One of, if not my favorite movie of all time, is "Swingers." The 1996 film featured the much younger, much thinner and much more un-schulb like Vince Vaughn as Trent. The script, penned by star Jon Favreau, allowed Vaughn to kickstart his career, thanks...

Is there a need for a traditional radio anymore? Unless listening to talk programs, I find that traditional radios are pointless. I personally abandoned radio about a year ago when I realized there's nothing new on it. All the pop stations (103.5 Kiss...

Ben Folds's new album "Way to Normal" delivers several sensational tracks, but wastes a handful on an experimental New-Age sound. Folds, who has impressed us for years with his solo career after leaving his band Ben Folds Five, brings us his latest studio-recorded...

Andrew McMahon, the brainchild of Jack's Mannequin, has finally released his greatly anticipated second album, "The Glass Passenger." The band released its first album, "Everything in Transit," three years ago, and was hoping to have released its sophomore...

The NIU Wind Ensemble performed a concert entitled "Suite Dreams" at Boutell Memorial Concert Hall Tuesday evening. Conductor Ronnie Wooten directed the ensemble with great enthusiasm. He gave very distinct cues that were always on time. The acoustics...

Here's a good idea: Give $10 million to five people that come up with the best ways to help as many people as possible. Well, that's exactly what Google did. The massive Internet search engine announced Sept. 24 it would award $10 million to five individuals...

"A Thurber Carnival" - 9/10 At the NIU School of Theater and Dance's Players Theatre, there were no elephants, clowns or cotton candy at "A Thurber Carnival." Instead, there was a brilliant display of raw talent and marvelous teamwork. In theater, it...

Steven Tyler, the 60 year-old Aerosmith frontman filed a lawsuit on September 24. Tyler, whose legal name is Steven Victor Tallarico, is suing a group of unknown bloggers. This is the second time that blogs, supposedly written by Tyler or his girlfriend...

Although he may have impressed some in the past few years with his television specials, illusionist and stunt performer David Blaine officially has permission to retire. At the young age of four, Blaine witnessed a magician performing a card trick and...

5. Half-Life 2 (PC, various ports) Half-Life 2 is one of the best games ever made. Say what you want about the Counter Strike mod for the original, but HL2 improved upon everything in the original. HL2 featured a more engaging story, improved upon never-ending...

I feel bad for Stephenie Meyer. The author of the super popular "Twilight" series had the rough draft of her fifth book, "Midnight Sun," inexplicably leaked onto the Internet. Her Web site says that while the fifth installment will still be her next project,...

REVIEW "Nights In Rodanthe" - screen vs. print The Book: Written by Nicholas Sparks After her husband leaves her for a younger woman, Adrienne Willis escapes to Rodanthe, North Carolina to take care of her friend's inn. While she is there, a hurricane...