Keith Donohue's freshman novel was inspired by the Yeats poem, which was in turn inspired by the myth of the changeling, which tells of hobgoblins that steal children in the night in order to take their place in the human world. Donohue's approach is a refreshing and well crafted mix of fantasy and realism. He takes the ancient myth and puts it in Pennsylvania in the 1950s-70s.

The tale is told from the point of view of both the stolen child, Henry Day, (who lives as a hobgoblin in the nearby woods awaiting his turn to steal the life of another boy), and from the point of view of the changeling that took Henry's life after hundreds of years living as a hobgoblin after he himself was stolen years and years ago. It's not as complicated as it sounds. The book is ultimately about identity, family, love, and growing up. Deserving of all its praise.

Even though I have the support of thousands of love-sick and misunderstood youths, this may be my toughest sell yet to my readers. In my peer group, I am totally alone in my love for Connor Oberst and his magical brand of whining. Well, so be it.

This is a touching and heartfelt album with some really beautiful songs of love, regret, depression, family, and other ailments in life. I think it's his best album and still listen to it when I want a dose of the teenage blues. The gentle duet ballad, 'Contrast and Compare', and the lamentations of 'June On The West Coast' are my personal favorites.

And, even if he's not to your taste, we can all agree this is an impressive musical feat for a seventeen year old. That's right, seventeen! If you have yet to form an opinion, give this album a try and maybe we can mope together.

Josef Frank , despite having his heyday in the 1940's is everywhere these days, inspiring design bloggers and humans alike with his Swedish ways and whimsical and delicious fabric designs. He is more now than now, and has quickly become one of my most favorite designers of all time.

And retailers agrees, you can now purchase Josef Frank textiles from svenskttenn.se. (Honestly have you ever seen anything so fantastic!) And Anthropologie is selling expensive upholstered furniture that I would quite frankly die for.

You can see his influence on contemporary designers as well, like this ubiquitous homage pattern by Deadly Squire (RISD alum and Les Savy Fav singer, Tim Harrington and wife Anna) that is making the rounds (at a much more affordable price, I might add).

Pylos is exactly the kind of restaurant that lures wealthy, graying upper east and west siders with real “artisan” jewelry and expensive camelhair coats to the once distant downtown neighborhood of the East Village.

They were there in droves, even early on a Thursday we barely got a table and the place stayed steadily busy all night. All for good reason too. The menu is likely unlike most Greek restaurants you've known, offering cornish hen marinated in lemon, orange, cumin and honey; monkfish baked with leeks, chestnuts, prunes and red wine, and cretan _ honey braised lamb shank .

The appetizers are even more alluring and we were fanatical about the cured meat and kasseri cheese stuffed phyllo option we tried. The dessert of crisp phyllo napoleon layered with greek yogurt and sour-cherry mousse was also a smile inducing treat that wasn't too heavy.

The prices are a bit high for the neighborhood, but well worth it for a nice evening out. The atmosphere is unique, with a ceiling made of hanging ceramic pots, which is really quite stunning, and attractive dim lighting. The service is top notch, but when you are finished, you better get a move on as there are going to be hungry diners waiting in the wings.

Pylos is a civilized place not suited to a big group and loud conversation, but you can't expect all those richies to come all the way downtown for anything less.

Touted as “simply the finest Pear Liqueur available”, Douce Provence is made of Williams pears from the French Alps and fine French cognac. My friends got me this as an accompaniment to this weeks dessert, and they did good by me (thanks again, guys.)

Savored in a snifter with a tangerine chili pepper truffle while watching NY 1 is really a fine, fine way to end an evening. This stuff is strong, however, as you'll notice at the first potent whiff, so a thumb width is plenty to ease you into bedtime.

Tired of the same old light fixtures? I sure was, and therefore equipped my entire apartment with vintage chandeliers from eBay.

There are thousands to choose from and most at a fraction of the cost of a new one. I didn't pay much more than a hundred for one the most expensive, and as little as thirty dollars for others.

My friend Tony is a talented guy. Exhibit A, his new website of work. Jim and I plan on collaborating with him on a graphic novel sometime this year and that makes me excited and happy.

Please take particular note of the intricate drawings of “Mr. Man-Man” an evil CEO made of two melted men (imagine the sidekick from Robocop who gets toxic waste thrown on him then take two of them and put them together back to back). He is just one of the creations from Tony's… interesting imagination.

My favorite drawing is this one, however, a portrait of Jim in the future after I have died and he keeps all my money in a safe in order to by snifters and huge globes. Tony's music for my college movie, Hot Broads, is also on the site.

This painting has become a phenomenon in Russia after a misinterpretation: instead of the bear yelling “Surprise!” the Russians interpreted it as “Hello Bear!”, which is “Preved Medved” in Russian.

This excerpt from Lurie's site explains better: “John Lurie's painting, 'Bear Surprise' (exhibited at Roebling Hall in New York City) has been given a whole new meaning by online communities in Russia. Livejournal hosts a community that is devoted to interpretations, comments, references, and sometimes elaborate do-it-yourself parodies of the painting. Russians have interpreted “Bear Surprise” to “Preved Medved” (Hello Bear!). The phenomenon has transformed the hilarious image into a national reference point. Much like the “wave” at American sports games, Russians yell “Preved!” when a goal is scored, and the famous bear appears on the scoreboard. One fan in Russia writes, 'Even when our president answered people's questions asked via the Internet, the MOST POPULAR question was 'Dear President Putin, what's your attitude to Medved?' “