So, you’ve survived the entire semester. You’ve been able stay afloat despite all the distractions that Miami and the surrounding areas have to offer. Now, with winter break just within your grasp, there stands only one last test of your endurance– final exams.

Sure, we’ve all had to suffer through these before one way or another, but in case this is your first time taking a college exam or if you’ve forgotten just what it takes to prepare yourself to get through this one last barricade, here are a few ideas to keep in mind.

First, and obviously, its important to take a look at which exams you have and when you have them. Take a look at which subject you need the most time to prepare for and which exam you need to get the best grade on. From here, start allotting the appropriate amounts of time for each exam. Also, look at any multiple-day long gaps between your exams-these are good times to take a break, relax and recoup before your next one.

It’s also important to eat and drink appropriately to perform well on your finals. Caffeine is a good tool to stay up late and pack in the extra hours. However, too much of anything is bad for you, so don’t over do it. Also, make sure to have whatever was in your system when you were studying in your system when taking an exam. For example: if you were charged up on caffeine while reading, have a good cup of coffee before the test.

You need your body to run like a well-oiled machine, give it what it wants. Energy inducing foods, such as carbohydrates, are a smart thing to have the night before an exam.

Make sure to also bring the necessary materials to the exam as well. Bring enough pens and pencils with you, or if the professor hands out pencils, try and grab as many as possible; that way you’ll have enough for the rest of your exams.

When studying, don’t try to pack in all the information at once. You can remember and learn more by studying the material in chunks. Study for a while, then take a quick break and pick up where you left off. The human brain can remember more this way. Another effective way to study is to study with a friend. This way, in case you missed a class or didn’t get all the notes you’ve got yourself covered.

Finally, just remember to get a good night’s rest the night before your exams and you should have no problem at all.

Taking over the Wolfson Campus of Miami-Dade Community College with a swarm of books and literary figures from around the globe, the Miami Book Fair International was indeed a successful week-long congregation for book lovers, writers, readers or just curious wanderers.

The fair took place from Nov. 11-18, featuring a distinctive array of guest speakers, an interesting schedule of events, over a million books for sale, and even a children’s area promoting reading and the discovery of literature for kids.

Besides Chicago’s annual and prominent literary fair, Miami’s event is a second notable gathering of publishers and authors, and has been described by Tom Wolfe as “the literary Mecca of the Western World.” Publishing houses from, among others, Israel, Spain, France and Central and South America showcased their wares at the event.

Today, the fair has become one of Miami-Dade County’s largest and most vibrant cultural events, helping to unite international book lovers and establishing a sense of community spirit in the city. Miami Book Fair International has greatly evolved from its more modest beginning to a full-scale, week-long occasion with a remarkable lineup of programs, readings and special activities.

The fair had its start in November 1984, entitled “Books by the Bay”, and only lasted two days, but still was an impressive celebration. Authors from around the world flew in to debut their works and nearly 100 exhibitor booths lined a one-block distance between Northeast First Street and Second Avenue in downtown Miami.

By the 1990’s, the event included a reading series, a full program in Spanish, commemorating Spanish readers and authors, an award-winning program for younger readers, a student outreach program, a student literary magazine and a rare books display. The fair also featured events highlighting local writers, writing workshops for aspiring authors, and a family literacy program.

The newest addition to the schedule of events was the Lifestyles program, which sort of took a more general, unifying approach to the experience of “life.”

Fairgoers were able to encounter intriguing booths of authors and experts who would focus on a vast range of topics such as alternative medicine, whole-life wellness, mind/body connections, spirituality, family issues, relationships, nature, animals, cooking, gardening and interior design.

Moreover, the experience of the fair was all the more enhanced by an artistic atmosphere and multi-cultural performances that sparked up the weekend activities. The sweet sounds of jazz would resonate at one end of the fair, while salsa and merengue would take over as you would approach the Spanish sections.

Also, at a certain point on the last day of the event, a group named Inca Spirit performed in the middle of the Street Fair, as the sounds of world music, Brazilian bossa nova and hypnotic flute echoes emanated from their instruments. Their album, most likely unavailable in stores, was being sold for $15 and it was well worth it.

The Street Fair was an attraction by itself and delivered a powerful assortment of books from around the world, souvenirs and other cultural icons. Walking along the rows of publishers displaying a multitude of books for sale, it was even all the more interesting to watch the international crowd of buyers, strolling through, looking for potentially appealing books. I was able to catch instances of conversation in French, Spanish, Italian and even Arabic.

Guest authors were around throughout the week to autograph their books, read from their works and speak about pertinent issues, leaving ample time after for questions and discussions.

The fair also invited a medley of award-winning authors from around the globe and from the United States such as notable poets, novelists, editors and Pulitzer Prize journalists. Among others, Paul Auster, Carol Higgins Clark, Jerry Stahl, Douglas Coupland and Stephen King were distinguished fiction writers that were present.

Journalists Harold Blum, Florida-based Carl Hiassen, Carlos Franqui and Edna Buchanan all gave shrewd and intuitive discussions during their speeches.

