Topic: Arts & Literature

Kenneth Little Hawk has a new CD, and a new DVD, of inspirational and healing music.

Millions have heard the Native American flute music of Kenneth Little Hawk through his recordings, films, and live performances. His Native flute sound can be heard in the award-winning films Lewis & Clark and The West, directed by the highly acclaimed director Ken Burns. Little Hawk has performed with many world class musicians, including the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra and the Westchester Philharmonic. He has also recorded 5 albums over the past 10 years and is known for spreading his message of harmony throughout the world. Over the years, he has performed at distinguished venues such as Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the National Theatre and the American Museum of Natural History. In 1998, he was invited to meet President Clinton at the White House for a special screening of Lewis & Clark and performed in the East Wing.

Twentysomethings on the Road to Self-Improvement My Reality Check Bounced by Jason Ryan Dorsey Broadway Books 236 pages Reviewed by Christine Hall

Most of the self-help motivational books I see are aimed at the midlife crowd – the folks who wake up one morning in crisis and realize that a lifetime of faulty decisions have come to roost and that they have made a mess of their lives. Life coach Jason Ryan Dorsey has chosen to take a different approach, aiming his book, My Reality Check Bounced, at young adults in their twenties, the fresh scrubbed and wide eyed who are just out of college , or even still going to school. He offers advice that promises to help them to turn their lives around before years of bad habits can make things seem hopeless.

During the waning years of the Ford administration, a rather unlikely alliance was struck-up between an American, an Iranian and an Afghani. The place of this chance encounter was at the front desk of the Hotel de Mines, where the two Asians were desperate to communicate with the clerk who spoke only French. The American, David Thompson, translated for them and the three become fast friends.

Celebrities die in threes. Everybody’s heard that and some people believe it wholeheartedly. Most of us believe it enough that when we hear of the death of a famous person, we start the counter running and wonder who will be numbers two and three. As an alternative type, I would like to believe that this superstition is true, but experience has taught me that sometimes the great die alone or in pairs. When they do fall as a trio, the superstitious side of me pats myself on the back smugly. Often, the congratulation is too soon. Sometimes celebrities die in fours.

J. Vaughn Boone is a bone-fide national treasure, although I am certain that he would be very uncomfortable with that designation. You see, like many people whose roots spring from southern soil, he’s as humble as apple pie and as unassuming as a home grown tomato. To hear him tell it, he’s just a simple country boy who’s been lucky enough to witness many miracles. That he played a part in the creation of these miracles is beside the point. According to him, he was only fortunate enough to often be a conduit for God’s energy.

There's probably not an area in the New Age arena that's more overpopulated than the world of New Age music. Each month it seems that hundreds of new titles are released by the many small independent labels that seek to serve the New Age community. Like everything else in the world, some of these releases are very good, some are just so-so and others are downright horrible. Unfortunately, when it comes to New Age music, most CDs fall in to the later category.

These days, the shelves at bookstores are filled with self-help books. It seems that everybody who's ever overcome a personal obstacle is writing a book that promises the reader answers to all of life's ills. “If you only do what I have done,” these writers say, “you too can become healthy and whole.” A few of these books are very good, offering workable solutions to a host of problems that people may face. Some are downright bad, offering solutions that not only won't work, but might be dangerous to boot. Most, however, are simply ineffective, incomplete and unnecessary.

And now there are two; only Paul and Ringo remain. There is no longer any question about a Beatles reunion for there is no longer a quorum. There’s only a couple of guys named Paul and Ringo who used to play in the same band that just happened to be the most important group from the rock era. Not that a reunion was even possible, mind you. As George himself once remarked, there could be no reunion as long as John Lennon remained dead.

Life is full of little ironies. For instance, perhaps the biggest mystery about life is death, which most of us perceive as being the opposite of life. But is death really the end, or merely the gateway to a new beginning and a new life? Nobody knows for sure what happens to us after we’re planted in the ground or incinerated atop a funeral pyre. In the west, most of us try not to think about it too much.

A Simple Cure For What's "Eating Us" The Simplest Path, Step One: Free Your Mind by Vincent Casspriano, Jr. New Paradigm Press 260 Pages Reviewed by Adam Clark

I considered titling this review, "Stop Whining, Wake Up and Get Busy Saving the World," but decided "Eating Us" would be more attention-grabbing – which matters because I believe Vincent Casspriano, Jr.'s The Simplest Path, Step One: Free Your Mind is an important book, and I want to do whatever I can to draw your attention to it. Pick the title you like best. Both very fittingly describe what you will find within the pages of this remarkable new release from New Paradigm Press.