(Photo: Peggy Noonan)

Here are some my favorite American journalists who rarely fail to amaze me with their wit and erudition, powerful prose, and clarity of thought.

Peggy Noonan

She writes for the Wall Street Journal. Her Friday columns is a must reading for me. She used to be Ronald Reagan’s speechwriter. A devout Catholic and a committed Republican that I trust, despite the fact that I’m neither.

Her recent comments on Hillary Clinton’s turbulent candidacy should be enough to give you a sense of her depth and brilliance as a political commentator:

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Popularity: 21% [?]

The Kingdom is one of those movies that require a hush as the credits roll. No conversations. No cheap comments about how good the movie was. Just silent contemplation. The value of life. How quickly it dissipates. How easily a new generation of hate grows to replace the old. Just a few, simple words, spoken at a time of great loss. "Don't fear them, my child. We are going to kill them all."

Those haunting last words as the film closes on the face of a boy destined to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather. And as the credits roll, you experience an impending sense of doom that can only come from seeing the innocent face of a future enemy. 

Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper and Jennifer Garner all delivered believable performances. The real gems of this film were Ashraf Barhom and Ali Suliman. As Saudi policemen, they evoked deeply exotic mysteries about Saudi culture, thought, belief, and reality.

As a whole, the film was well shot. The settings were dusty and frightening… mission accomplished. We Americans know next to nothing about Middle Eastern culture. We are both wooed and terrified of it. And in the end, both sides respond to killing with a vow to kill. The bloodshed will not cease. Of this we can be certain. And we can grieve.

It tells the tale of a story bigger than us. Bigger than our selfishness or desire for creature comforts. We are invited to despise ourselves just a little over how easy life can be in America… and how sheltered we are from the rest of the world. 

If you have a problem with seeing people get shot, this isn't for you. Otherwise, you probably should not miss this film. And while you watch it, ask yourself whether you understand these people well enough to judge them. Ask yourself if maybe a six month visit and immersion in their culture wouldn't serve to show you that there is more than one way to look at life. 

Popularity: 4% [?]

Before the wife fell asleep Friday night, we rented Knocked Up from Family Video (oh, the irony) and gave it a whirl. I'd been warned by a MySpace friend about the vulgar content, but was also told that it was very funny and entertaining if one can get beyond the vulgarity. 

Let's evaluate the pros and the cons of this film.

Cons: Way too many boobies here, man. Seriously. I can't do the nudity thing, and I don't need to hear everyone tell everyone else to go frack themselves. The guys are morons, and their lives revolve around pot and porn. Probably very accurate for some percentage of the male American population, but still not worth exposing one's self to.

Pros: Ben is a typical immature pothead. Despite his complete lack of maturity, he makes some good decisions long-term after a casual sexual encounter leads to a pregnancy. He has no clue what it means to support a woman through pregnancy. But an emotional break-up serves as a wake up call to take fatherhood seriously and he begins making necessary changes to embrace the role he will soon find himself in.

This was a hugely popular film in the box office. Oddly enough, I'm glad for that. There are thousands of men out there who may identify with Ben on some level. These men need to see a man not too different from themselves stand up and be a real father and not treat parenthood as an afterthought. The trimmings were obscene, as I've already mentioned, and I can't approve of the nudity or excessive crass sexual banter. 

Verdict: Don't waste your time on this movie. You probably already know that a father's job is to be emotionally and physically present. You don't need a sexually tacky film to teach you this. And if you do, you're probably not the type of person to be reading this. 

Popularity: 3% [?]

You'll have to bear with me. I don't go to theaters often. This film, The Invisible, is out on DVD already, so many of you have already seen it. The film stars Justin Chatwin and Margarita Levieva. I was drawn in and intrigued by the movie trailer some time ago. My pregnant wife surprisingly picked a non-romantic comedy for our Friday night flick. So we sat down on the couch and watched The Invisible.

You have to make it past the first half hour of this film. It starts off interestingly enough, but then seems to become very predictable for a good ten to fifteen minutes. My excitement and interest dimmed noticeably at that point. 

If for no other reason, see this film and focus on Annie (Levieva). Annie is a teenage criminal. She's so tough she picks on boys like it's nothing. She steals, bullies, threatens, and eventually kills. What I love about her character is that we see someone who commits the most heinous offense known to man - murder. She nearly kills Nick (Chatwin) with her unchecked aggression. 

Nick is undead. He is nearly dead. And he follows Annie around, trying to get someone to solve his near murder and save him before he dies for real. He is invisible to the world around him. And yet, Annie hears his voice inside her mind.

