From the moment of entry, Souplantation has motion, excitement, and newness, along with spaciousness. It's an amazing place with healthy tasty food. Each time you leave the booth or table to get another dessert, soup, coffee, or something you haven't tasted yet, your table can be saved.

Well, you won’t get a giant heap of my usual Pollyanna prose from me this year. The first three months of ZERO-eight started out just swell, making my third spring journey to the incredible New Orleans to again perform at the 22nd annual Tennessee Williams Literary Festival there, where Karen Kondazian and I had the honor to reprise our roles in our 2007 award-winning Fountain Theatre prod uction of Tennessee’s 1963 flop The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore, a highly successful revival which won director Simon Levy a Garland Award in March.

High School Musical 3 was a boxoffice blockbuster this year, and the film turned Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman into full fledged big screen stars. The talented senior class graduated from being Disney Channel cable movie performers to launching their careers in different directions.

Each year brings a sack full of new holiday CDs. As part of our annual service, we are here to save you the heartache of making some bad choices. Also provided are listening tips.

Let’s get some holiday shopping ideas from celebrities with style and class, and save some cash for Santa’s budget. It’s no surprise to see teen beauty Selena Gomez at media events sporting the fabulous looking styles from American Eagle. The popular star from the Disney Channel’s hit series The Wizards of Waverly Place has been spotted shopping at the American Eagle store in New York City

For eighteen fabulous years, the legendary Palm Springs Follies has been taking a theatrical journey down memory lane, to the delight of visitors to the historic Plaza Theatre in downtown Palm Springs, California. This season, the show’s impresario Riff Markowitz has created another nostalgic trip with the theme of the show “Get Your Kicks.” It is a musical salute to Route 66, lovingly called the “Mother Road” by all who drove the scenic highway.

After having a divine dinner somewhere, try breaking it up with a Japanese dessert found in this very contemporary Japanese Pastry Shop, in the heart of Beverly Hills. The name of the shop is "Fulfilled," at 9405 Little Santa Monica Blvd. It's owned and created by the young Susumu Tsuchihashi, and while well known in Japan, most have probably never heard of it here. For short, it's called  "ima," which is easier to say than "Imagawa-yaki. This tasty treat is sweet and savory, and will fulfill any craving.

Vin Scully is undoubtedly the finest baseball announcer ever to call a major league game. The voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers for 60 years (he started with them in Brooklyn), Scully has announced games since the team moved to the West Coast. He has also announced golf tournaments and major league games with former major leaguer Joe Garagiola for the networks, but it is as the voice of the Dodgers that he is best known.

Palm Springs, the desert oasis that features bubbling hot spas and dozens of lush green golf courses, also offers a winter wonderland. Yes, really. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway gives the desert visitors a chance to enjoy the magical sight of freshly fallen snow this time of year.

Chess Records maybe the house that Leonard Chess built but it was Etta James, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Chuck Berry and songwriter Willie Dixon who made it into a soulful home.  The incredible music that came from that small studio is not only legendary but undeniably sacred. Academy Award winner Adrien Brody (The Pianist) plays Leonard Chess, an emigrate from Poland who settled in Chicago. After hearing the low down growl of the blues, he permanently left the junkyard business to enter the record business.

For up-and-coming holiday season, Mark Johnston personally handpicked the collections for your winter, including Rodrigo Y Gabriela’s Live in Japan, Obi Best’s Capades, I’m From Barcelona’s Who Killed Harry Houdini, The Gaslite Anthem’s The ‘59 Sound, and Copper Sail’s Hiding Place.

Two screenwriters in love write a romantic comedy which quickly gets rejected. Then, the girlfriend of the duo devises a plan to trap the three Hollywood bigwigs and convince them to make the movie.