dr Far Far

We've all asked ourselves the question. It's impossible to look up at the stars and NOT think about it: Are we alone in the universe? Books, movies, and television shows proliferate that attempt to answer this question and explore it. In Out There, Space.com senior writer Dr. Michael Wall treats that question as merely the beginning, touching off a wild ride of exploration into the final frontier.

We've all asked ourselves the question. It's impossible to look up at the stars and NOT think about it: Are we alone in the universe? Books, movies and television shows proliferate that attempt to answer this question and explore it. In OUT THERE Space.com senior writer Dr. Michael Wall treats that question as merely the beginning, touching off a wild ride of exploration into the final frontier. He considers, for instance, the myriad of questions that would arise once we do discover life beyond Earth (an eventuality which, top NASA officials told Wall, is only drawing closer). What would the first aliens we meet look like? Would they be little green men or mere microbes?

TAKE THE SHORTCUT TO HIGH INCOME Businesses are holding on to money in record numbers. Here's how to get employers and business owners to share some of it with you. While in the process of clamping down on expenses and raises, many companies are stockpiling cash, just waiting for the best place to invest their surplus cash to show up. That's where you step in. Dr. Gary Goodman was mentored by one of the greatest business minds in half a century: Peter Drucker. Mr. Drucker was one of the best-known and most widely influential thinkers and teachers on the subject of business theory and practice.

Louisville, Kentucky, a city with no shortage of musical heavyweights in its history (look it up!), is home to the prolific hip-hop/neo-soul producer Dr. Dundiff. Armed with an array of instruments (including his trusty MPC) and a bevy of talented area collaborators, Dr. Dundiff has revealed The Distance, his latest ambitious album, released on the Cold Busted label. WIth over 40 projects under his belt — including past releases on Jakarta Records, Mellow Orange Music, and Grand Garden Records — Dr. Dundiff draws upon a wealth of musical experiences, all coming together harmoniously on The Distance. The album is deliciously jazzy and deliriously loose with crisp beats, smooth vibes, and amazing vocalists and emcees, including Claire Reneé, James Lindsey, K Raydio, Pink Siifu, and Shania Robinson.

Mac Rebennack (aka Dr. John) in many ways embodies not only New Orleans music, but American music as well. His distinct sound is rooted in Crescent City jazz and R&B, yet also contains elements of country, blues, and rock & roll. And it's all tied together by an individualist attitude and a voodoo-mystic aesthetic utterly unique to the doctor. Trader John's Crawfish Soiree is a double-disc set of early odds and sods that presents John in a rollicking, nascent incarnation. Far from the more traditionalist approach he's embodied since the 1990s, here John is riffing on vintage R&B, and sprinkling it with just enough gris-gris to give it his signature bayou weirdness. Nearly all of the songs are Rebennack originals, but John has such strong ties to the roots of his music that it often sounds like these songs have sprung up from the dirt. While the liner notes offer little in the way of session information, they do provide a succinct overview of Rebennack's long career, making this a nice entry point for neophytes, in addition to being a delight for fans.