G DeG follows up his impressive debut Chariot with an equally impressive self-titled sophomore recording, Gavin DeGraw. Hooky goodness.

All it took was hearing the first few bars of the first track of her CD, Little Voice, on a TV commercial to know that I needed to own it.

Again, the power of TV. Coco is a solid CD, and "Bubbly," heard on another TV commercial, is irresistible.

I'm still digging this guy. My new favorite CD is Subtitulo, but there's an even newer release: Country Mouse, City House.

Great sound, surprising songwriting, wholly original. She has quickly risen to the top of my playlist, and I think she's going to be there awhile. At first, I was obsessed with her third CD, Begin to Hope, but I've switched my attention to her first 11:11 and second Soviet Kitsch. They're rougher, looser, and more daring, and I'm completely smitten.

My friend and Northwestern classmate, Karen Schiff, has co-created this groovy, new website that tracks discounts and bargains from "green" and eco-friendly businesses. Check it out!

If you're a musical theatre performer, then you are probably faced with the challenge of learning new music for auditions with little preparation time. What Tom Griep offers (for a quite reasonable price) is an audio track of the piano accompaniment, with or without melody. It all happens electronically - email or fax him the music, and he will email you back an mp3 with whatever you need to get your work done. What a great service! Tell him I sent you.

This is the kind of page that makes me really appreciate the internet! Here is a list of many phone numbers and shortcuts to use when you're calling your bank/insurance/cable/shipping/travel/telephone/etc. company and you want to skip right to the live agent. Hallelujah!

This company, a presence in most major cities internationally, offers courses in how to be the most powerful, self-expressed, happiest you you can be. I've taken several courses there, and without exception, they've been immensely valuable. The prerequisite course, The Landmark Forum, is a not-so-distant relative to the EST Training. Rest assured, you can go to the bathroom now. This course starts on a Friday morning and goes from 9AM until 11PM or midnight every day until Sunday night, with a final session on Tuesday night. Sounds like a lot of time, but after you've done it, you'll be amazed how much they were able to squeeze in so quickly. I can't recommend this course highly enough. If you go, let me know - I'd love to hear what you got out of it!

Want to drop those extra five or ten pounds, but haven't been able to? Or maybe it's more like 20 or 50.... When I hit 200 lbs. a few years ago, I knew something had to change, so I joined Weight Watchers, and it works!! If you do what they tell you to do, you will get results! And you don't have to buy any special food or products. It's a lot about weighing food and knowing the nutritional content of everything you're putting into your mouth. I suggest attending the meetings. For me, it was a big part of the process. I hit my goal weight of 180 in a matter of months, and I've been a lifetime member ever since, weighing in once a month, safely under 180.