See “Children’s Hospital” (thewb.com), a Web series from former “Daily Show” star Rob Corddry. The free five-minute episodes spoof the melodrama and preposterous plot twists of TV medical shows.

Hear “Music for Abraham Lincoln” ($23.93; amazon.com) by Anne Enslow, a NEWSWEEK correspondent, and Ridley Enslow. Recorded from original sheet music found at the Library of Congress, this meticulously researched album takes listeners back to the heyday of parlor music. Each tune was written for or about the former president, born 200 years ago next month.

Surf Mother Nature Network (mnn.com), an environmental-news site cofounded by Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell. It aims to be the CNN of all things green, featuring breaking stories, celebrity interviews, blogs and video reports from around the country.

See “Two Museums, One Culture” at the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, Mass. This ambitious survey of icons from the 16th through the 19th centuries includes 16 rare works from Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery ($5; russianiconmuseum.com).

Hear “Don’t Believe” by Cherry holmes III. This family of six has created a bluegrass sound that explodes with exuberant fiddle, expert banjo and passionate harmonies. With energy to spare, the new album is a foot-tapping delight ($12.98).

Rent “The Edge of Heaven.” Cultures, generations and lovers collide in director Fatih Akin’s stunning, moving drama, which whirls from Germany to Turkey, tenderness to terrorism. It’s a multicultural epic.

See “Dialogue Among Giants: Carleton Watkins and the Rise of Photography in California.” This exhibition of approximately 150 works by Watkins (who became the official photographer of the California State Geological Survey) captures the social, political, economic and artistic developments in California as it reached statehood in 1850 through the mid-1880s (through March 1, 2009; getty.edu).

Rent “Le Doulos.” Is JeanPaul Belmondo a crook or a police informant? In Jean-Pierre Melville’s tough, tricky, fatalistic 1964 film noir classic, nothing is as it appears to be, and the twists come as fast as a speeding Citroën on a rainy Paris street.

Hear “Only by the Night” by Kings of Leon. These Southerners have executed a fourth album that stays true to their hard-rock edge yet interjects raspy wails and guitar riffs with sweeping mellow tracks you’ll be singing in your head. Try: “Closer.”

Shop Target starting Sunday for the debut of its line of Anya Hindmarch handbags ($19.99 to $49.99) and Sigerson Morrison shoes ($29.99 to $39.99).

Get away for Columbus Day. Check smartertravel.com for a review of last-minute deals, including early-season ski trips, Oktoberfests and spas.

See “Leonardo da Vinci: Drawings From the Biblioteca Reale in Turin” at the Birmingham (Ala.) Museum of Art. One of the most significant groups of drawings by the great draftsman, the works appear here for the first time in their entirety outside Italy (through Nov. 9; artsbma.org).

Hear “Rattlin’ Bones” by Australian husband-and-wife duo Shane Nicholson and Kasey Chambers. This raw country album has pitch-perfect harmonies, quick guitar and exuberant banjos, and will get any foot tapping. Song to wind down to: “Wildflower.”

Rent “Ken Russell at the BBC.” Early in his notorious career, Ken Russell reinvented the biopic on TV with these wild and marvelous dramatizations of artists’ lives. This collection features his feverish film on Isadora Duncan and the lyrical “A Song of Summer,” about Frederick Delius.

Rent “Dirty Sexy Money,” the complete first season. If you need to be convinced to watch this show, you probably can’t be sold. But here goes nothing: Family secrets. Torrid affairs. Dirty deeds. Not to mention a stunning ensemble cast. You’re still reading this instead of watching?

See “Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power” at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The exhibition features five decades of rare and never-before-seen photos of prized activists, entertainers and political figures taken by America’s portraitist (through Jan. 25, 2009; corcoran.org).

Surf smartertravel.com and click on “travel advice” for tips on how cash-strapped college students can save money on flights home (or that upcoming winter break in Cancún).

Go to the World Festival of Sacred Music in Los Angeles to see 1,000 performers from across the world—including throat singers from Mongolia and Israeli composer Yuval Ron—perform in 41 events of sacred music and movement (Sept. 13–28; festivalofsacredmusic.org).

