As I stood in New York's Mercury Lounge, after walking what felt like the length of Manhattan, my feet ached. When I plonked myself down I realized, to my delight, that I rested next to William B. Johnson. Former bucket drummer to Alicia Keys during "The Diary of Alicia Keys" tour, Wil and I spent the evening comparing the onslaught of bands that addressed the stage. Having intrigued me by claiming to be very good with his hands only seconds after introducing himself, he confidently assured me that whilst his own band Drumadics was very different, he could blow these other kinds of performances out of the water -- or off the stage, as it were.

Subsequently, he invited me to his practice session at The Studio on the West Side of Manhattan to prove his point. The only other musicians I'd met in New York up until now were from Williamsburg. On the whole they were pouty, bar-sitting notebookers (anyone who has been there will know only too well what I'm talking about). Wil, who lives on the Upper East Side, is jocular and affable; he's someone who doesn't seem to take himself too seriously. And for this reason I made the assumption that his band might be just a little better than amateur. How wrong I was.

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Post-traumatic stress disorder has become a household term, especially in the context of combat. Every day, some media outlet in the country talks about the PTSD of our veterans and troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, with the number now estimated to be 95 percent rather than the 20 percent previously reported. But what we aren't talking about as a country is the long-term consequences of that trauma. Michelle Obama and Jill Biden have created "Joining Forces" to help the families of our servicemen and women, the program's concerns being "employment, education, wellness and public awareness." Ms. Obama gave as an example of the outcomes she'd like to see: "better career opportunities for veterans and their spouses." Though a good job is essential, the prerequisite to one is a veteran's physical and mental wellness. That wellness is also essential for what I see as any family's most critical concern: their children's prosperity.

Our children's prosperity demands that we talk about their vulnerability to their parents' invisible wounds. In a terrible and cruel irony, when a member of the service returns home from combat, what they most want to achieve -- safety and sustenance for their children -- becomes elusive. The trauma of combat not only persists in tormenting the veteran, but the ghosts it creates haunt the entire household, infecting the children with the veteran's melancholy, depression, anger and unresolved grief.

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On Monday night, California’s former Governor and first lady announced their split after 25 years of marriage. “After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion and prayer, we came to this decision together,” they said in a joint statement.

We have to say, we didn’t see it coming: Unlike so many political marriages which have been marred by scandal as of late, the union of Schwarzenegger, 63, and Shriver, 55, seemed rock solid. Sure, they were always somewhat of an odd coupleâ€"he the Republican bodybuilder-turned movie star, she the brainy Democrat member of the Kennedy dynastyâ€"but in the quarter-century they spent together, they seem to have weathered it all, from multiple election campaigns to sexual misconduct allegations to state budget crises to parental deaths, all the while raising four kids. This was a pair who earned their frequent power couple designation in spades, not unlike that other longtime political duo who surprised the world with their split last year.

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I just ate the tastiest roast chicken I have eaten in years, perhaps ever. And I've eaten roasted fowl all over the world, from the vaunted Bresse chickens of France to the legendary black-skinned chickens of Hong Kong, even Ethiopian roast chickens (spicy) and Japanese birds marinated in sake. This bird was a two-and-a-half pound chicken which had been raised on a small local family farm just outside of L.A, fed on clover, grubs and seeds, allowed to roam about in its open field, and -- when killed and dressed -- shipped fresh within hours to a new butcher shop in West Hollywood. (No, it's not a premium Jidori chicken from the Mao family downtown, since they don't yet sell retail.) I purchased this bird at Lindy and Grundy, Local Pastured and Organic Meats (801 N. Fairfax Avenue, between Waring and Willoughby, a block north of Melrose, Suite 105, tucked into the corner of the little coffee shop mall (323) 951-0804) They are a few blocks north of Canter's Deli and the epiphanal meat/bacon restaurant, Animal.

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