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To the average observer, Paul Dear seems to be a perfectly ordinary boy from an ordinary family, with a doting father who tells wonderful stories and an indulgent mother who does her best to temper these stories with common sense. However, the former pirate who wanders London's Kensington Gardens is no average observer, and he notices what others do not--namely, that Paul Dear is connected to the Anyplace.

The Anyplace is author Peter David's take on J.M. Barrie's Neverland in his novel TIGERHEART (Del Rey; hardcover; June 2008), but this is not the Neverland of Barrie's PETER PAN or the Disney animated movie. For one thing, Peter Pan, or The Boy, is not the main character, and instead of viewing all grown-ups as the enemy, TIGERHEART looks at the complexities of growing up and whether it really means that one can't still believe in seemingly impossible things.

Read an excerpt @ amazon.com

"TIGERHEART is not your average story. Its fantasy occasionally contemplates reality, and the result is thoroughly entertaining: easily the best book I've read in years. The author's style was especially engaging. Throughout the book I found myself rereading paragraphs because I thought they were so cleverly written, I just had to enjoy them again."
--Anne Bristow, webmistress, Quotations 101

"[Offers] the same kind of atmosphere as William Goldman's The Princess Bride... the adventures are suitably stimulating and unpredictable and satisfying to our demands for both thrills and archetypical justice."
--SciFi.com (Grade: A)

"Peter David sees the world a bit differently from everyone else--strangely, wonderfully, stunningly differently. Reading TIGERHEART gave me the feeling of walking a comfortably familiar road, but seeing things from angles I never knew existed."
--R.A. Salvatore, New York Times bestselling author of THE ORC KING

Pride and Prejudice follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, moral rightness, education and marriage in her aristocratic society of early 19th century England. Elizabeth is the second eldest of five daughters of a country gentleman landed in the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire, not far from London.

Though the story's setting is uniquely turn of the 19th century, it retains a fascination for modern readers, continuing near the top of lists of 'most loved books' such as the Big Read. It still receives considerable attention from literary critics. This modern interest has resulted in a number of dramatic adaptations and an abundance of novels and stories imitating Austen's memorable characters or themes.

More about the story at Wikipedia

Read the book online at austen.com**
**Jane Austen's works are considered "public domain."

"Don't be fooled by the somber title. Pride and Prejudice is a lively story, with a smart and strong female lead, clever dialogue, and sharp wit. It presents the ups and downs of life in a different era while reminding us of timeless truths, like the freedom we find in admitting we've been wrong, and the beauty of second chances."
--Anne Bristow, webmistress, Quotations 101

Lunarpages
https://www.lunarpages.com/
cost: $7.95 per month
Likes: lots of space and bandwidth, hotlink protection, "cpanel" control panel which has tons of features, lots of stats information, and plenty of options/add-ons -- including the ability to host more than one domain on an account. The company itself is very responsive; they even have a message board for clients - and potential clients - to post questions and share info.
Dislikes: Nothing so far.
Verdict: highly recommended

(Note: I can't review any of the technical services (PERL, CGI-BIN, or whatever) of my host because I don't use any of them at the moment.)

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The Young Riders' writers consistently do a great job of telling their tales, but this week, I re-watched "Lady for a Night," and the story struck me as especially compelling. It makes sense that, during the course of the series, there would be at least one plot (well, besides hiding-as-a-boy and attracted-to-Kid) where Lou's being a girl creates unique complications. Typically the gang solves some crime or rights some wrong, but this time, the crime is perpetrated by the seemingly charming man Lou finds herself attracted to.

To further dissect the story, alone in another town, Lou's seemingly simple foray out for an evening in a dress was her "testing the waters." She'd been living a decidedly unfeminine life, posing as a boy but watching with envy as other girls get to dress and act like ladies. She finally decided to try it for herself. The handsome Tyler responding to her as he did no doubt validated her effort: she was indeed a lady. At the risk of over-identifying, I have been where Lou is. The first time a handsome guy paid attention to me, I felt just like Lou, and probably for the same reason: validation. However, also like Lou, it soon became painfully obvious that the man you want is not always the one you need. In fact, pursuing such a man could prove quite destructive.

At the risk of over-thinking, Lou's dilemma with Tyler personifies the discussion Lou has with Emma about relationships. Lou confides to Emma that she's frightened by Tyler's feelings for her, and yet she likes it, too. Lou is at a loss for what to do next, and Emma (quite unhelpfully) says that Lou must decide for herself. This starts to ring true when Lou hears that Tyler lied to Sam. Lou chooses to keep quiet about what she knows, opting instead to go confront Tyler. Sadly, he turns on her. He not only chooses his life of crime over any feelings he has for her, but he tries to use her own feelings for him against her. "You won't shoot me," he taunts confidently. "You like me too much." And it's true, she does like him -- but she chooses to end the relationship and save herself. However, the pain of her choice (Tyler's death, representing the finality of her decision) shows on her face. It's as if, in the moments after he died, her whole attempt at being a lady -- in fact, a woman -- was a mistake in the way it all ended so badly. Happily, Lou seems to have made peace with it by the episode's end.

A big part of Lou's peace likely came from Emma acknowledging Lou as a girl. Emma revealed that she had known Lou's secret, but she waited until Lou gave some sign (in this case, buying the dress, even if she did hide it) that she was ready to share it. In her disguise, Lou had been forced to relate to everyone as something she wasn't, so it's important that she'd now have Emma to relate to not only as a fellow woman but as a mentor and friend, both good to have when braving uncharted territory. It's also significant that Emma wanted the other riders to be "introduced" to Lou in the dress. This gave the guys a more complete picture of who Lou is, and as the people who know her best (who happen to be members of the opposite sex) their subsequent approval was critical. At first, Lou only dared to wear the dress away from home, as if the two lives, rider and woman, could not coexist. In the end, Lou appreciated that Kid accepted her as both, even if he'd only physically seen one side.

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Perhaps the writers thought of calling this episode "Ghosts," or "Voices," or maybe even "Not You Again!" Surely they considered several titles, but the one they chose was highly appropriate. In the literal sense, of course, an echo is a repetition. That definition is applicable here since Sydney repeated Irina's explanation of the Rambaldi symbol, and the explanation itself was a restating of the words of Rambaldi's prophecy.

I'm not a huge fan of the Rambaldi stuff, but it's nice to see that the foretold battle between Sydney (the Chosen One) and Nadia (The Passenger) has not been forgotten. The sisters weren't fighting each other this time, so we can be fairly certain that Nadia's wound is not fatal. However, I'm curious why Anna and the other followers seem to want this battle to occur: what do they have to gain from it?

In a poetic sense, the word echoes brings to mind the past, especially a continuation of something. That's nothing new on this show where previous events frequently have a way of affecting the present. Recalling the last meeting between Vaughn and Sark - and the circumstances behind it - Vaughn's dread at seeing Sark again was understandable. Sydney was in a similar predicament as Anna's reappearance reminded her of unfinished business, since Syd had vowed to eliminate Anna if the opportunity arose again. Syd admitted that Anna brings out the worst in her; Vaughn could probably say the same about Sark simply because Sark is a tangible target for Vaughn's anger over Lauren's betrayal. Few antagonists can haunt a person like their own inner demons.

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