this book had facts that i never knew about Leo befor

This is a wonderful book!!! I recemend this book to anyone who LOVES-juicy facts,Titanic,Leo,and more!!! It's filled with great colored pictures and fun facts!!! Get this book right away!!!!!!!!!

this book has it all!! rumors, facts, bio of leo, well the whole is like a bio with all this other stuff mixed in with it, its just soooooooooo well written,i have all of leos books, cause i'm his #1 fan!!! always and forever. but yes its a great book, and you have to read it! =)

I started listening to the audio tape some time ago in the car, and was initially somewhat ambivalent about the program. However, within fifteen minutes, I was thoroughly engaged, and fifteen minutes after that, wiping held-back tears from the corners of my eyes, wondering if "Nathaniel" (as in Hale) would be a good name for my future son.

Our forefathers, with courage and genius, created the most immitated society the world has ever known. How proud and fortunate this audio book makes one feel. I'm committed to listening to it with my teenage nieces and nephews on a "captive" drive sometime. It'll be a great topic for discussion.

This book was a gift from my uncle, and one that I was thrilled to receive. I have a passion for learning about the Founders and the War that defined the way we live today. The author brings out the best quotes, poems, and letters from the most influential men in American history. Their level of devotion is unparalleled throughout the world. I find it most admirable that these men relied on God for their wisdom and through prayer and faith they pledged their "sacred honor" to the cause. I am only a high school student, but I understand that these values apply to everyone in every class. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for God or guidance.

Our form of government has been the most lasting, widespread innovation in modern history. As wonderful as that is, in many ways it is even more wonderful to return to the frame of mind and the values that engendered this invention.

Although (as Bill Bennett rightly points out) our founding Fathers (and Mothers) often fell far short of their own ideals and were profoundly skeptical about the potential of people to do the right thing, they also aspired to a kind of virtue on Earth that combined true nobility of spirit and deed with good relations towards others.

Bennett has put these ideals into the following categories: patriotism and courage; love and courtship; civility and friendship; education of the head and heart; industry and frugality; justice; and piety. You can dip your inquisitive toe into any of these, whenever you want. .... I suggest that in addition to buying a copy for yourself, that you plan to give this book as a gift to your children and grandchildren as they reach the age when they will begin to make important moral choices for themselves. .... In most cases, I felt like the material here was stating timeless principles that do apply today ....

Bennett does a nice job as editor in explaining the context of each passage. His love of these people, these ideals, and these words is obvious. It will move you. And hopefully inspire you to follow the good advice in those words.

Nicely done, Bill Bennett! This is a good use of history . . . to help us learn not to repeat the mistakes of the past needlessly.

CORRECTED REVEIW:

DEEP COMMUNITY by Scott Alarik
July 15, 2003

Reviewer: Susan E. Naiman-Pascar (see more about me) from Lynn, MA United States
"Deep Community," authored by Scott Alarik, is an incredibly insightful, exquisitely written and well put-together book, a patchwork quilt woven of stories and reviews about the modern folk genre and the music that comes out of a music community segregated (Thank goodness!) from the mainstream of the pop music culture. It has always been so, and as most mainstream music trends have been born and died, folkmusic stays ever-bouyant and followed by its loyal fans. It has evolved to include ancient, traditional, topical, blues, and merging new styles of music such as "Afro-Celtic." "Deep Community" is a DEEP examination and look inside the hearts and minds of the artists, songwriters, singers and musicians who create this music and perform it.
I have been a "folkie" since I attended my first Newport Folk Festival in the summer of 1963, entered art school in Boston that same September and Harvard Square became my "hangout." I became a member of Club 47 on Palmer Street just outside the Square and was a regular attendee every Friday and Saturday night until the club closed its doors in October of 1968. The club opened again a few years later, has changed hands several times and is presently a strong and ongoing folk establishment now known as Club Passim.
Once again I am proud to be a member and recently attended a book release and music night the club hosted for Scott's book. Present were Ellis Paul, Vance Gilbert, Robbie O'Connell, Catie Curtis, Aoife O'Donovan and Aine Minogue. To start off the evening, and between the two sets by all of the performers, Scott read exerpts about each one from his book. It has to be one of the best evenings of folkmusic I've ever attended.
Like that evening, "Deep Community" is a collection of reviews I've been reading for many years from Scott's career as Boston Globe's folk critic. The artists run the genres from Pete Seeger, Tom Rush, Judy Collins, Bill Morrissey, Joan Baez and Utah Phillips to newer and younger artists such as Ellis Paul, Vance Gilbert, Dar Williams, John Gorka, Eddie from Ohio, Christine Lavin, Richard Shindell, Patty Larkin, Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, just to name a few.
Aside from Scott's individual, truthful, creative and unrepetitious reviews, the artists' thoughts and feelings about their reasons for being folk performers, their love of the music, and their dedication to preserving and keeping folkmusic alive are interspersed throughout the book. The book is written from Scott's own experience as a folk performer and his perspective as a gifted writer. I don't want to say too many specifics or make too many references because I want you to buy the book, read it for yourself, and see why it should be an important and integral part of your folk library.
Along with Paul Stookey's and Geoff Bartley's reviews, and artists I've personally had the good fortune with whom to discuss Scott's book, I feel there isn't enough to be said about what a folk masterpiece and fitting tribute "Deep Community" is to a medium I hold passionately to my heart and to the man who wrote it. Thank you, Scott!!!

