- A couple of years ago, my life went through many significant changes. One of them occurred shortly after I went to one of their concerts. My fav song of theirs is Needs. To me it is a song that signifies a need for accepting myself for who I am, and also recognizing the need to have other people in my life.

- my FAVORITE song on the whole album is the one that everyone else seems to like. Hanging by a Moment.

- This is a group set up for wives, spouses, girlfriends of the yet again recognized Law Enforcement Officers. Specifically, the Federal ones, although it is open to all. It is a good place to go for those times you aren't quite understanding what to do or how to deal with the trauma of one who is in the Law Enforcement field.

- When you picture Stephen King, most people think of horror, evil, and the supernatural. His work has been enjoyed, condemned, adored, and banned by many groups. Growing up as a fundamentalist Christian, my first experience was how corrupt, evil, blah blah blah his work was. Mostly it was word-of-mouth. After reading his incredible novels and works, I was surprised at how his supernatural, at times, involved those who are often overlooked, misunderstood, abused, taken for granted, or just plain old despised. His works almost always include heroism or the seeking of redemption or a character in peril seeking help through prayer and Jesus. Reading his novels, you get a sense of familiarity with those read previously, while skirting the feel of the 'often difficult to continue piqued interest' of the series books. There is nothing stranger or more horrifying than what you would find in the bible, and he doesn't pander to the readers preconceptions, beliefs, or feelings. Best of all, many of the books he has written all tie in together to give the reader a sense of completion. Just when you felt the story was told, he grabs on to another part that you may have thought of as a sidebar and rounds out the story a bit more to give an even greater sense of a whole.

- Remo Williams and Chiun. Okay, touted as a men's series novel, the Destroyer books are pretty much the best of the bunch. They poked fun before The Simpsons, and were around way before The Legend of Kung Fu. When the government could no longer uphold the law by legal means, they created an invisible branch of the government made up of two people. The computer/CIA/FBI/NSA etc etc leader Harold W. Smith. Often described as one who has a lemony voice, glasses, and wears one of the same dozen duplicate suits every day to work. And Remo Williams. He was a police officer who was convicted of a crime he did not commit, so he could become an assassin for the US Government. The only American's aware of this branch of government is Remo, Smith, and the US President. The only other one is Chiun. Chiun is the deadliest man in existence. Trained in Sinanju, he is the most recent Master Assassin from Sinanju, North Korea. Sinanju is the sun source of all martial arts and Chiun's job is to train Remo in this most deadliest martial art for his job with Smith. You may think it sounds so James Bond/Kung Fu or whatever, but the best parts of the books are where they poke fun at everything. From how sex is 'just another job' because Sinanju provides the 83 steps to completely please a woman, to the often 'Jewish Mother' bickering between Chiun and Remo. Chiun's love for his Soap Operas and seeming naivete makes him an interesting and endearing 'Master Assassin'.

- Okay, I'm not talking the 60's cartoon show. I'm talking about his own talk show Spaceghost Coast-to-Coast. They don't show it nearly enough, so you may not have heard of it. Spaceghost has his own talk show. It is one of the silliest, goofiest, (okay, there is a little crude humor... like that song about beans from Brak), but it's mostly just silly goofiness that deserves a least a glance if not a watch.

- Ah, Brak. He is the absolutely ugly red alien guy on Space Ghost, yet he is the most adorable. With his childlike voice, songs, and the fact that he is such a die-hard romantic, Brak is a treat to watch and one of the reasons to tune in to the old Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast shows.

- It's been said that Watterson's inspiration for some of his work on Calvin was Charles Schulz. While not terribly obvious, it is clear that Watterson has created one of the most interesting and funny characters of this century. If you haven't read any of his books yet, I would suggest the ones about transmogrifying. Calvin's world is a mix of real and make-believe. The difference is that for him there is no difference. Anything can happen in Calvin's world.

by John D. MacDonald. Travis McGee is a guy who decided to take retirement early and live on his houseboat, The Busted Flush as something of a bum. He takes jobs every now and then so that he can afford his retirement. While you'll note there is always alcohol and a damsel in distress, you'll also notice how when Travis takes a job 'to retrieve what other's can't by any means' he always gets what he's after and he always nearly kills himself in the process.

