a resolution of qualified support for President Clinton's peacekeeping plan in Bosnia; The Senate's vote approving a bill that would outlaw a rare and particularly gruesome type of late-term abortion despite the threat of presidential veto; Other topics.

Presents news from around the United States for the week of November 26-December 2, 1995. President Clinton going on national television to convince Americans to join the NATO peacekeeping mission in Bosnia by sending 20,000 United States troops there; The latest deadline to fund the government being December 15, 1995; The repeal of the federal 55 m.p.h. and 65 m.p.h. speed limits being signed into law by President Bill Clinton; More national news.

Presents news from around the United States for the week of August 6-12, 1995. Indictments of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, the two prime suspects in the Oklahoma City bombing case by a federal grand jury; Approval by President Clinton of a decision by the Food and Drug Administration that classified cigarettes as a type of `medical device'; Indefinite stay of execution obtained by Mumia Abu-Jamal, a journalist active in radical politics; More.

Offers national news notes for April 30-May 6, 1995. Search for second suspect in the Oklahoma City bombing; Partisan battles about the issue of Medicare; Senate confirmation hearings on Dr. Henry Foster, President Bill Clinton's nominee for Surgeon General; The deal the federal prosecutors struck with Qubilah Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X; More.

Offers national news highlights for January 20-February 4, 1995. President Bill Clinton's economic rescue package for Mexico; Trade skirmish with China; Nomination of Henry Foster Jr., a Nashville obstetrician/gynecologist for the position of Surgeon General; More.

Presents national news briefs for the week of November 6-12, 1994. Voters handed control of both houses of Congress to the GOP for the first time in 40 years; Senate GOP majority became 53 to 47; Reversal of the Justice Department position in a child-pornography case; Judge Lance Ito's ruling on camera coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial; Sexual-harassment charges by 16 female students at a San Diego naval training facility.

This article focuses on films that contain a moral message. Actors, actresses, directors are increasingly accepting participation in films that pay less but offer humanitarian or political messages. The article explains that movies with a social agenda are becoming more popular and chronicles some of the films that have done so.

Looks at the career of film director Richard Linklater and the forthcoming release of the motion picture "The Bad News Bears." Discussion of other films directed by Linklater during his career, including "Slacker" and "Before Sunset"; Comments from Linklater on remaking the baseball film "The Bad News Bears"; Author's views on the film's cast and their performances in the movie.

Discusses the art theft of paintings such as Edvard Munch's 'The Scream,' 'Madonna' from the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway. How two men in hooded sweatshirts and ski masks held a pistol to the guards in order to steal the art; Lack of insurance for the Munch paintings due to the high cost of premiums on famous pictures; Consideration of how thieves disguised as policemen stole 13 pictures from the Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston in 1990; Development of tracking devices which can be used by museums to follow stolen items that are removed from the premises; Vulnerability of 'The Scream' painting because it was painted on cardboard.

Discusses how mainstream popular culture is based on secular ideas. How clergy are often portrayed in a mocking fashion in many American films; Tendency for Christians to use examples from popular films such as 'Bruce Almighty' and 'The Passion of the Christ' to demonstrate theology in their sermons; Efforts of websites such as movieministry.com to decipher the underlying spiritual themes from various films; Consideration of how motion pictures were deemed as an occasion of sin by the Catholic Legion of Decency; Need for Hollywood to appeal to the church audience.

Discusses how DC Comics, a publication owned by Time Warner, is installing new creative talent on all three monthly Superman comics in order to improve their popularity. Input from artist Jim Lee on how the character of Superman needs more of a dark side in order to compete with comics such as Batman; How Superman will be made more physically vulnerable by writer Chuck Austen; Efforts to find an actor that will play the role of Superman in a motion picture; Success of the comic book 'Superman/Batman,' a series that combines the lives of the two heroes.

Following 2001's $108 million--grossing film 'The Princess Diaries,' Hollywood has waved its wand and conjured a set of Cinderella stories for girls, including next month's 'The Prince & Me' and 'Ella Enchanted,' as well as 'A Cinderella Story' in July and a Princess Diaries sequel in August. We've come a long way, it seems, from the girls-kick-ass culture of just a few years ago in which a flying-roundhouse kick was a girl's best friend. The modern Cinderella is one who would rather save Prince Charming, thank you, and who has learned the lessons of feminism--or at least learned to pay lip service to them. The movies focus on the womanly ideal of self-determination and independence. 'Ella Enchanted,' for instance, is a spoof of Cinderella in which the title character spends her free time protesting the discriminatory anti-elf and -giant policies of the family of Prince Charmont. Reinventing fairy tales has been a favorite project of feminist authors from Angela Carter to Marlo Tho

Reports on the controversy surrounding the independent motion picture, "The Passion," directed by Mel Gibson. Catholic and Jewish leaders who are speaking out on the inaccuracies of the motion picture, which portrays the last days of Jesus Christ; Difficulty in marketing religious films; Efforts to gauge reaction from clerics and scholars; Comments by Rabbi Eugene Korn of the Interfaith Affairs at the Anti-Defamation League following a screening of the film; Concerns of Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, California.

