Laurie Boris

They irritate. They grate. They make you run from the room. But there's something about them that sticks in your head. They're the commercials I love to hate. What are yours?

Just because your wallet's looking a little thin doesn't mean you have to forgo having fun. Here are a "baker's dozen" tips for you to find inexpensive entertainment in your area.

ABC's fresh new family game show, Opportunity Knocks, is all about how well you know your family. Answer the questions right, and you could win a truckload of prizes. Here are some questions that I think it would be interesting for host J.D. Roth to ask.

Just one citizen's opinion on what the Obama campaign has to do to win the White House.

Vitamins and minerals can interact with each other, with your prescription medications and even with the food you eat. Get the most out of your dietary supplement dollar and maximize your health by making sure that you are taking them correctly, and at the right time.

Syesha Mercado, the most underrated of this season's Top Ten, turned in a terrific performance on Neil Diamond week, although it won't be enough to place her higher than fourth.

A review of MacSpeech's iListen voice recognition software: who's training whom, or, how many times do I have to say "the" before it gets it right?

Myofascial Pain Syndrome is caused by knots called "trigger points" that develop in muscles and surrounding tissues. In this article, I describe what it is and how it's treated.

Many years in coming, the Food and Drug Administration has approved Pfizer's Lyrica as the first drug for treating fibromyalgia. This chronic condition is suffered by over 6 million people in the US alone.

Because of problems so many people have with pain medication, topical pain relievers have become more popular. But how can you tell which are better than others? Hopefully this side-by-side comparison by someone who lives with chronic pain can help.

Thursday March 29, 2007 marks a milestone in major league baseball history as the first woman in nearly 20 years starts as umpire in a spring training game in Arizona.

But is it art? A young couple explores the bounds of their relationship on a trip through a gallery.

A treatise on why, despite his and Elizabeth's impassioned public announcements, John Edwards won't make it to the top of the ticket in 2008

Hundreds of books have been written about writing and selling fiction. Here are ten of the best, and why you should own them.

This how-to guide is meant to help beginning novelists edit their own manuscripts, so they can create a better product to meet the stringent requirements of today's literary agents and publishers.

A "top ten" list of the most underrated television shows of all time, a bit about them, and why they should have either been given more recognition or allowed to stay on the air longer.

Send Tom Cruise Far and Away (from me). If there was an Oscar category for "Most Overrated Celebrity," this is why Tom Cruise should get the award.

NBC's Friday Night Lights has been acclaimed by critics, has a small but loyal following yet can't get a toehold in the ratings. Here's why this well-crafted, well-written and well-acted show should stay on the air and not get sent to the showers.

A modest proposal that we dispense our current messy, confusing, scandal-fraught presidential election process and simply select our leaders like they do winners of American Idol.

Timothy's Law, named for 12-year-old Timothy O'Clair - who committed suicide after years of struggling with mental illness - was signed by New York's governor George Pataki on December 22. The law will force insurance companies to provide more coverage for mental illnesses.

A few suggestions for how Kevin Federline can pick up the pieces after his divorce from Britney Spears.

While I applaud KFC's decision to stop using trans-fats, I cringe at the thought of a government crackdown on fat in food. If you want steak with fries, that should be between you and your arteries, and none of Washington's business.

"Twenty Good Years," a new NBC comedy, was supposed to showcase the talents of veteran actors John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambour. While it has potential, the show fell flatter than the dialogue, the jokes, and the oddly-placed laugh track.

Heifer, International wants to help end world poverty and promote peace by giving farm animals to poor families. But I have reservations about how the process works and if the animals actually get to those who need them.

Yes, your mother-in-law always says she loves your gifts, but you have a hunch that either she's at the mall the next day on the exchange line or that they end up at someone else's house. Here are a few ideas for gifts she'll truly love (and keep!).

Got someone on your list who is setting up housekeeping for the first time? They need everything, but how can you decide on what? Check out this handy guide for gifts they'll love.

Why give your coworkers the usual mugs, candles and Christmas ornaments when there are so many other fresh ideas available? Check out some alternative ways to remember the people who make your job easier without blowing your budget.

Check out this half-hour reality show on A&E featuring former KISS member Gene Simmons. You'll laugh your platform boots off as he tries to balance his family and professional life.

Thanksgiving can be a challenge for adult children of divorce (ACODs). Parents can pull you apart until you feel like the wishbone. This guide offers hints to help you get through the holiday with your dignity intact and a minimum of hurt feelings.

With so many workout alternatives in the rapidly-growing Mid-Hudson Valley, it can be a challenge to find a place to call your own. Here's a guide to just a few of the myriad of places where you can get in shape in the Ulster/Dutchess county area.

You've been invited to someone's house to watch "the big game," but you think baseball is duller than watching Astroturf grow. With this guide to the game and the post season, even non-baseball fans can sound impressive without really trying.

Dogged by scandals, Patrick Manning, the five-term republican Assemblyman from a district in New York's Mid-Hudson Valley, loses a primary bid to an eager challenger, 29-year-old Marc Molinaro, who, at 17, was the youngest person elected to public office.

As someone who has been living with fibromyalgia for almost fifteen years, I've put together a guide to what I think are some of the best natural products I've used to give me relief from my worst symptoms.

A treatise that due to the ignorance of the American populace - despite the educational efforts of "Schoolhouse Rock," the right to vote should be extended only to those who pass a licensing exam.

In 1993, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, an illness that is often misunderstood and poorly treated in the medical community. This is an explanation of the disease in general and my at times extremely frustrating battle to learn how to live with it.