MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — It's considered the Holy Grail of comic books: Action Comics No. 1 from 1938, featuring the debut of Superman. And David Gonzales found one mixed in with old newspapers insulating a wall in a house he was renovating in a small town in Minnesota.

Craving meatloaf, I decided to look online for a change from my usual ‘go to’ recipe. Keying in meatloaf, I was shocked when 8,978 hits popped up on the computer screen. Then I realized I was on Amazon.com not Google. Curious, I scrolled down and found “The Great American Meatloaf Contest Cookbook: Great Meatloaf Recipes by Great American Cooks;” “Everybody Loves Meatloaf: More Than 100 Recipes for Loaves and Fixings” and “Fast N Simple Meatloaf Recipes.”

(BPT) - As the warmer weather is upon us, it brings many new activities: baseball, picnics, beach time and – best of all - garage sales. People are purging what they don’t need or no longer want. It’s the perfect opportunity to turn their trash into your treasure.  From outdated odds and ends to forgotten furniture, there is a wealth of worthy items just waiting to be found, re-imagined and re-purposed.

When I was a kid, people used to say to me, “Steve, you’re so lucky to have a father who’s a dentist. He must check your teeth all the time.”

This week, the Stockton-Area Atheists and Freethinkers gathered at University of the Pacific for a live reading of "8 — The Play." We joined with those of other worldviews and faiths to listen to a dramatic, emotional and sometimes comical portrayal of the trial that turned the tides toward marriage equality.

Promises, promises — when Congress debates immigration legislation, it promises the moon. But in the end, it delivers nothing. With today’s Gang of Eight amnesty in full-blown congressional discussions, empty vows about interior enforcement, securing the border and putting immigrants at the back of the line are distractions thrown out to appease a skeptical public.

1. Pianist Dr. Calvin Taylor to perform at Fairmont Seventh-day Adventist Church

(NAPSI)—A TV channel that's known for keeping kids entertained now features programming designed to make moms laugh.

(NAPSI)—A trio of new video games can easily revitalize your family game night, whether your family prefers to battle it out as their favorite superheroes, adventure through magical worlds or cut a rug.

(BPT) - Make wrapping gifts more fun this holiday season. Get your supplies ready, invite some friends and turn up the holiday music.

Dan Smith of Lockeford lingered patiently in the makeshift waiting room near the vending machines. His 12-year-old son Danny Smith clutched a cardboard box stacked full of comic books from the early 1970s. Were they worth a small fortune? The pair hoped so.

The tower of empty white postal boxes waiting to be filled rose 14 feet into the air, taking over a corner of the American Legion Hall on Friday morning.

What does it take to heal one’s spirit and truly embrace the life that’s been given to you?

When the gates swing open on Sept. 13, the Lodi Grape Festival will present the community’s annual harvest celebration that has grown and evolved over the last 78 years.

Pocket knives. Glittering flowers affixed to hair clips. Boxes of comic books in crisp plastic sleeves. And one dashing aviator style leather jacket.

We were in the weeds for most of the summer, and browsing the wide release schedule for the next couple months makes it clear that things are only going to get worse before they get any better. But this too shall pass, and before we know it we’ll all be basking in the sweet, comforting glow of the fall movie season, in the company of Steven Spielberg, P.T. Anderson, Ang Lee and James Bond. But rewards must be earned, and for the time being we’ve just gotta grind it out.

The back cover is closed, and the book is set down with a sigh that is half-satisfaction, half-accomplishment.

Election Scavenger Hunt:

This week’s review of “The Dark Knight Rises” comes a little later than I had initially hoped, but oh well — it’s never too late to spread good news. And I advise you to enjoy the good times while they last, because the rest of the summer looks pretty dicey.

I fancy myself a halfway intelligent person, but I always seem to make the most head-smackingly stupid mistakes. A “for instance” would be the fact that I didn’t realize the News-Sentinel had an early deadline for the Fourth of July holiday, and found myself prepping for a late screening of “Magic Mike” as I discovered that the Lodi Living section was getting ready to go to press. It seems my stupidity knows no bounds.

I typically preface reviews of Pixar films with a disclaimer stating that, while I admire their consistently engaging and often groundbreaking work, I do not share the majority opinion that they are the end-all and be-all of contemporary animated entertainment.

After 13 years of running the city's arts and culture classes and programs, Diane Amaral is retiring, and she has big plans of traveling and spending time with family.

I just didn’t have the heart to take the plunge with “Snow White & the Huntsman,” although its impressive debut at the box office last weekend suggests that it has its share of admirers among the wretched, entertainment-starved masses.

You ever get to the point where you’re tempted to swear off Hollywood studio pictures forever? I get there sometimes, but then I remember that, although it sounds terribly crass to say, the studio system is capable of producing great work — the best work, even, and I say that as an avid admirer of arthouse/foreign cinema.