Read “The Flavor Bible” by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg ($35). This unique cookbook encourages chefs to ditch their recipes and follow their imaginations instead. The book lists thousands of classic as well as offbeat flavor combinations. Look up “chicken” and you get “figs, honey, thyme and white wine,” among dozens of other serving ideas.

Hear “How to Walk Away” by Juliana Hatfield. After 20 years, the songstress still packs a wallop on her 10th album, featuring edgy tales of heartbreak sung with that classic sweetness.

Rent “Smart People.” Dennis Quaid heads a terrific cast (Ellen Page, Thomas Haden Church, Sarah Jessica Parker) as a monumentally self-absorbed widower and college professor in this sharp indie comedy about a dysfunctional family that’s, well, too smart for its own good.

Hear “This Is the Life” by Amy McDonald. This Scottish singer has hit our shores with an album that is exuberant in its folksy energy. Her quick guitar and fast-paced lyrics make for a debut that is sure to leave a bounce in your step. Standout track: the title song ($13.98).

Visit Philadelphia for “Bug Fest” at the Academy of Natural Sciences. Watch a roach race, touch live insects and sample creepy-crawly cuisine at the Ace of Arthropods cookout that’s sure to please the kids, even as it grosses them out (Aug. 16–17; ansp.org).

Go to the New World Flamenco Festival in Irvine, Calif. Featuring performances by Spanish dancers María José Franco and Juan Ogalla, the event also has film showings, courses and an exhibit by flamenco photographer Daniel Muñoz (Aug. 8–17; thebarclay.org/festivals).

Hear “The Airborne Toxic Event.” This self-titled debut album from the L.A.-based band will rock you with energetic guitars, haunting violins and melodic hooks at every turn. Song you’ll want stuck in your head: “Sometime Around Midnight” ($12.98).

Visit Rome. American Airlines is offering round-trip fares from $750 for travel in September, October and early November (book by Aug. 7). Log on to smartertravel.com or aa.com for details.

See “Hail to the Chief: Images of the American Presidency” at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Timed to coincide with the Republican National Convention, the exhibition includes presidential portraits, photos, handwritten letters and campaign materials (through Sept. 21; artsmia.org).

Subscribe to mPassport, a service for travelers that allows you to access a database of English-speaking doctors on your cell phone from anywhere in the world. The list covers more than 4,200 doctors in 180 countries. For details visit mpassport.com.

Rent “The Band’s Visit.” An Egyptian police band en route to a concert gets stranded in a remote Israeli desert town. This droll and poignant crowd-pleaser, set several decades ago, wrings fresh and unsentimental variations on themes of cross-cultural misunderstanding and reconciliation. Its understated charm is impossible to resist.

Go to Rockland, Maine, for the Maine Lobster Festival. One of New England’s premier summer events, the event (now in its 61st year) includes a lobster-crate race, a parade, kids’ activities and—did we mention?—lots of fresh Maine lobster (July 30–Aug. 3; mainelobsterfestival.com)

Surf lotsahelpinghands.com, a free service that helps family and friends coordinate the caregiving tasks of a loved one in need. Through an easy-to-use group calendar, members can sign up for available tasks or check commitments—though the service’s e-mail reminder system will make sure you don’t forget.

Eat Bissinger’s gummy pandas. These award-winning treats come in flavors like green tea/ spiced peach, pomegranate/white tea and blueberry acai. Packed with antioxidants, these snacks are a healthy upgrade for your sweet tooth ($13.50 for a one-pound bag; bissingers.com).

Buy “The River Cottage Family Cookbook.” With more than 100 recipes and kitchen projects, this attractive book helps kids understand the importance of local, organic, seasonal and humanely raised food (Ten Speed Press. $32.50).

Hear Buddy Guy, “Skin Deep.” The reigning king of Chicago blues, Guy slashes his way through “Best Damn Fool,” upstages Eric Clapton on “Every Time I Sing the Blues” and plumbs his roots on “Out in the Woods.” A highly personal affair that suggests this is his time after a while.

