RTS 5 the THE HOTTEST PICKS IN ENTERTAINMENT FROM A DAILY ARTS WRITER .on fire S Michael Cogswell's interview on National Public Radio - Cogswell, who's opening a museum in Queens dedicated to his research on Louis Armstrong, aired homemade tapes recorded by Armstrong, offering a glimpse of some unheard sultry notes as well as Armstrong's appreciation of Jews. By Michelle Kijek Daily Arts Writer "All of This" - The second single from blink 182's new album. Robert Smith's melancholy vocals and lyrics add a softer, smoother side to blink's gritty edge. The only question is, who's this Holly girl that reappears on another track? Courtesy of Dreamworks My God! I look so amazing over there. After just releasing one of the most beauti- fully pop-deviant records of the year, singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright is out performing his new material across the United States. A talent- ed entourage of open- ers will be aboard for Rufus the tour, including Wainwright the always enter- Thursday at6p.m. taming guitarist At St. Andrew's Teddy Thompson Hall and Rufus's sister, ClearChannel Martha Wainwright. But with the family presence and autobio- graphical themes that his new album, Want One, thrive on, the audience should be looking forward to much more than just a duplicate of this past holi- day's family reunion. Attesting to the fact that the lyrical imagery of the new album is distinctly reminiscent of his real life, Wainwright made it clear that his work and personal life were two completely separate entities. He explained, "On one hand I can't really say that my work and my record is my life. Only because I have real com- mon needs like everybody else and, you know, it doesn't matter how many songs I sing or how much I sing about it, I still have to do the work myself, you know, just to accomplish what everybody else has to accomplish ... (like) finding love and happiness." Appropriately, the tour will imbibe similar emotional sentiments. The hope for this tour is that it will inspire a sense of positive reinforcement to the audience it reaches. Wain- wright commented, "The last major tour I did for my album was at a time that was extremely up in the air. It was right after 9/11, and so I think everybody was kind of numb from that experience. People are searching for justice right now, and so I think that, if anything, the show will be more upbeat, more uplifting, but also more meaningful." With great new material and an archive of music that is of equally superior quality, in addition to his comical laid- back sense of humor, Wainwright is coolly confident: "I've always put on a good show." No doubt that this tour will be a night-after-night experience of instant pleasure. rk Tim Burton - With the anticipated December release of "Big Fish" (surprisingly not starring Johnny Depp) and his illustrated short in "The Animation Show," Burton holds his reign as artistic master of Hollywood. "The Ben Stiller Show" DVD. -This short-lived show was sadly cancelled after 12 episodes back in 1992, but luckily the DVD features the 13th unaired episode. Severely underrat- ed, Stiller's show included Janeane Garofalo, Andy Dick and Bob Odenkirk in 30 minutes of sketch comedies. Brett Kelly - Weighing in at about a deuce and a half, this young pudgy actor tickles hearts in "Bad Santa," In all of his movies (including the two others) Kelly has played the role of "the kid." Maybe it's his rosy cheeks and curly blond locks that make him a victim to such type-casting. Sydney strikes back in second Alias' set 'People' looks at life's little struggles By Adam Rottenberg Daily Arts Writer J.J. Abrams' sleek espionage series returns to DVD with "Alias: Season Two." Following the thrilling conclusion to season one, super secret agent Syd- ney Bristow (Jen- . nifer Garner) must AliaS: continue to work as a double agent Season Two for SD-6 on behalf Buena Vista of the CIA. In addition, she now has to come to grips with the realization that her mother (Lena Olin) is actually alive, while attempting to uncover the coveted "Rimbaldi Device." If all of this seems confusing, this DVD set will help initi- ate you into the complicated "Alias" mythology. Even with a strong ensemble cast, "Alias" is Garner's show. She is near perfect in her role and the series hinges on her every footstep. With recent Emmy and Golden Globe nominations in the lead and supporting acting cate- gories, people looking for drama should be satisfied with the show's ever- unfolding cliffhangers and deceptions. The series took on a bold change in direction with the episode "Phase One" that aired after this year's Super Bowl, and Abrams' commentary on it helps to divulge the reasons behind the radical shift away from the status quo. In spite of the changes, the show still filled each hour in the second half of this season with action and intrigue. As one of the best and most exciting hours of television, the DVD set now makes each episode readily available and commercial free. The video is shown in a widescreen aspect ratio that ABC uses for its Hi-Definition broad- casts, making the picture on the set far superior to what is normally on the air. A Dolby digital audio track accompa- nies the episodes and highlights the drama. The six-disc set has the standard set of features found in most film DVDs with episode commentaries, pro- duction featurettes and even deleted scenes. By including as many extras as most standard movies, "Alias: Season Two" rates as one of the most complete might feel from day to day ...' Michael Zahler said about the first time he read "Other People," a play by Christo- pher Shinn. Zahler portrays Stephen, one of the lead Other People Thursday -Saturday at 7 p.m. and Friday at 11 p.m. Free At the Arena Theater By Melissa Runstrom Daily Arts Writer "I've never read anything that I put down and said, 'My God, there is so much! This has everything that you also lives with Petra, a poet who strips for the money and the pure joy of it. She develops a relationship with a Wall Street banker at work who wants to see how she lives. According to Taryn Fixel, the director of the play, it is about "the masks that we put up to the world." All three of the characters struggle to figure out how to make their lives into something that is long-term and satisfying. Like most people in their twenties, they wonder if they will have any effect on other people. "I'm here and present, but next year where will I be?" Zahler described some of the inner turmoil of the characters. The cast found it necessary to meet outside of rehearsal to understand their characters better. They wanted to have more to bring into the practice itself. This desire resulted in, accord- ing to Zahler, an "extremely support- ive" atmosphere, despite rehearsals being scheduled late in the evenings. Fixel, the director, felt however, that the late hours may have had an unex- pected advantage for the production. Commenting on how it added to the realism of the characters, she said, "People would come into rehearsal at eleven after long days, and as much as you try to forget that, you carry it with you." "This is a very scary play to do; it deals with a lot of very sensitive issues, things that we deal with in real life but never want to confront," Fixel said. "The play asks the audi- ence to deal with the things that we shield ourselves from having to deal with. The audience will have to con- front the judgments that they pass on people." "It is a map, the way the lines are written," Zahler said, agreeing with Fixel that the play is dependent on the language composed by Shinn. "Char- acters talk for pages," Zahler added. "Sometimes you get poetic text that is the star of the show, like Shakespeare, and your job is to fill the language and make it beautiful. Here, (the text) is just to live in." No relation. DVD releases to hit the market. ABC is standing behind "Alias" and hopes that pushing DVDs onto the mar- ket, a la FOX's "24," will help boost the show's ratings. This strategy should not scare viewers into thinking that the show is in any danger, though, because it has been renewed until 2007. If any- one is still complaining that there is nothing good on TV, then this set should alleviate any concerns about the gems that are still out there. characters in the new play. The plot revolves around the lives of three people who live together. Stephen, a struggling playwright and film critic, invites his ex-lover, Mark, to spend the holidays at his apartment. Mark, fresh out of rehab and having found God, has invited a kid from the street into Stephen's home. Stephen Show: ***** Picture/Sound: ***** Features: **** DAILY ARTS: WE HAD ALL TH E IDEAS FOR STAR WARS."