LATEST ADDITIONS

Michael Chabon on the liberating properties of genre fiction.

"<B>Antiheroine Skin Rule:</B> In a Horny Teen-ager Movie, the 'bad girl' who is the object of the hero's desire will always expose more flesh than the girl whom he ends up with at the end of the film, despite equal sexual activity. If the 'good girl' is shown topless in a love scene, it must be accompanied by slow music. In a Dead Teenager Movie, the girl who exposes the least skin is inevitably the only survivor."

Forget the usual suspects, says ACD. For real Halloween chills, read Henry James.

As <I>Stereophile</I>'s Equipment Reports Editor, I get a <I>lot</I> of calls from readers asking how we choose the gear we review, and from manufacturers asking how to get their products reviewed. So I told JA to take the month off from writing this column so that I could talk about <I>Stereophile</I>'s Equipment Reports section.

NPR has four of 'em up, including a good 'un by Neil Gaiman. All of them are 30 seconds long.

Speaking of fun, please be sure to visit the redesigned SonicFlare. I met SonicFlare's Josh Ray at CES a couple of years back and I was impressed by his enthusiasm and energy. The dude exists to share the magic of hi-fi. The updated SonicFlare offers entertaining and informative articles on how to make sense of measurements, how to pimp your system, and how to use your speakers to get laid. They've even come up with a new way of describing the various sonic characteristics of components and systems. The "Sonic Circle" breaks hi-fi down into three major categories (Precise, Emotional, and Refined) and three related sub-categories (Vivid, Intense, and Smooth).