From previous books, we know that Susan Cheever, a columnist for the Long Island newspaper Newsday, has suffered heavily under the yoke of alcohol, both as the child of author (and hard drinker) John Cheever and as an adventurous souse in her own right.

Perhaps this helps explain why, for her new book, she profiles history's most influential drunk, William Griffith Wilson, known to legions as Bill W., the cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Viewers will have many reactions to "Starved," the situation comedy about compulsive eaters that debuts tonight at 10 on FX: It is raunchy, discomforting in spots, and uproariously funny.

But they should not come away thinking that people like the four
main characters Sam, Billie, Dan, and Adam don't exist. If you come away from the show thinking that way, you are wrong, pure and simple.

I can make such a fat-out statement because I'm one of them.

PETRA, JORDAN — A downside to visiting any of the world's A-list travel sites is
that they are not so much virgin experiences as they are comparisons
with what you learned in school, with photographs you have seen, or
with tales cousin Jerry told from his summer vacation.

At the other end of the spectrum, you could call it the Z list, are
a million places you have never heard of because there is no reason to
go.

GIBRALTAR - Driving down the AP-7, the toll version of the highway
that follows Spain's Costa del Sol, we saw it shrouded in haze about 20
miles out, but there could be no doubt: This was Gibraltar, and it is
one big rock.

It's not only size that makes the impression. Even in the hilly
topography of Andalusia, the rock bursts so abruptly upward from the
bottom of Europe that it is easy to see why the ancients called it one
of the Pillars of Hercules, placed there to mark the edge of the known
world.

LAWRENCE - With its huge "Think Green, Live Green" banner and its blocks-long mass of space being converted into "ecoluxury" residential and commercial space, Monarch on the Merrimack is the grandest example of this city's plan to go green.

But while the developer of the former Wood Mill has paused to
arrange new financing, a much more modest project - a three-bedroom, 2-bath home built in pieces in a factory and assembled onsite in less than a day - opens to the public today just around the corner.

Globe link (with photos)

WESTPORT - When Phillip Burgess gets an idea in his head, he's not likely to let go. Consider how he wound up in the kitchen of celebrity chef Todd English.

Like a lot of their friends and neighbors, Lorelei Grazier and Betty
Fulton wanted to green up their lifestyle. But they weren't sure how to
proceed.

"We both felt it can be overwhelming; can one person really change
the world?" Grazier said. "We realized the way to empower a person is
to give them practical information to change their lives."

NEW ORLEANS - To get a clue into Angelique Kidjo, you only
had to witness her set at Congo Square, one of the big venues of this
city's annual Jazz and Heritage Festival, on the first Friday in May.

It wasn't just that she wheedled the burly security chief until he allowed fans to come up and join her. Kidjo commonly requires fans at her shows not only to dance, as she does endlessly, but to do so with her onstage.

To Fenway security personnel, the colored strips of nylon Supertek are proof that a purse or backpack has been inspected for contraband.

But to a subset of the Fenway faithful, the adhesive bracelets lined
with Red Sox logos have come to symbolize something more: links in a
chain of hope for another World Series win.

NEW ORLEANS - Say a guy tells you about a guitar player you've never heard of. The guy says, "He's probably the most underestimated musician on the planet and also probably one of the most advanced."

Your first reaction might be, "Who does that guy think he is, Eric Clapton?"