But the real gem of the story come from following Annie and seeing her as a person. It is our typical response to vilify murderers as inhuman beasts or monsters. We want to classify them this way, because we need to believe that murderers are different than us. We need to know that we could not murder. So we hate and mock and call down damnation upon the guilty in order to spread wide the gulf between us and the heinous beasts that can choose to commit so horrible an act. 

Nick can't see Annie as anything but a murderer until he sees her love her little brother. We are forced to consider what if other people are like this. What if everyone guilty of a crime still has loyal, noble love for someone somewhere? What do we do then?

By the end of this film, Annie is the heroine. We want her to succeed. We realize that she is more a victim of a broken home and wrong choices than of being an other-than-human beast. She is very human, and even beautiful, when she takes the hooded sweatshirt off and uncovers her hair.

Nick looks upon his would-be killer and sees a beautiful young woman. He is spellbound. She is more than thug. She is more than an animal. She is more than just "broken". She is a person, desperate for something good.

It is a beautiful sub-plot within the story. It IS the story, as far as I'm concerned. I won't tell you the ending, in case you still want to see the film. But the deepest feeling comes from knowing that she's in a spot she doesn't know how to get out of, but her heart can be softened and she probably would have lived a better life given the chance.

See this film. See it, and realize that there is beauty in every human heart. Even if you can't see it.  

Popularity: 3% [?]

Linkin Park received both praise and heavy criticism for their latest effort, Minutes to Midnight. I'll be the first to admit that I was disappointed when I realized that the days of rock/rap were over for the hugely popular band. Of course, any time you take the world by storm, there will always come a time when the excitement and newness fades. 

Like all bands, Linkin Park is looking for that way to combine the exploration of artistic expression with a renewed relevance to contemporary culture. The result was Minutes to Midnight, a surprising mix of styles and genres that both reward and disappoint the listener simultaneously.

Is the new album worth a listen? Sure. Is it worth a purchase? Can't say for sure. Fans will surely be divided on this one. If you demand the combination of rage and heartbreaking vulnerability, you will be disappointed. If you feel a kinship with the band based on the past and you're willing to evolve alongside the band, you may be pleasantly surprised. 

If music is an expression of life, Minutes to Midnight expresses a growth within the band, though perhaps a growth that is still fumbling to find a solid identity post-trauma. Bands like Linkin Park, Nine Inch Nails, and Korn, though all very different in style, all made it big through the combination of expressing their personal traumas with an unusual vulnerability. The measure of continued success, however, depends somewhat on the artists' ability to grow both as people and as musicians. 

Trent Reznor has lost fan base because people tend to grow up. They mature, God willing, and leave behind them some of their childish rantings. One would hope that people eventually come to terms with their wounds and traumas and find the ability to forgive and move on. Artists who stay locked into a perpetual irresponsible youth phase lose their fan base to maturity and tend to find themselves somewhat irrelevant to the next generation.

Linkin Park shows us that they are willing to grow and to change. They still have good music, so we can't throw them out simply because they didn't provide us with another In the End or Papercut.  

Those of you whose Linkin Park experience is incomplete without a good scream will still have a little juice through songs No More Sorrow and Given Up. If you want a little Limp Bizkit feel, check out the Hands Held High and Bleed It Out. Of course, What I've Done is already a hit on the radio and several movie soundtracks.

For the more melodic side, check out Shadow of the Day,  The Little Things You Give Away, and Valentine's Day. Linkin Park is more political here, referencing the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the War in Iraq. Regardless of their point of view, it's refreshing to see that they can look beyond their own hurt and engage the world around them. 

Minutes to Midnight is worth listening to. It currently graces my list of top ten albums of the year thus far.  

Popularity: 7% [?]

The Kite Runner is the first novel by Khaled Hosseini, a surprising fact considering the masterful way in which this novel has been crafted.  Although Hosseini now resides in California, he spent his childhood in Afghanistan, which lends authenticity to his work.  The Kite Runner is a study in contrasts. It graphically depicts life in Afghanistan during the monarchy and then after the revolution when the Taliban takes control.  The compelling themes of cowardice versus courage, betrayal versus loyalty, discrimination versus privilege, and guilt versus redemption make this book appealing to adults everywhere.