Examines how the United States is attempting to wage a propaganda war in the Arab world. Significance of the videotape made by Osama bin Laden; View that this is also a media war; Why the U.S. message is not reaching Arabs; Role of the broadcasting station Voice of America; Attitude of many Westernized Arabs; How the satellite station al-Jazeera is influencing Arab public opinion; Roles of U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Reports on the development of the Comedy Central television program 'That's My Bush!,' which was created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone of 'South Park' fame. Comments of Parker and Stone on the sitcom about the administration of United States President George W. Bush; Stars of the program, including Timothy Bottoms as the President; Details of the first episode.

Offers news briefs for the week of January 14-20, 1996. Continuing impasse over budget talks between President Bill Clinton and Republican congressional leaders; Controversy over Hillary Rodham Clinton and the 1993 firings of White House travel employees; Announcement by Maine Republican Senator William Cohen that he would not seek re-election; Other news.

Offers world news briefs for January 14-20, 1996. Order given by Russian President Boris Yeltsin for Russian army, police and security forces to attack the village of Pervomaiskoye; 300 Chechen rebels holding more than 100 civilians hostage; Yeltsin's acceptance of the resignation of his chief strategist, Anatoly Chubais; Washington's scolding of Bosnia and Croatia for failing to rid Bosnian soil of foreign fighters; Other briefs.

Discusses international news events for the week of December 10-16, 1995. Release by General Ratko Mladic of two French pilots who were shot down during a bombing raid by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); Sentencing of dissident Wei Jingsheng of China; Renewed peace negotiations between Israel and Syria; Other international news.

Presents news from around the world for the week of November 26, 1995-December 2, 1995. President Bill Clinton's itinerary for his five-day trip to Europe; The British and Irish governments issuing a communique on Northern Ireland that could bring Sinn Fein to the negotiating table; Confirmation by Jean-Bertrand Aristide of Haiti that he will step down as president at the end of his five-year term in February 1996; More world news.

Presents news from around the world for the week of November 5-11, 1995. The burial of assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on Mount Herzl, Jerusalem; Arrest of Hagai Amir, brother of Rabin's confessed killer Yigal Amir; The signing of an agreement in Dayton, Ohio, between Croats and Muslims; More world news.

Presents news from around the world for the week of October 22-28, 1995. Celebration of the United Nations (UN) 50th birthday at headquarters in New York City by member countries; Private meeting between President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin at Hyde Park, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's (FDR) Hudson River estate; Heart problems of Yeltsin upon his return to Moscow; More world news.

Presents the news from around the United States for the week of August 27-September 2, 1995. Judge Lance Ito's decision during the O.J. Simpson murder trial which enraged Simpson's defense lawyers; The disgust expressed by a wide cross-section of Los Angeles citizens with Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) detective Mark Fuhrman's remarks; Dr. Jack Kevorkian's being ordered by a Michigan judge to stand trial for assisting two suicides in 1991; More.

Focuses on various topics on the world scene for the week of December 11-17, 1994. Moscow's military intervention in Chechnya; Trip by Jimmy Carter to Bosnia at the request of Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan Karadzic; Claims by North Korea that they shot down a United States helicopter and that they were holding two American crewmen; More.

Presents world news briefs for the week of October 30-November 5, 1994. Actions involving the Muslim-led Bosnian army and Bosnian Croat militias; Death of 500 Egyptians in Durunka oil fires; Immigration to be limited by Canada; UN Security Council vote to end its mission in Somalia by March 31, 1995.

Presents national news briefs for the week of October 30-November 5, 1994. Charges that Susan Smith murdered her two children, Michael, 3, and Alexander, 14 months; Charges against Francisco Martin Duran, who fired on the White House with a rifle; Senate Intelligence Committee accusations against the CIA; Jury recommendation of death for antiabortion extremist Paul Hill; Death of 68 aboard American Eagle Flight 4184 in Indiana.

The article focuses on the backstage comic conversation between theatre artists Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, after an accident with the later. On October 27, 2005 Lane and Broderick will open in Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple," the play's first revival in 40 years. The legendary rapport between Broderick or Lane, are almost more famous than either of them.

The article discusses complications that online social networking Web sites, like Facebook, can pose to married couples seeking divorce. The article notes that not only can angry spouses defame each other on each others' online profiles, but pictures and information posted on these sites, like new purchases or vacations, can be used against a spouse by divorce lawyers. It is noted that on the positive side, these networks can be a source of emotional support.