Rent “The Bank Job.” This thriller stars Jason Statham and femme fatale Saffron Burrows, two ex-lovers involved in a bank heist that’s about much more than money. Very satisfying indeed.

See “Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling” at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Complete with five contemporary model homes, the exhibition highlights the prefab house’s centrality in the discourse of sustainability and architectural innovation (through Oct. 20; moma.org).

Visit the Harley-Davidson Museum. Located on 20 acres in Milwaukee, the newly opened facility celebrates the cultural icon of the H-D motorcycle through exhibits, displays of vintage bikes and a life-size still-action re-creation of a 1920s board track (h-dmuseum.com).

Rent “Mon Oncle Antoine.” Often cited as the greatest Canadian film ever made, Claude Jutra’s 1971 marvel is a bittersweet coming-of-age story set at Christmastime in a snowy Quebec mining town. Criterion’s double-disc edition offers a restored, high-definition digital transfer. Not to be missed.

Surf BabyCenter, which has launched a new social-networking site for parents (community.baby center.com) that lets you share photos, blog, keep up with old pre-natal yoga buddies and meet new families with common interests.

Rent “Baby It’s You.” Twenty-three-year-old Rosanna Arquette burns up the screen in this story of a smart, ambitious Jewish girl from New Jersey and the sharkskin-wearing townie she loves. This honest, class-conscious depiction of high-school life in the late ’60s is one of John Sayles’s best, and least-known, movies—and it’s never been available on DVD before.

Hear “The Day Is Brave” by Brendan James. His compelling lyrics, soothing tenor and piano virtuosity make this debut album a stunning listen. Highlights include “Green,” a sweet musing on a former girlfriend ($13.98).

Surf pollinator.org. Due to bad environmental practices, pollinating species like bees and butterflies are being threatened. To encourage their proliferation, this Web site offers a downloadable planting guide that tells you which plants are best for encouraging a pollinator-friendly habitat.

Rent “Persepolis,” Marjane Satrapi’s funny, defiant and unique animated vision of her tumultuous coming of age in Iran—with a hilarious detour to her exile in Vienna. It’s like no animated movie you’ve ever seen.

Surf livestrong.com, a health, fitness and lifestyle Web site launched by the Lance Armstrong Foundation and Demand Media Inc. Browse thousands of videos, articles and nutritional-food profiles, as well as networking with others trying to meet similar health and fitness goals.

Hear “Supreme Genius of King Khan,” by King Khan and the Shrines. Garage-rock shaman King Khan has been peddling his sweaty blend of psychopunk R&B through Europe for nearly 10 years. Now with their first stateside release, the man and his band are set to arrive on our shores—all blazing horns, churning organ and barbed-wire guitar. Yow! ($13.98)

Hear Jakob Dylan’s “Seeing Things.” With the Wallflowers on hiatus, Bob’s son steps out with his first solo album. The stripped-down guitar leaves plenty of room for lush, knowing vocals ($15.98).

Buy Physicians Formula Eye Shadow Duo. All the ingredients in these two-color sets are certified organic and made without parabens, harsh chemicals or synthetics. Better still, they’re reasonably priced and found in drugstores. And when you’re done, just toss in the recycling bin ($7.95).

Surf mozes.com, a free music-networking site that connects people to their favorite artists via cell phone. By joining a band’s “mob,” or mobile list, users can receive text-message updates on the new hit single or an upcoming concert.

Hear Emmylou Harris’s “All I Intended to Be.” This crisply sophisticated, sometimes solemnly tinged collection of originals and favorites of her fellow artists shows that Harris is still the stalwart songbird at the top of the roost ($18.98).

Rent “Heavy Metal in Baghdad.” Hipster American filmmakers Suroosh Alvi and Eddy Moretti plunge into bullet-riddled, paranoid Baghdad to chart the fortunes of Iraq’s only heavy-metal band, Acrassicauda, who are driven into exile in Syria.

See “End Game—British Contemporary Art From the Chaney Family Collection,” at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. The exhibition features major works of the radical London scene, from the Young British Artists movement of the 1990s (including Damien Hirst) to today’s avant-garde (mfah.org).