I have a subscription to Cook's Illustrated magazine. (And) I get back issues from my parents."

Hawkins says he cooked all the meals last year for a "hands-on" pastoral education program.

Year in Review - Sport

Apparently three blind mice were to blame for their 6-0 loss in the A-League decider, and John Kosmina was forced to resign after causing more embarrassment to the club than Carl Veart and Ross Aloisi put together.

Mick Fanning and Stephanie Gilmore are Australia's new surfing world champions, while Cadel Evans is the world's top-ranked cyclist. Even though he came second in France.

The 'eroding' gas tax

In offering a way to balance a state budget bleeding billions in red ink, Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill last week brought up a subject that has been taboo for a while: The notion that it is time to raise the state gas tax.In a decade that has seen prices at the pump more than double, the idea is not likely to sit well with commuters who have watched helplessly as the rising cost of fuel has taken increasingly larger bites out of their pocketbooks.

U.S. Airstrikes In Iraq Hit Al Qaeda 'Safe Havens'

It's the Third Infantry Division's assault against al Qaeda targets south of Baghdad, part of a nationwide U.S. offensive that began this week, Strassmann reports. The mighty barrage - recalling the Pentagon's "shock and awe" raids during the 2003 invasion - appeared to mark a significant escalation in a countrywide offensive launched this week to try to cripple remaining insurgent strongholds. But it also fits into the endgame strategy of last year's U.S. troop buildup, which seeks to regain control of Baghdad and surrounding areas as a buffer zone for the capital. U.S. commanders are now attempting to subdue the last insurgent footholds around Baghdad before the Pentagon faces a possible reduction in troop strength. Hours after the massive bombs fell, U.S. soldiers set foot in tough terrain outside Baghdad, an area where they haven't gone in a year.

Air in state casinos is clearing up

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Film listings

Don't root for the bad guy, because although he may have several spacious New York City apartments, a closet full of natty suits, and a beauty-queen wife (and treat his momma right), he's still a cold-blooded killer. Ridley Scott's American Gangster — based on a New York magazine article profiling Frank Lucas, a real-life drug kingpin in 1960s and '70s Harlem — makes sure we understand that Lucas (Denzel Washington) is responsible for unleashing deadly, near-pure heroin (imported directly from Southeast Asian sources at the height of the Vietnam War) onto American streets. Paralleling Lucas's rise to power, with far less glamour, is the story of cop Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), who's also a lawyer (thanks to night school) and a man of unimpeachable character — to his detriment, as it turns out, since every other officer on the force is totally dirty and won't work with him.

McCain's Univision Connection

Why can't you disparage your opponent in a political campaign? ... I'm obviously late on picking this up, but McCain really does have a habit of making categorical, blunderbuss statements that maximize, not the truth, or his political maneuvering room, but his own sense of righteousness. ... Examples: 1) It's not that he doesn't remember various Iseman-related meetings. They never occurred. 2) The United States will not torture (except, you know, when it will). 3) Any comment disparaging of Senator Obama is not just inappropriate, it's "totally" inappropriate (except down the road, of course, when it may become necessary ...). 1:47 P.M. link

You can get onstage at Stratford

Appearing: NPR talk host Diane Rehm (10 a.m.-noon weekdays, WUOM-FM, 91.7) , on March 11, to give the Sweeny Memorial Lecture at Christ Church Grosse Pointe. More details from Ann Marie Aliotta at 313-884-7369, or Cyndee Harrison at 313-885-4841.

Announced: By metro Detroit's the Heat And Warmth Fund (THAW) that its 5th radiothon on WWJ-AM (950) Feb.