Maureen Ryan

"The Lord of the Rings" collected an awe-inspiring 11 Oscars, and its best picture win was a first for a fantasy film, but fans of fantasy, horror and science-fiction entertainment...

Q. I'm used to seeing spam littered with strange spellings ("V!agra," "Human Grgowth Hormgone"), but now I get messages with a string of nonsense words in the subject line ("bust...

From Mars to Washington, D.C., to Chicago area curbs, this has been a busy week for substances: - Hematite. A mineral that has been found on Mars by the rover...

If you've always wanted to play an instrument, you can start the learning process now, thanks to Boston's Berklee College of Music. The well-regarded music school (alums include John Mayer,...

It's not every day that mysterious identical twins make news -- mysterious identical twins who live in a fortress on a tiny island, no less. But, perhaps even stranger is...

So how do radio programmers pick holiday music for their stations? The old-fashioned way: When the holidays roll around, many execs take a break from focus groups and market research...

Santa Claus and Rudolph, not to mention sleigh bells and that little drummer boy, have provoked an all-out radio war. The 24-hour Christmas-music format, considered wacky stunt broadcasting a few...

Think the swashbuckling Capt. Jack Aubrey of "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" owns the high seas? Think again. Capt. Horatio Hornblower, who stars in a new...

So how goes the Brawny Man's new look? The paper-towel icon, who debuted in a plaid shirt and bushy mustache in 1974, recently unveiled a makeover -- much more clean-cut...

Q. In the November issue of O magazine, Oprah Winfrey writes about the joys of living in a real neighborhood for the first time. She rhapsodizes about pushing a cart...