PS.....By the way, Scott is also a talented and diversified singer/songwriter and musician in his own right. If you have a chance and he's playing in your area, be sure to catch his show. Though he often performs on his own, he also has a wonderful and unselfish habit of doing shows that showcase and expose to us folk fans several new and gifted performers on stage within one evening's entertainment.

"Deep Community", authored by Soctt Alarik,is an incredibly insightful,exquisitely written and well put-together book, a patchwork quilt woven of stories and reviews about the modern folk genre and the music that comes out of a music community segregated (Thank goodness!)from the mainstream of the pop music culture. It has always been so, and as most mainstream music trends have been born and died, folkmusic stays ever-bouyant and followed by its loyal fans. It has evolved to include ancient, traditional, topical, blues, and merging new styles of music such as "Afro-Celtic." "Deep Community" is a DEEP examination and look inside the hearts and minds of the artists, songwriters, singers and musicians who create this music and perform it.
I have been a "folkie" since I attended my first Newport Folk Festival in the summer of 1963, entered art school in Boston that same September and Harvard Square became my "hang-out". I became a member of Club 47 on Palmer Street just outside the Square and was a regular attendee every Friday and Saturday night until the club closed its doors in October of 1968. Once again I am a member of this strong and on-going folk establishment, now known as Club Passim, that recently hosted a book release and music night for Scott's book.
Present were Ellis Paul, Vance Gilbert, Robbie O'Connell,Catie Curtis,Aoife O'Donovan and Aine Minogue. To start off the evening, and between the two sets by all of the performers, Scott read exerpts about each one from his book. It has to be one of the best evenings of folkmusic I've ever attended. Like that evening, "Deep Community" is a collection of reviews from Scott's career as Boston Globe's folk crtic. The artists run the genres from Pete Seeger, Tom Rush, Judy Collins, Bill Morrissey, Joan Baez and Utah Phillips to newer and younger artists such as Ellis Paul, Vance Gilbert, Dar Williams, John Gorka,Eddie from Ohio, Christine Lavin,Richard Shindell, Patty Larkin, Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, to name a few.
Aside from Scott's individual, truthful, creative and unrepetitious reviews, the artists' thoughts and feelings about their reasons for being folk performers, their love of the music, and their dedication to preserving and keeping folkmusic alive are interspersed throughout the book. I don't want to say too many specifics or make to many references because I want you to buy the book, read it for yourself, and see why it should be an important and integral part of your folk library.
Along with Paul Stookey, Geoff Bartley, and other artists I've had the good fortune with whom to discuss Scott's book, I feel there isn't enough to be said about what a folk masterpiece and fitting tribute "Deep Community" is to a medium I hold passionately to my heart and to the man who wrote it. Thank you, Scott!

BOOK REVIEW

Collection gives voice to folk performers

By Noel Paul Stookey -- The Boston Globe -- 7/9/2003

Tom Paxton tells a joke about a folk musician who has just won a million
dollars in the lottery. ''What are ya gonna do now?'' he's asked by a friend.
''Oh, I guess I'll just keep playin' folk music till the money runs out'' is his
reply.