- Okay, before you start making fun of me, or praying for my soul, take a little time to either watch a couple of them or read most critics reviews about it. It is a very fun and interesting show using monsters and callings as allegories for real life. You'll notice each character has something special about them. Sometimes they are akin to personal demons, and others they are something more powerful and don't even know it. Buffy is the Chosen One who is borne one in a generation to kill Vampires. They mix the idea that Buffy is Cher in Clueless with a deeper strength and figuratively the 'weight of the world' on her shoulders. Willow has been practising witchcraft for a couple of years now, but you'll notice that there is always negative consequences when she does something. Xander is arguably the most normal. He is considered the loyal scooby. Oz (okay I'm going back a little now) is the cool one. But his burden is that he is a werewolf, and once a month must lock himself up so he doesn't do anyone harm. Angel. Well, I guess the idea of Angel is more of an Anne Rice concoction, but it goes very well with the story line and he and Buffy's love can be correlated to a Romeo and Juliet. Angel was considered the most horrible, bloodthirsy Vampire of his time. When he killed the daughter of a band of gypsies, they put a curse on him where as a soulless demon, his curse became having a conscience. His killing the innocent ceased and his blood survival came from rodents, bloodbanks, and slaughterhouses. Giles is Buffy's watcher. A watcher is one who is well-learned in the old texts and who trains the Slayer and teaches her of the strength and abilities that lie within. Cordelia is pretty much the 'little bad' until she leaves the show to be on Angel. Her character is the catty, shallow one who Buffy 'could have been had she not been the Slayer' who is always offering snide comments, shallow remarks, and self-important comments. As the show continues, she kind of finds her own place in the Scoobies until the college season starts. Spike. Hmm.. what could I possibly say about him? I guess the best thing is he is a Vampire with still the same urge to kill and eat, but who is not capable of it because of an electrical signal that is released when he tries to harm. It's not a conscience, but more of an animal solution to stopping a vampire from killing. It is well-known that when we are faced with different situations enough, we learn to adapt. It is our way. The struggle is apparent watching Spike's character where he still tries to be mean and bad, but he's changing. Dawn is Buffy's little sister...but not really. In Buffy there is either always an apocalypse or some kind of dimension trying to invade our current one. Dawn was previously an energy force thousands of years old that allowed for some to cross over into another dimension. That is why they call her The Key. An order of Monks were charged to protect the key and when they were threatened almost to the point of extinction, they arranged to change the key to human form and create a world around her where she would be best protected. Hence, they made her into Buffy's sister and altered everyone around her with memories and thoughts to the effect that Dawn has always been there. Anya is another interesting character. She was bad. Demon bad. Her job was to answer prayers of scorned or frustrated women to impart revenge on those who hurt them. Somehow she changed, although I'm not sure how, and now she is the childlike character who says everything she thinks and doesn't understand most of what everyone takes for granted. Tara is the epitome of oppressed woman. Awkward, shy, insecure at first, she was revealed to come from an oppressed family where her father lied to her about who she was to control her. For some reason, he said she was demonic and that at age 21, she would turn to fulfledged demon form and that her family is the only one who knows how to deal with it. There are many good Buffy web sites and links out there. Mine is just to the official UPN website.

Before there were scoobies, there were the Bob-Whites of the Glen. With Trixie's endearing personality quirks, mysteries, and the friendship of the Bob-White's, these books are true classics. One of my favorite descriptions of the books are: cross Nancy Drew with hot sauce and normal teenage insecurities and you get Trixie Belden.

When I was younger, you couldn't stop me from buying up all of the Big Red, Irish Red, Nose for Trouble books and more... These books are written about love, loyalty, and valor.

by David Schnarch, Ph.D. An interesting, innovative and insightful book about love, marriage, and self-awareness.