On a last note, this article is not necessarily a review of the Book Fair. The latter was, all in all, a spectacular event.

Rather, this was written to first push the reader to consider attending such a culturally-balanced fair the following year and, also, to give him/her a little bit of insight on an event that promotes something which is a fundamental compound of our education-that is, literacy. The jumble of international culture, art and literature is a unique experience even for someone who has never picked up a book outside the classroom (though that last thought would indeed be a shame).

This is interesting: The two men responsible for Brad Pitt’s fame are Ridley Scott and Robert Redford. It was Scott who cast Pitt as the blonde bombshell who tempts Thelma and Louise in, duh, Thelma & Louise. Redford came along and gave Pitt one of his first leading roles in A River Runs Through It. It’s been almost ten years since then, and now Redford and Pitt are finally on screen together in a film directed by Ridley’s brother, Tony.

Robert Redford, looking older than water, plays Nathan Muir, an experienced CIA agent who is on his last day on the job. He’s all set to turn in his stuff and go to the Bahamas to enjoy his last years on earth, when he gets wind of some bad news. Tom Bishop, the man he trained into a great undercover agent, got arrested in China on a non-sponsored CIA operation and is being held hostage for espionage, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Relations between the United States and China are not too good, and the CIA is looking for any reason to just let Bishop rot. So they call up Muir to clue them in on why Bishop turned rogue, and Muir offers his story on how he recruited and trained Bishop through a series of flashbacks.

Now usually, when a movie is told in flashbacks, it’s just a cheap gimmick to give unnecessary back story, but here it works. The flashbacks are filmed well and they clue us in to Muir and Bishop’s teacher/student relationship. Muir teaches his young prot

Ryan Adams’ mainstream success couldn’t have come at a better time. With a hit single that has become almost an anthem of hope for the people of NYC, aptly titled “New York, New York”, a new power pop group called The Virgins, and the recently released album “Gold,” it seems like he has the keys to stardom.

What took him so long?

A couple of months ago, only people with a taste for the indie folk rock scene knew who Ryan Adams, (not to be confused with the Canadian singer with an extra B on the name), was.

Although he released four critically acclaimed albums with his former band Whiskeytown, and an impressive solo effort, “Heartbreaker,” America was too involved with simple-minded, bubblegum pop to even take notice. But as times change and trends come and go, good music prevails. Perhaps that explains all the buzz that surrounds Adams all of a sudden.

One of the most admired singer-songwriter-performers of this generation, the North Carolina native, is able to combine the bluesy feel of country and folk, with his admiration of punk power chords, to create his own signature sound.

This is noise that is enjoyable to all sorts of ears: pop, country, ballad and rock equally. With “Heartbreaker” it was more of the artist trying to find himself, but “Gold” is a huge step for him to make more mature music that matters to everyone, including himself.

Following the recording of Whiskeytown’s final album “Pneumonia” this year, the band dismantled, giving Adams the opportunity to focus on his own solo projects. “Gold” broke through months later taking music journalists and fans by surprise.

“I’m giving myself a chance to look at everything around me and not just be the victim,” he explains. “A lot of the subject matter [in the album] is more of me describing things as trying to make sense of them as opposed to just talking about what goes down and the emotions I feel.”

Adams is also busy with a new project called The Virgins, that features Lemonheads frontman Evan Dando, Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha and bassist Melissa Aur der Mauf (ex-Hole member), and which will go into the studio later this year and the beginning of the next. Plus, he already has more than a dozen songs lined up for his next solo record.

There is nothing that Ryan Adams lacks that is necessary for a true rock hero and visionary on his way. He has the talent, experience, creativity, and style to take him to the top. Not only does his album deserve its name, but his music is golden as well.

Today

Sub Pop Recording Artist Love is Laughter with special guest Enon at Revolver. Doors open at 10 p.m.. Tickets $8. For info, call 305-661-9099.

Tomorrow

“The 2001 Buzz Bake Sale” tour at Mars Music Amphitheater. Featured artists will include Disturbed, Adema, Static-X, Stroke 9, and Tantric, among others. For info or tickets, visit www.marsmusicamp.com

Auditions at Taboo in Orlando for Real World 12 and Road Rules 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. MTV representatives will be looking for participants aged 18-24. Those auditioning are asked to bring a non-returnable photo.

“Distance is the Monster Tour” with punk rockers The Deviates and The Line at Freeze. Tickets are $8. For info, call 954-771-3008.

November 30

Macy Gray kicks off “The ID” tour at BillBoard Live. Show starts at 8 p.m. For info, visit www.billboardlive.com.

November 31

Ginuwine at Bayfront Park Amphitheatre. Show starts at 8 p.m. For info, visit www.ticketmaster.com

December 4

Def Jam recording artist Dj Clue at Florida Atlantic University Gymnasium. Doors open at 7 p.m. For info, visit www.ticketmaster.com.

December 7

Trans Am, Of Montreal, See Venus, Panda Bite and other artists at the Polish American Club. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15.
For info, visit www.epoplife.com.