The bittersweet truth behind the humor is two-part: In the main, folk
musicians are generally underappreciated, underpaid, and overworked. ''Old folk
singers never die,'' goes the paraphrased old saw, ''they just do benefits.'' The
occasional few whose income is sufficient to support spouses, families, and
even homes that are not on wheels do so barely, and usually by some combination
of performances, CD sales, and, if they're fortunate, the royalties from one of
their songs recorded by a better-known artist.

But the central humor of Paxton's story is the genuine helplessness with
which the singer surrenders to the notion that he's just fine with going broke as
long as he can continue performing on the folk circuit.
The fact is: Like life, a successful career in folk music is not about the
money.

When a book like Scott Alarik's ''Deep Community'' appears in the
21st-century marketplace, one can't help but be curious about the relevance of the topic
now that the commonly recognized ''golden years'' of the folk movement have
passed.

The answer to that question, captured kaleidoscopically in this collection of
articles and interviews, is that folk music is still very much alive, in the
hearts and often in living rooms of fans throughout the country.
In the author's own words, ''No modern music form has suffered more than folk
from the fickle, careless, often bullying whims of our increasingly
corporatized pop culture, and yet no form has prospered more by finding new,
adventurous and profoundly human ways to grow through the cracks of that culture.''
There are well over 100 personalities queried and quoted (alas, not indexed)
in this 401-page book, augmented by the black-and-white photographs of Robert
Corwin, heir apparent to early folk photographer Jim Marshall. Alarik explains
in his introduction that the reason more artists are not present is due to
the fact that the chapters are actually drawn from articles previously published
by The Boston Globe and Sing Out! and written primarily about those passing
through the Boston folk scene since 1990.

Among those interviewed, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Emmylou Harris, Paxton, and
Pete Seeger would probably not be considered by most as part of the
''modern'' folk underground, but their inclusion gives a historic touchstone to the
newer arrivals to the scene.

The performers often speak of how their lives have been touched and directed
by both the medium and the former messengers. Rosalie Sorrels underscores
Malvina Reynolds's important threefold contribution to the awareness of ''the
environment, feminism and homelessness,'' and in an interview written in autumn
2001, Bill Morrissey reveals his early road map to the folk root: ''I had to go
through Peter, Paul and Mary to get to Dylan to get to Ramblin' Jack Elliott
to get to Woody [Guthrie].'' While most of the participants in the book speak
about turning the road into a life, this reviewer was particularly touched by
the interview with Greg Brown, who, like Garnet Rogers, finds himself trying to
reduce the number of his concert commitments, evolving from road warrior into
family man.

Alarik's writings are casually engaging and respectful of the artist. His
occasional forays into the zen of folk music are intriguing. He creates a
roundtable discussion between a baker's dozen of artists and encourages them to
participate in the search for the ''holy grail'': the definition of folk music. The
comments fill 10 pages and include an interesting contribution from the
author himself.

But it's not just the performer's perspective that shows up on the pages of
''Deep Community.'' One of the more intriguing in-depth articles centers on the
motivation and joys of the ''house concert'' as described by two of the
better-known Massachusetts hosts who measure their ''success'' in depth of
experience and enjoyment. The range of articles is impressive, touching also on the
early transcribers, recording engineers, aficionados, and collectors who hatched
companies like Moe Asch's Folkways and Chris Strachwitz's Arhoolie label from
the early recordings of blues singers and field chants.

At first, reading ''Deep Community'' is a little like assembling a jigsaw
puzzle. The interviews don't unfold so much as tumble out of the pages in no
appreciable order. The structure seems to be simply one of discovery, both of the
emerging artists and the community that nurtures and supports them. Although

the introduction is quite clear about the book's origin as a series of
newspaper articles, one has the sense that a much richer tale might have been told had
the interviews been woven into a more sequential, evolving format. Mind you,
it still makes for a good read. One may scan, stop, drill deep, and then move
on. As a source book, it's a prize, and one is ultimately thankful it was
saved from the maw of disposable daily newsprint to emerge in this format.
Writers who are comfortable with the genre of folk are few and valuable.
Alarik's sensitivity to the folk community and his ability to present their voices
in literate and heartfelt terms are most welcome. If there's an emergent
theme to ''Deep Community,'' it turns out to be (and perhaps that's the real
''adventure'' here) a tribute to the sustained health and continuing reinvention of
an enduring musical form.

