In an ever-changing city, nostalgia is the one constant. At least, that's how one writer remembers it.

The buzz is good, the cast is stellar, and the legendary director of Nashville and The Player is back in business with a new film, Gosford Park. Dare Robert Altman contemplate a hit? "Be still my heart," he murmurs.

While roaming the city's backyard wilderness, the author crossed paths with predator fish, an English fugitive, and a pack of wild Spence moms.

Before Cameron Crowe was a Hollywood (writer-director of Jerry Maguire, etc.) potentate, he was a rock-journalist prodigy. And his new film Almost Famous proves he's one of those rare people who experienced the seventies who can actually remember them.

With its timely tale of a young man and a not-so-young woman, Tadpole could make director Gary Winick an overnight sensation -- after more than a decade in the movie business.

You say your idea of fun involves lying in the sun sipping caipirinhas? No contest. But a goal can raise your downtime to a higher level. Our writer takes on four island paradises, each offering a challenge, from windsurfing to sous-chefing. Who says self-improvement and hedonism don't mix?

Superlative pizza, dance clubs, tailors, toy stores, and much more, handpicked for you.

Hamptons Living

Petit St.Vincent, just off the coast of Venezuela, is one of the last remaining unspoiled Caribbean islands.