Jim Mullen: "The Village Idiot"

For my money, THE reason to peruse ''Entertainment Weekly'' is ''Jim Mullen's Hot Sheet'' (and, okay, the Jennifer Aniston snaps). In that column, Jim has been wisecracking at American culture for many years.

It was interesting to learn the writer relocated his residence to the rural Catskill Mountains, after living two decades in New York City. His book of experiences, "It Takes a Village Idiot: Complicating the Simple Life,'' was a finalist for the 2001 Thurber Prize for American Humor, but Mullen didn't stop there. He continues to share ''fish out of water'' stories, as his syndicate describes them, in a weekly newspaper column, also available to read online.

These essays are a nice find. I say that having abandoned The Big City myself for a country banquet flavored by a babbling creek, backyard bunnies and deer, twinkly skies, and nary a speed bump.

"Daily Herald-Tribune" (plus recent columns)

"The Daily Ardmoreite" maintains many previous Jim Mullen columns in its archive. To access them, type "jim mullen" into the Ardmoreite.com Search box.