Noel Paul Stookey is a member of the folk singing group Peter, Paul and Mary.

When I first read Jim's Journal in my college newspaper, I thought, "WHAT is this???? Some boring guy who doesn't do all that much."

But, as I kept reading, I began to get into it. Jim is just living vastly ordinary days like the rest of us, and for the most part, it is okay. He has a quiet humor for the everyday stuff we all do and about which we don't think too much.

I liked the character Ruth best! Her pigtails cracked me up, that and the fact that she was three times the size of Jim. But that is okay.

I picked this book up years ago and have bought every one since! This used to run in my college newspaper and I loved it immediately. This type of humor isn't for everyone: few people I meet can grasp it. My brothers and I have used this type of humor our whole lives when we make fun of stuff or act funny. You have to understand "anti-humor" to see why Jim's Journal is so good. Precisely because it is about nothing is why it is so funny. If you do something the opposite from what is expected, that is anti-humor. Such as a 4-panel comic strip with no punchlines or good drawings: Because it is unlike any strip before or since, it is funny. I love Jim's attitude, it is exactly like my own. I'd publish my stuff, but it is so much like his that now I can't!

Five sequels of Jim's journal are the best comic strips in the world. It is talking about the beauty, sorrow and fun of the moments we mostly just ignore. It was one of my best luck in my life that I ran across these great works. But I found that some people don't felt what I felt about them. Strangely it was almost impossible to let those people know what's good about Jim's Journal.

This book is incredibly entertaining and full of great adventure, unique settings, and interesting personalities. As a newcomer to sci-fi reading, I went into it not knowing what to expect. I loved that I never knew what was coming and that I could not predict where the story was going next. It is certainly the type of book that is hard to put down. I regularly read books with humor, adventure, or mystery/suspense, and this story had all of those elements. If all sci-fi books are like this, I may become a regular reader!

Scott Wells develops an impressive style in his first book. Light-toned science fiction rarely has such depth of plot and characterization, but The Merxyn Experiment manages to keep a sense of humor without sacrificing any plot. There are quite a few plot twists, right up to the very end. There are also quite a few references in there, from computer science to pop culture to the author's own personal experiences. I can't recommend this book enough.

Scott Wells does a masterful job of taking a complex plot with surprise twists, adding in a sense of humor not unlike Douglas Adams, and tossing in a bit of unique elements such as a Psychic as a main character to turn The Merxyn Experiment into one of the best reads I've had in awhile. The interplay of various characters, and some individuals from a strange location is simply a delight. While his style is not unlike some of the greats, he has enough of himself in the story to make it entirely unique. The best compliment one can give to Past masters is to learn from them, not copy from them. I -highly- recommend this book to any and all Science Fiction fans, and I suggest you go to the buy it now button at ONCE! That's an order!

This was my first experience with James Scott Bell. If his other novels are as exciting and fast-paced as this one, then it will definitely not be my last.

As a former fan of James Byron Huggins who has been turned off by his recent nonsense which has been passed off as readable fiction, I was refreshed to read a Christian sci-fi thriller that was believable, enjoyable, and lacking in space wasting sentimental drivel.

The idea of the Nephilim has intrigued me ever since my first year Biblical Hebrew class when we studied Genesis 6 and the idea of the Nephilim. A friend and I in that class discussed a Christian sci-fi novel based upon the Nephilim, but not in the manner in which Bell did it here.

"The Nephilim Seed" touched moral themes which are ever encroaching on our post-modern society, and I believe that Bell addresses those issues in a laudable, conservative manner. As science and technology continue in their present course, Christian values and morals will likewise continue to be attacked as outdated.

Jim Bell has knocked one over the far fences with this one! The characters fairly leap off the pages and the plot is, as in all of Jim's books, relentless. His theme is torn right off today's headlines as he has explored areas new to Christian fiction. Can a movie treatment be far behind? Get the "Seed", and bring it home. But a caveat...prepare to lose sleep for a few nights; it's that good.
So move over, Grisham..."The Nephilim Seed" cooks!