Amir, a native Afghani, is the narrator of the story. Hassan, the son of a servant and social outcast, is Amir’s friend.  Together they spend their days outdoors playing games, telling stories, and even flying kites.  When Hassan helps Amir win a kite-flying contest, Amir hopes that the win will finally gain his father’s approval.  Then he discovers Hassan in an alley suffering abuse at the hands of several racists who want to steal the kite.  Hassan protects the kite for his friend, but Amir runs away in cowardice neglecting his friend to save the kite. When guilt consumes him, Amir shuts Hassan out of his life.  Amir and his father relocate to California, giving Amir a new start.  However, his guilt continues to haunt him. 

Years later, after graduating from college and getting married, Amir is called back to Afghanistan by an old family friend.  The man tells him that Hassan was actually his half-brother, and that Hassan and his wife were shot in the street by the Taliban.  Hassan’s son Sohrab was sent off to an orphanage and then taken prisoner by the same man that had tortured Hassan in the alley many years ago - the day that Amir betrayed him.  Amir takes the opportunity to redeem himself by risking his life to save Hassan’s son.  And Hassan’s son becomes his son.

There are few books that exist that cause you to change as you read them.  You see the world differently.  You have a better understanding of love and forgiveness.  You realize more clearly how your actions affect other people.  This is one of those books.

This book evokes feelings of empathy towards both main characters, which is remarkable considering their contrasting natures.  Hosseini has done an excellent job of developing the characters and story line. After reading the first line, I was hooked.  Hosseini begins the book with Amir as an older man stating, “I became what I am today at the age of twelve.” The flashback adds interest to the story.

My concern was that this novel would have some type of political agenda, but that was not the case.  The political climate of the country was stated as fact and used merely to show contrast and to establish the setting.  Native phrases are used throughout the book, but most are defined or explained by the context.

This book is beneficial because it forces the reader to face difficult topics such as racism, cruelty, and guilt.  But rather than being just another tragic tale, a feeling of hope remains.  Hassan is able to overcome the blights of abuse and betrayal, yet still remain constant and forgiving.  Amir triumphs over fear and guilt, proving himself worthy and honorable. This book was so impacting and poignant that it will be forever imprinted upon my soul.  And through love, forgiveness, and redemption we find that, as Hosseini implies, “there is a way to be good again.”

Popularity: 4% [?]

Gail Fraser's second novel in the Lumby series, Stealing Lumby, is a refreshing change of pace from the original storyline provided in The Lumby Lines. The first story took a good 40 pages or more to set the stage before the reader ever discerns who the main characters are. 

Stealing Lumby jumps right into the action as one of the nation's prized landscape painting, The Barns of Lumby, is stolen from a New York museum, drawing much unwanted attention to the little town where the painting was created. Strange things happen (strange even for Lumby) in the town as it appears that someone is attempting to sabotage one woman's financial future and sense of well being, and she just happens to be the woman who owns the barns that were the inspiration and subject of the stolen painting.

Main characters Mark, Pam, Brooke, Joshua, Brother Matthew, and Hank the flamingo return as the story turns and focuses more on Katie (owner of the barns), Adam Massey (writer/reporter assigned the task of completing an unfinished biography on the famous painter), and Dana Porter (artist who painted The Barns of Lumby some 40 years prior).

The Lumby series thus far has some solid strengths and some unfortunate weaknesses. Strengths revolve around creation of a solid metanarrative and several clever subnarratives that all fit perfectly together. The reader is inevitably impressed by the creativity necessary to create a small town with so many amusing quirks. The quirky events and personality of Lumby are fluid and well fitting, avoiding any sense of artificiality which one might expect from the invention of a realistic town as strange as this one.

The back story of Charlotte and Dana Porter, as told by Charlotte to Katie, gives the reader a solid sense of the connection between artist and town. Sentimental reminiscing effectively builds a sense of historical reality to the story. 

The novel's greatest weakness, as with The Lumby Lines, lies within the dialogue. Every reader won't share this critique, which is why I mention it last. One of the most entertaining and realism enhancing potentials in any given novel is the dialogue. Where the narrative can work overtime to provide enough backdrop and historical significance to set the scene, carefully crafted dialogue can paint a vivid picture in the mind of the reader.

The characters in the Lumby series lack unique voices. Everyone responds to various situations with very unnatural language - much more formal, educated, and literary than any small town uses that I've ever heard of. I expected country colloquialisms, slang, and unique word choices to come from the mouths of various characters, based on their backgrounds. Dana should speak differently than Simon. Mark should speak differently than Dennis. Pam should speak differently than Katie. Everyone shouldn't be using the same diction palette. 

