 | The King in the Tree: Three Novellas by Steven Millhauser
Buy used from: $0.01 Maybe it is possible for a man to understand what beauty and love is...but, Millhauser is probably somewhere around age 50.
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 | Martin Dressler the Tale of an American by Steven Millhauser
Buy used from: $0.01 Another fine example of the Millhauser love triangle.
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 | Lady Chatterly's Lover
Buy used from: $1.25 I loved this book and found it special, but when I mention it to people (especially males) they always say, "Wasn't that a porn movie?" I'd like to think that is not what Lawrence had in mind.
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 | Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls
Buy used from: $0.01 What a great story. I'm glad I discovered this forty-some year old sleeper.
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 | The Heart is a Lonely Hunter/Reflections in a Golden Eye/The Ballad of the Sad Cafe/The Member of the Wedding/The Clock Without Hands (Library of America) by Carson McCullers
Buy new: $23.10 / Used from: $16.12 Proof that you don't have to say much to say something meaningful
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 | Children of Men (Widescreen Edition)
Buy new: $4.49 / Used from: $2.29 A perfect apocolyptic scenario for our times. Surprised that someone is still capable of doing a movie this good.
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 | Manderlay
Buy new: $17.99 / Used from: $3.99 I've never seen anything like this on film. Surprised that it worked, but it did - and really well.
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 | The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place by Explosions in the Sky
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $9.88 They construct their music like it is a symphony, and it is! The title is fitting.
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 | The Forgotten Arm by Aimee Mann
Buy new: $10.99 / Used from: $3.93 The best song on this is "Little Bombs". So good. Mann reminds me of John Donne. A master of conceits.
The thing about Aimee Mann is that she is really really smart. And really really beautiful. And really really underappreciated. And really in touch with her feelings, and really not afraid to show them...
And really much better than the fools she falls for.
-- Oh yes, and really interesting.
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 | The Good Girl
Buy new: $8.49 / Used from: $0.30 Jen's character in this movie is touching enough to quote. Who would have thought she could deliver that kind of performance? This was totally her movie. Jake et al did a great job as supporting cast.
(And I hear from the latest edition of Star magizine that Jen and Jake G. might become an item, in real life. That would be excellent.)
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 | Kurt and Courtney
Buy used from: $8.38 This movie ended up making Courtney Love look really smart. The director was a skeeze, and what a shoddy conspiracy theory - but Courtney looked like a million bucks. The movie also had some touching scenes of Kurt.
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 | Swimming
Buy used from: $6.95 Characters set in an interesting context. Like the soundtrack. Lauren Ambrose is good. Some nice subtle touches make it an intriguing film.
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 | Suttree by Cormac Mccarthy
Buy new: $10.17 / Used from: $7.72 A book about the city where I now live. Paints a rough and tumble image of Knoxville, TN. Neat to read. Knoxville isn't just a church town, that's for sure. Author won this year's Pulitzer.
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 | I'm with Stupid by Aimee Mann
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $3.54 The second best Mann album, also the most alterno. Despite the trite plastic doll shot on the packaging, the work is suberb! This was the album that solidified Mann's reputation as a brilliant lyrisist, and musically, it's the best - great backing arrangements. Top picks: I'm With Stupid, Ray, It's Not Safe, It's All Over Now.
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 | Lost in Space by Aimee Mann
Mann's best, and one of my favorties ever. Just relentless, relentless honesty. Some criticize that it's "a downer". Well when you are at rock bottom, life really is a downer! That's where Mann is coming from. She is so good that she can sing about self-loathing and actually convince us that it is a thing to be appreciated. A beautiful work from a beautiful artist.
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 | Whatever by Aimee Mann
Buy new: $8.99 / Used from: $3.48 Didn't think it would be that good because it is such an early work of hers. I was wrong. Great songs such as "Mr. Harris" and "I Know There's a Word" prove that even in 1993, Mann was brillant. A few songs are a little under-developed, and occasionally, the phrasing is awkward. But all it all, it's wonderful.
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 | Bachelor No. 2 by Aimee Mann
Buy new: $10.99 / Used from: $3.87 Some good songs with nice sounds, but cohesiveness is lacking. I'd say it is because of the chaos with her record companies during the production. Some excellent singles on the album like: "Red Vines" and my personal favorite, "Losing Your Atmosphere". "Deathly" is lyrically strong, but its beat is redundant.
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 | Mel Gibson's Apocalypto (Widescreen Edition)
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $4.00 Hollywood conservatives fascinate me, none more so than Mel Gibson. Got to hand it to him - he does do provocative work. Apocalypto is his best - a thoroughly rivetting movie that is really just about perfect for what it is (The Platonic idea of a "historical" action adventure movie.) The climax is stunning.
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 | The Painted Veil
Buy new: $13.49 / Used from: $6.04 One word: Beautiful.
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 | The Painted Veil
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $11.65 The soundtrack is as lush as the movie itself.
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 | Sicko (Special Edition)
Buy new: $3.99 / Used from: $4.61 Truth we all need to hear. Americans need to re-gain the ability to care about one another. It is good that Moore reminds us of that in Sicko.
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![Maria Schneider - Sky Blue [Standard Edition] CD -(Wallet style packaging with one booklet)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5153YkJEhTL._SL75_.jpg) | Maria Schneider - Sky Blue [Standard Edition] CD -(Wallet style packaging with one booklet) by Maria Schneider
There was something about driving through Vestal in south Knoxville at sundown and hearing "the Pretty Road" on the radio that struck me with one of those "Oh yeah, life really is beautiful" feelings. Even without Vestal, the first song on this album is interesting and uplifting to hear.
But Vestal and the sun set made it even better.
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![No Country for Old Men [Theatrical Release]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51yA-QP9J9L._SL75_.jpg) | No Country for Old Men [Theatrical Release]
***Spoiler alert (kind of)***One of the best movies this year. What I like about it is how the main character, played by the always stellar Tommy Lee Jones, is really bothered by violence without consequence. But Kellie MacDonald steals the best line of the movie: "The coin has nothing to do with it; it's just you." Whew. Now that's what I call philosophy.
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