The Nephilim Seed is one wild ride through Scott Bell's illustrious imagination. I gave it 5 stars because I couldn't think of anything I'd rather do than race to the finish line of The Nephilim Seed. I was hooked on the first page; swept into every scene by characters so well imagined I'll remember them forever. I wanted to protect Lauren, hunt down her father, encourage her mother and go to the police academy so I could personally arrest Davis and all those involved in UniGen. If this isn't a movie--I don't know what is. Man! James, where's the sequel? Facsinating! P.S. Circumstancial Evidence, Blind Justice are great reads too.

If you love PO5 as much as I do (which beleve me is a alot!) this is the book that you should read. It gives you the inside scoop on the show and the stars and also includes tons of quizzes and an episode guide. So if your smart (which you must be if you decide to watch PO5) read this book now!

I think that this book was really good, probably because I am a po5 fan! It has good information that I didn't ever know about. I recommend it, and any other party of five books!

The Author of this book should be very proud! I mean I thought I was a fan and then I read this book and I realized so much I didn't know! This book has shown me how I can dedicate and try to make this show more popular by supporting it!! Read it, it's GREAT!

The Plain Reader is a collection of articles that once appeared in the magazine "Plain". Its authors are comprised of individuals with varying philosophies on the virtues of a simple life. Some articles are written by Quakers, Amish and Brethren. There are also articles by homesteaders, authors of several books, and others.

Since the authors come from so many different backgrounds, the articles aren't always compatible. For example, several of the articles are extremely anti-technology, anti-electricity, anti-competition, anti-public school education, etc., whereas others espouse the use of some of these things in moderation.

To me, extremism in any direction is the antithesis of simplicity, which, after all, is what this book is supposed to be about. Still, the book is correctly subtitled "Essays on Making a Simple Life" - it is essays by different people, with different backgrounds and different beliefs about what constitutes a simple life. It is an educational read, not only about simplicity, but also about how certain groups view the rest of the world.

This is one of those days when I am feeling terribly blessed because I was able to buy a copy of The Plain Reader Essays on Making a Simple Life - Edited by Scott Savage. This is one of those books if you can find a copy I recommend you buy it. It is out of print, so I think the only places you can find a copy are via used books or small new booksellers who may have a copy stuck away somewhere.

So what makes this book a gem? Well, for one thing it is a series of articles on a variety of topics, written by a lot of simple living folks on subjects that those seeking or living a simple life will really appreciate. One might even say its a great book to have next to your bedside so you can read something short, and encouraging before going to sleep.

A wonderful view of the world without all the gadgets we think are necessary. A great way to live and belong in the world. As a Christian I think we could do without alot of the junk the world thinks we need. Thanks for a great book.

Creator Rod Serling will forever be remembered for his earlier classic: a little something called "The Twilight Zone." While "Night Gallery" never quite made the ratings and dramatic success as its predecessor, the show did have its moments, all lovingly chronicled here by the authors. The book details the production, the episodes, and the various actors featured on the show. It also reveals the infighting between Serling, producer Jack Laird, and the wishes of the "suits" at NBC. Sadly, the strain of his association with the series may have contributed to Serling's untimely death.

For those fans of the show, this is an insightful and well-prepared document.

When I was a little boy I LOVED this show,being a horror nut.Well,I'm still a horror nut,and I only had vague memories of it,only that it was presented by Rod Serling.Hey,Twilight Zone still airs and is awesome,so NG should be as well.I excitedly sent off for this book,and it IS great!Lovingly written,the book unravels the NG story in a highly interesting and informative manner.BUT!The Mystery Channel started showing all the restored episodes and I saw the show as a horrible,dated mess!Buy this book,even if,like me,you shudder at NG.Buy it for the great info on Serling.
PS:It is now many months later and Mystery channel isn't showing NG now,but they will in a couple weeks.I'm looking forward to seeing them all again.Heck,it's not so bad!

