"A Pigeon and a Boy," by Meir Shalev; Schocken; 320 pages; $25.   'A PIGEON AND A BOY' - Meir Shalev's 'A Pigeon and a Boy' is the 17th book from Israel's acclaimed author. CNS Photo. In the opening pages of acclaimed Israeli author Meir Shalev's new novel, "A Pigeon and a Boy," a man remembers a homing pigeon rising from a grim, blasted-out battlefield during Israel's 1948 War of Independence: "All the weapons fell silent for ... [full story]

Step aside, Amy Winehouse! Move over, Pete Doherty! Yes, you are leading contenders to become the latest drug-and-drink-fueled rock 'n' roll casualties in the United Kingdom. But compared to Shane MacGowan of The Pogues, you're both lightweights.   THE POGUES - The Pogues' chronically disheveled frontman Shane MacGowan, reclining on left, may be one of life's less-than-beautiful losers, but he's also responsible for some luminous songs. CNS Photo courtesy of The Pogues. In his musical prime, back ... [full story]

SANTA MONICA, Coif. - Sex doll Bianca didn't come to breakfast this morning with "Lars and the Real Girl" director Craig Gillespie. The life-size silicone star of the new PG-13 movie was back at her nearby home, which also happens to be Gillespie's, decked out in one of his wife's black Dolce & Gabbana dresses.   GOSLING'S GUEST - Ryan Gosling and his plastic friend, Bianca, can't help but attract attention in the movie 'Lars and ... [full story]

British director Sir Ridley Scott is competing against himself this season at the box office, with something old and something new in theaters. In limited re-release is his definitive final cut of the highly influential 1982 science fiction landmark "Blade Runner," which the studio had once re-edited to Scott's displeasure.   RIDLEY SCOTT - Director Ridley Scott takes a shot on the set of 'American Gangster,' a film that tells the success story of a cult ... [full story]

Creating a photographic image of Eden may sound like folly, on the face of it. How do you photograph a place that, as the archetypal story goes, only had one pair of residents and never had any other visitors?   PICTURING EDEN - If the girl doesn't look entirely natural in Ruud van Empel's 'Untitled #1' (2004), which is among the Dutch artist's pictures in 'Picturing Eden,' that may be because she isn't. CNS Photo courtesy ... [full story]

Playing guitar and keyboards in the bands Via Satellite and The Album Leaf is a hands-on experience for Drew Andrews. So is buying albums. "There definitely is an attraction to flipping through the CDs and looking at the artwork," said Andrews, 28, of San Diego.   THE LAST REVOLUTION - Bucking national trends, Lou's Records in Encinitas, Calif., still draws loyal customers who buy albums in person, rather than download them. From left are Nikki Ferris, ... [full story]

So you're all set to see that new movie - the one about those brothers and their strained relationship and zany adventures and calamitous romantic lives, all of it culminating in heart-rending attempts at redemption.   BIG BROTHERS - From left, Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman portray brothers in 'The Darjeeling Limited.' CNS Photo courtesy of James Hamilton. And that movie, of course, would be "The Darjeeling Limited," the account of three feuding brothers on ... [full story]

Ben Affleck still gets teased by the media about his acting skills. But the smart and gritty film noir "Gone Baby Gone" proves that as a director, Affleck is the real deal.   BEN AFFLECK - Director Ben Affleck looks over a shot on the scene of his new thriller 'Gone Baby Gone.' CNS Photo courtesy of Claire Folger. After 15 years working in front of the camera, Ben stays behind it for the first time with ... [full story]

One word matters more to Robert Irwin than any other: wonder. Young children possess it in abundance, whether they're focusing on a flower, a toy or a video game. And Irwin has spent a good deal of his adult life creating art that aims to make a viewer of any age feel much the same way.   ROBERT IRWIN - Robert Irwin, whose new museum exhibition is his biggest in 14 years, stands in an empty ... [full story]

Nellie McKay is a walking bundle of contradictions. A gifted pop music maverick, she's wise and talented beyond her years but also full of anxiety and self-doubt, as only a junk food-loving vegan and animal-rights activist can be.   THE DEFIANT ONE - 'I like sleeping. I don't like working,' claims pop singer/songwriter Nellie McKay, who has released three albums (two of them double-CDs) since 2004. 'I'd just like to pursue the pleasure principle, full-speed.' CNS ... [full story]

There are two good reasons why Dave Matthews, one of the most consistently uncompromising artists in or out of rock, rarely submits to interviews. He doesn't need to and doesn't like to, so why bother?   DAVE MATTHEWS - 'In playing or writing music, I find a satisfaction in solving a puzzle,' says Dave Matthews. CNS Photo by Jerry Rife. "Generally, it's along the lines of 'What's your favorite color?' or 'What brings you to Boston?'" he ... [full story]

Many qualities make up a great actor or actress, not the least of which is the ability to immerse oneself in a character, to become that character. When it comes to total immersion, right down to the requisite manner of speech and the dead-on accent, Meryl Streep is the queen - whether she's portraying a Danish baroness in "Out of Africa," a Polish survivor of a Nazi concentration camp in "Sophie's Choice" or an Irish ... [full story]

BEVERLY HILLS - There's something about marrying that has drawn the Farrelly brothers - champions of the guilty laugh and the gross-out gag - into wedlock with an unlikely creative mate: Neil Simon. Someone tell Neil the news.   FARRELLY BROTHERS - The Farrelly brothers, Peter and Bobby, are back with a twisted take on Neil Simon's 'The Heartbreak Kid.' CNS Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures. "I hope he approves," Bobby Farrelly says, laughing at the odds ... [full story]