The first date is pretty important; in fact, the first date is crucial if you ever want to have a second date. There are many and more different approaches to making the right kind of romantic impression, and setting the right mood takes more effort than merely brushing your teeth a little harder than usual.

Some people will do anything for money. You know it, and I know it; for some, there is a price for anything and everything. Maybe a given individual will totally sell out their family, friends and loved ones for self-preservation, or maybe they’ll just turn a blind eye to pure evil for the sake of some fame and glory.

Yes, it's Christmastime, or Hanukkah if you're so inclined. Or Holidaytime, if you're in love with political correctness to the point of militantly pretending traditions don't exist for other people. In any case, you may well be in the middle of an "oh, ****" moment as you realize something like:

You may be familiar with To Write Love on Her Arms, if only because a large number of bands and artists have been seen - and continue to be seen - wearing TWLOHA (phonetically pronounced twuh-low-ha, sort of like aloha, I think) apparel.

Get this.

Brace yourself, but the winners are not in the kazoo, banjo, squeeze box, pan flute or glockenspiel category. Nor did the ukulele make the cut.

So, okay, what is the most expensive musical instrument ever sold?

Remember the Guinness Book of World Records?

Before you get acquainted with Van Cliburn, you should have a little background.

During the forty-five years of The Cold War, things were a tad tense between the United States of America and the Soviet Union (known as Russia, nowadays).

Somehow, I seriously doubt that this really IS it. The surge will never end; eventually, Michael Jackson will most likely join the pantheon of "greats" like Yasser Arafat and Jimmy Carter for the Nobel Peace Prize which, as you may have heard, really is just being given away.

If you ever hear anyone talk about the best drummers of all time, and if Buddy Rich isn't mentioned within the first three names, there are two possibilities:

1) The list is genre specific - like, Rock drummers only - so you're going to probably hear Neil Peart and a few others.

2) The list is a crock.