“Then all you do is take a chisel and chop it out.”

Those are the simple directions John Everett Benson, previous owner of The John Stevens Shop, gives to stone carving after the lettering is designed and traced and painted onto the stone. A person may think he or she is about to color in the lines of a child’s coloring book- that’s how nonchalantly and effortlessly Benson makes stone cutting to be.

With all of the controversy that surrounds Manny Ramirez, what is it exactly about him that makes him attractive to MLB (Major League Baseball) ball clubs? Sure, it is obvious the man is one of the greatest hitters in the game, and may very well be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he retires, but he also carries one of the biggest egos that this game has ever seen.

If sitting your baby down in front of the TV and popping in a DVD of Baby Einstein to provide some educational entertainment while you tackle chores around the house seems too good to be true, it is.

Titles like Baby Einstein, Baby Galileo, Baby Shakespeare and even Brainy Baby with its original motto, “a little genius in the making,” lure unsuspecting parents to purchase these “educational enrichment” videos and substitute them for interactive playtime.

“Stop shopping!” screams Reverend Billy and his loyal choir as they march through parking lots, mini-malls, Wal-Marts, and even Disney Land before being tossed out by security guards and often times even arrested. “Why stop shopping?” wonder many of the consumers that Reverend Billy is preaching to.

A visit to Howard Newman’s blue-shingled historic home is marked by a dismal, rainy Monday afternoon. A converted garage, steps from his kitchen, contains the studio where he creates the majority of his works. Drops of water sprinkle gently from the sky and the artist adjusts his navy beret over his gray mop of hair, to shield his eyes from the foul weather.