After seeing Riverside Theatre's annual monologue performance Walking the Wire during its three-day run last weekend, I'm already looking forward to next year. Rarely is a collection of monologues presented locally (with the exception of the woman-power fundraiser The Vagina Monologues, which is structured more like a play), and the Iowa City theatre's Wire provides a unique opportunity for viewers to absorb an assortment of unpublished works presented by diverse individuals. While a few of the pieces were lacking in either character believability or author voice, most of the two- to 10-minute monologues were very engaging.

• It might get getting chilly these fine fall nights, but my pick of the week is sunny-hot with the return of the Fun Lovin' Criminals and the band's new Welcome to Poppy's album, due next week on the DiFontaine/Sanctuary Records imprint.

Having the Ten Commandments removed from an Alabama courthouse is not a tragedy for Christianity, but it is a tragedy for our nation. The fact that our founders were mainly Christians is important because they used their faith to make a constitution that relies on the principles of self-governance.

The River Cities' Reader is conducting its spring photo contest, so get out your cameras and start shooting. Winners will be published in the April 12, 2006, issue of the River Cities' Reader. We are accepting entries in three categories: (1) comfort, (2) mystique, and (3) waste.