The article looks at the impact of the 2008 financial crisis on marriage and divorce, reviewing figures that show a rise in divorce rates during recessions and reporting how various types of families are currently challenging those trends. The author describes different ways the financial crisis affects marriages and reasons for divorce and discusses the effects on spouses' finances.

This article discusses the trend of high schools to perform new and adventurous musicals rather than some of the older and more conservative ones. There are now awards called the Cappies with 37 different categories for high school musicals. The trend has been advanced by new Broadway musicals that bring in a younger audience. The author states that some conservative school administrators resist the racier musicals.

This article lists five films that offer a social message including "Super Size Me," "Blood Diamond," and "An Inconvenient Truth."

This article presents teenage girls as the new hot audience for Broadway musicals and the shows with which the theatre world is courting them. The author traces the phenomenon to "Wicked," which has consistently grossed more than better reviewed plays, and lists "Legally Blonde, The Musical," "Hairspray," and "The Color Purple," as having the common appeal of stories about misfits and outcasts who prove their worth.

This article looks at recent movies and books that attempt to portray the humanness of terrorists. "Sleeper Cell," a Showtime mini-series, is about the members of an al-Qaeda sleeper cell in Los Angeles planning an attack. "The War Within" is a film about terrorists planning to blow up New York City's Grand Central Station. Salman Rushdie's novel, "Shalimar the Clown," is about a suicide bomber. "Paradise Now" portrays the terrorists as ordinary slackers and mixed up young men. Many Islamic extremists feel that by humanizing the terrorists, there is nothing holy in them.

Focuses on Marin Alsop, who will be the first woman ever to lead a major American symphony orchestra when she starts conducting for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Description of her childhood and interest in music; Difficulty of becoming a conductor; Challenges that Alsop has faced in her career; How conducting has been a male-dominated field.

Enumerates several facts about Star Wars motion picture series. Number of visual effect shots in "Star Wars VI," "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," and "Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith"; Cost of making and marketing "Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith"; Number of years that the character Obi-Wan ages in the series; Age difference between Ewan McGregor and Alec Guinness, the actors who played Obi-Wan; Cost of a Mr. Potato Head Darth Tater; Revenue earned by Lucasfilm from Star Wars merchandise; Star Wars memorabilia inside director George Lucas' office.

Focuses on the rise of classical music digital video disc (DVD) sales. Sales of operas, ballets and instrumental music on DVDs; Benefits of classical DVD technology, including the ability to view interviews with conductors and directors; Price of "Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic"; Popularity of the DVD "Maria Callas: Living and Dying for Art and Love"; Discussion of the DVD "Jacqueline du Pré in Portrait"; Sales of "Tristan and Isolde" and "Cecilia Bartoli Sings Mozart and Haydn."

Discusses the release of the new documentary 'Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy' which details the creation of the Star Wars trilogy by director George Lucas. Anticipation from fans of the release of the Star Wars Trilogy on DVD by Lucasfilm Ltd.; Addition of new footage and updated computer effects in the new releases; Controversy between those who believe in preserving the original versions of the film and those who wish to see the films rereleased as an updated version; How documentary maker Kevin Burns draws parallels between Lucas and the character of Luke Skywalker in the films.

Highlights business briefs for the week of December 31, 1995 to January 6, 1996. The elimination by AT&T of 40,000 jobs over the next three years; The dismissal of celebrity financial columnist Dan Dorfman by `Money' magazine; 1995 holiday sales as compared to previous December figures.

Presents news for the nation for the week of December 24-30, 1995. Meeting between President Bill Clinton and top Congressional leaders to try to bridge the balanced-budget impasse; Veto by President Clinton of a $265 billion defense authorization bill; Settlement by United States Ambassador to France Pamela Harriman of a lawsuit brought by the heirs of her late husband, W. Averell Harriman; Other briefs.

Presents business news from around the United States for the week of August 27-September 2, 1995. Agreement between Chemical Bank and Chase Manhattan to merge in a $10 billion deal; Chemical's Chief Operating Officer (CEO) Walter Shipley to remain as leader; Ted Turner said to be considering an $8 billion offer by Time Warner for Turner Broadcasting.

Presents news from around the world for the week of August 27-September 2, 1995. Entrance of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) into the Bosnian War; First indication since fighting began in Yugoslavia in 1991 that a peace settlement may emerge with the a key concession agreed to by the Bosnian Serbs; Survival of Eduard Shevardnadze, the political leader of the republic of Georgia, of an attempted car bombing; More.

Presents news of the world for the week of August 6-12, 1995. Why Madeleine Albright, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, showed classified spy-satellite photos depicting atrocities near Srebrenica; The defection of two of Iraqui President Saddam Hussein's daughters and their husbands to Jordan; A bombing in Sri Lanka; How an Italian law allowed a group of HIV-infected bank robbers to be freed.