The storyline is worth reading. But the satisfaction level is sub par because most everyone sounds the same. If these books were revised and the characters each given unique sayings, slang terms, and responses to situations, this series could have won awards. 

But don't take my word for it. Pick up a copy of The Lumby Lines today and look for Stealing Lumby soon. 

Stealing Lumby is scheduled to hit the shelves in September 2007. 

Popularity: 4% [?]

The book is The Lumby Lines, by Gail Fraser. Fraser manages to appeal to both Baby Boomers and Gen Y simultaneously. The first novel of the series is crafted to be hip enough to engage the young and cultured enough to engage the old.

My one and only complaint revolves around the opening of the book. The first sentence made me wish I was reading something else. It wasn't until the last sentence of the paragraph that I rested easier knowing that someone in the story used the Internet. My chief concern was that this might be some sort of Little House on the Praire or Anne of Green Gables knock off, where the plot is so sterile and "wholesome" that you can't help but feel toxic from all the unrealistic purity. 

That was not a problem here, though The Lumby Lines is definitely a family friendly tale. Focus on the Family types would give Lumby kudos for creating an engaging story without relying on the sensationalism of most contemporary mass market paperbacks. But unlike most "family friendly" novels, Lumby is full of believable (though somewhat odd) characters.

You know how they say that the difference between crazy and eccentric is a million dollars? Well, in this instance, it is humor that forges the distance. Lumby is a comfortable blend of bizarre and small town. The citizens of Lumby are just normal enough to make their oddities pass as quirks. You don't always see the characters' quirkiness in their day to day interactions. But each printing of the local newspaper, The Lumby Lines, provides the Sheriff's Complaints - a daily list of bizarre calls, accidents, complaints, and incidents dealt with by the local Sheriff. 

Lumby is a town where the news consists of the most irregular accidents and teenage vandalism. The artificial pink flamingo, Hank, is one of the town's most popular celebrities. Animals are forever causing havoc and traffic accidents and such. Someone is painting the town's mailboxes lime green in the night hours. The mayor is a dog. Goats are locked up in the bank vault. Very little about this town would be deemed "normal". 

When outsiders Mark and Pam decide to turn Montis Abbey into Montis Inn, they cause an uproar among the townsfolk as everyone takes sides over whether the new neighbors are a good thing or bad. What ensues is a relaxing, entertaining tale of growth and discovery. 

It remains to be seen how Fraser will expand character development throughout the series. Part of the charm of The Lumby Lines is found in the discovery of such a quaint and quirky little town. In order to keep up a loyal fan base, each novel to come must build on the characters and story lines begun here without the aid of that first impression. 

Overall, The Lumby Lines was a refreshing read. Unlike most books I have read since college, I felt more in tune with nature, culture, and the human condition for reading it. Without becoming overly serious, Fraser reminds the reader that the world is full of much more wonder and simple pleasures than can be contained in this concrete jungle we call "city life." If I were to summarize the book in one phrase, it would be "simple pleasures." While the story has many admirable traits, the most beneficial to me is the focus placed on simple, natural pleasures like ancient architecture, scenic landscapes, a good wine, and close friends.   

Popularity: 4% [?]

Despite the fact that my wife refuses to acknowledge her greatness, Dolores O'Riordan is, in my opinion, one of the top 5 best female singers in popular music today. After five amazing albums as the lead singer of The Cranberries, O'Riordan took a few years to relax at her home in Canada.

Now she's back with a vengeance! Her new album, Are You Listening? is incredible! Of course, I'm such a huge fan that it would be difficult for me to not love it. I expect "In the Garden" to be one of the biggest hits on the album. It's upbeat, without sounding a thing like "Zombie" or "Salvation". There's more heartfelt angst involved here. "Human Spirit" is my favorite track. The intro piano and flute give it a different feel than the typical Cranberries song.

Of course, once she starts singing, O'Riordan's sound is impossible to miss. The chorus sounds more like the band we're all familiar with. "Loser brings me back to the feel of my favorite Cranberries songs. "Black Widow" bears a very listless intro, with a whispering quality to her voice, which somehow evokes images of Gibson's Hamlet in my mind. Perhaps there's a bit of Ophelia in this song.

And if you ever wondered what a hybrid of O'Riordan and Mazzy Star would sound like, check out "Ecstasy". It's still distinctly O'Riordan, with a breathy, husky quality that somehow reminds me of Star. It's a solid album, for sure. Check it out on iTunes today! Show her some love!

Popularity: 6% [?]