New York City hardcore legends Sick of It All at Freeze. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets $12. For info, call 954-771-3008.

December 8

Zeta’s Nutcracker Ball, featuring Nickelback, Saliva and Default at SMT. Tickets $15, for info, visit www.zetarocks.com.

January 15-20

The Rocky Horror Show at Jackie Gleason. Call 305-673-7300 for info.

What a tangle web we’ve weaved over the internet. Foolish mortals and wannabe immortals alike have logged on and surfed the Net so many times by now that not even a decade since the Internet became a common feature in a majority of American households, every fabulous freak of nature, obsessed fan, clandestine cult, and person with too much time on their hands can call a place of their own home on the world wide web.
Here are a few of the most bizarre and interesting sites the Internet has to offer for those caught in a perpetual state of ennui. So click, copy, paste, and link up your buddies to some of the kitschiest sites around:

Krazy Kitties
www.konstruktiv.net/kitty_02.html
If the ominous background music, fierce fangs, and hypnotic strobe-light eyes don’t scare you – nothing will!

Dear Diary
www.diaryland.com
www.diary-x.com
Post your personal memoirs on the web, for all or none to see, using an easy-to-understand setup. The sites’ raging popularity goes beyond high school friends checking up on each other; these insightful diaries can become addictive. Check out Uncle Bob and his army of online diary friends at Diaryland.

Down With Times New Roman!
www.fontface.com
Spice up your school projects, personal website and e-mail with a vast world of different fonts. This site has retro fonts and Hollywood-inspired fonts. And forget the alphabet – the site includes fonts where each key is a different cartoon.

Rubber Chickens For All!
www.mcphee.com
Hailing from the epicenter of what’s going to be cool next, Archie McPhee’s site lets you check out the kookiest, coolest toys and gadgets from their store in Seattle. The site allows you to sign up for a free fun catalog filled with rubber devil ducks and goldfish shower curtains.

Clueless Chatter
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/5342/Clueless.htm
“Whatever!”
“Uh, AS IF!”
“Wow! You guys talk like grown ups.”
Maybe they didn’t talk exactly like grown-ups, but you can sure try to by borrowing some of the pretentious vocabulary used “sporadically” by Alicia Silverstone and crew in “Clueless” by perusing this site. Compiled by a Silverstone-afficionado, the site features the entire script of the now-classic 1995 Amy Heckerling movie accompanied by some endearing still-frames from the film.

Unlike the gritty, socio-political fury of the East Coast punk and hardcore scene, its West Coast counterpart produces a lighter, cleaner blend of punk influenced by the surf and skate community of California, and in most instances, burns on teenage attention spans rather than the need to discuss life’s tribulations.

The Line’s “Monsters We Breed” is a promising release from a close-knit four member punk band based out of Big Bear Lake, Calif. Their fourth album for Volcom Entertainment, (a record label subsidiary of the popular youth driven clothing company) personifies the label’s attempt to stray away from redundant, speed driven punk in favor of bands that can craft an eccentric and fairly abstract sound and still express the genre’s anti-establishment roots.

“We pride ourselves on originality, quality, and the true definition of punk, something that is radical and unorthodox. Our main goals are to remain independent from any outside influences and to take care of our bands,” said Ryan Immegart, a co-founder of Volcom Entertainment and member of The Line.

“Monsters We Breed” flirts with an occasional pop flavor, yet many of the songs possess intriguing bridges and the album’s choruses achieve a fluid urgency highlighting the album’s apt production by Steve Kravac, a member of Ten Foot Pole.

The title of the record is a metaphor describing the band’s passion for writing and playing music.

“It has become a monster. It controls our lives in every way. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but either way our life lessons become the songs we write,” Immegart said.

Lyrics to songs like “The Earthworm Crisis” and “Heartattack” hint at an almost semi-existential quality in their messages about appreciating life and friendship, done with just enough candidness and honesty to separate The Line from bands that write similar songs merely to pick up chicks.

While such emotional subject matter is common with Emo-core, the current punk movement is mainly divided into bands that reside within the fatalistic gutters of anarchy and alcoholism, cater to the Farrelly Brothers’ audience, or quickly become trapped in a wad of corporate bubblegum.

Regardless of whether you personally like this album, The Line has undeniably put together 11 songs that drift quickly through the tide of human experience and offer a fresh take on the rebellious energy and concerns of punk rock.

In what may be surprising to some of their fans, The Line is rumored to be in the midst of a deal with MCA records, a move that may challenge their tightly held ambitions and DIY beliefs.

With “Monsters We Breed” demonstrating the group’s future potential and artistic direction, a major label release will prove if they can maintain the difficult balance between mainstream popularity and original credibility, something Volcom has done considerably well at, as both a clothing company and a (still remaining) independent record label.

The Line will be opening for the Deviates tomorrow at Freeze in Fort Lauderdale as part of the “Distance is a Monster Tour.”

What was once a game room full of battered and worn billiard and ping-pong tables has now transformed into a futuristic, hip caf