I recently purchased the hardback version of Skelton's extremely thorough and enjoyable book pertaining to the Serling Anthology series. Everyone who has seen the show has their own opinion on how it rates among other programs. I enjoyed the show immensely in syndication, in spite of the fact that the episodes were butchered. Having watched the restored episodes through Columbia House, I found the difference to be quite an eye-opener. However, as many have opined, the show was uneven, but many shows such as the Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits were also uneven. Some brilliant, some abyssmally bad. The book, however, full of facts, interviews and history, is an absolute essential to anyone's library who enjoyed The Night Gallery on any level and is interested in learning more about such a unique television series

Tar Beach

The name of the book I'm reading is Tar Beach,the author is Faith Ringold. The book is published by Dragontly books. There are 24 pages, the ages should be 8-10 years of age. The main character is a girl who dreams she can fly over many things. I don't know why the call it Tar Beach, because it is not really a beach at all. My cousin has a connection to the book, because he dreams he can fly to. My unanswered questions are dose her dad lose his job, and dose she ever dream of flying again after she gets in trouble from her dad? My least favorite thing is when they said her dad was going to lose is job. My most favorite thing is when she said she had ice cream every day for dessert. I like it because the girl has a good imagnain. The book I think should have 4 stars, because she helpped her father build thier house, help around the house, and help her mom make dinner. I think Faith Ringold should make a version two of this book and tell if her dad lost is job, and if they took down the icecream factory. The book is really good because she really exspress the characters feelings about where she lives, and what she lives like. Dad feels horrible when he finds out he is going losing his job. Mom says it is okay, because she is steal working and she gets a lot of money. The daughter is telling dad that mom is right. After a month or so Janet has to stop going to school. I think you should read this book. I think you would like it to. So go to the public library and check out Tar Beach!

Tar Beach is a wonderful, encouraging book. Faith Ringgold shows children and adults that it is okay to daydream and gives everyone a chance to use their imaginations! I have always loved the artwork of Faith Ringgold and her creative and colorful illustrations in Tar Beach help the reader believe that they too can "fly". Ringgolds' amazing use of a flattened perspective and strong figures emphasizes a dreamy and magic flight through Cassie's world. Ringgold in Tar Beach encourages everyone to believe that we too can use our imaginations and fly to a better place!

In Faith Ringgold's Tar Beach, eight-year-old Cassie Louise Lightfoot expresses her wishes and dreams. The story takes place in 1939 on the tarred flat roof of her family's Harlem apartment building where her family and friends gather in the warm summer night air. While Cassie enjoys and appreciates her family, her boundless imagination transcends debilitating socioeconomic boundaries and allows her to feel self-confident and capable of anything. Through both the inspirational text and illustrations, Ringgold urges that life's circumstances, no matter how hurtful, should not be taken at face value. Instead, one's attitude can overcome and triumph over anything.

Ringgold's depiction of an African American female greatly furthers the effectiveness of Tar Beach. Cassie is a strong young lady who will not rely on a prejudiced society to determine her future. Rather, she constantly creates her own ambitions, regardless of how radical or impractical they may seem. For instance, Cassie dreams of her father being rich, having a more respected job, and even owning The Union Building. The character of Cassie encourages limitless dreams, especially for young African American readers.

Cassie's model attitude is conveyed through her imagery-rich narrative that faces adversity head on. Her father is a blue-collar construction worker who must search for jobs in the winter. Society also excludes him from the privileges of union membership because he is "colored" and considered a "half-breed Indian." In addition, Cassie's family doesn't have much money.

Yet despite all this, Cassie says she feels "rich" from "lying on the roof in the night, with stars and skyscraper buildings all around [her]." She appreciates the surrounding beauty and fancifully talks of flying to those places she admires. She talks about the imaginative flights she takes, leaving the roof much like Peter Pan. This creative way that Cassie addresses her situations adds an unparalleled beauty to her life. For instance, she talks of flying over the George Washington Bridge and wearing it "like a giant diamond necklace." Ringgold uses Cassie's narrative to inspire by first explaining the potential beauty that can be experienced, and then explaining, "it's very easy, anyone can fly. All you need is somewhere to go that you can't get to any other way."

To compliment the text, Ringgold created amazing illustrations using acrylic on canvas paper, which were designed to resemble a quilt. The creative and colorful illustrations further this idea of overcoming life's obstacles by beautifully depicting Cassie's flights over her home, surrounding skyscrapers, and the beloved bridge. Ringgold also uses a two-dimensional style to depict Cassie when she is flying. This adds a visual separation between real-life images and Cassie's surreal fantasies. Overall, the illustrations are bright and include many patterns and geometric shapes. These intricacies communicate the cheerful complexity of life.

By transcending reality, Cassie is able to rise above her problems and feel triumphant and empowered. Tar Beach is an appealing and creative work which offers hope and encourages the continual search for beauty and self-empowerment.