For harmonious truth, rarely heard

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Feb 13, 2002

And, as even some critics will grudgingly admit, the band sounds great on the radio in short doses. Hits such as Higher, What If and With Arms Wide Open are heavy without being too heavy, and catchy enough to have become instantly recognizable. Radio programmers, as opposed to rock critics, can't get enough of them. "They consistently come at you with great songs," says music director Steve Strick of WBCN-FM (104.1). "You can see a common thread of music that pulls at your heartstrings," says program director Dave Douglas of WAAF-FM (107.3), the first Boston station to play Creed's music, in 1997. "And whenever something like Sept. 11 happens, people are going to be looking for something to soothe them. Creed has definitely been in the right place at the right time."

"People like rock bands that give them a sense of community," says Billboard editor Timothy White. "You might like the community or you might not, but Creed has a big mainstream rock sound and a positive outlook that they had even before Sept. 11. Their music is rock `n' roll as a rallying point. People leave a Creed concert feeling uplifted. They can go back to their schools and jobs with a little extra spark. Cynics may not agree, but there are plenty of bands for cynics, too."

Those were the days, my friend

NEW YORK (AP) -- Today is the 44th day of 2002. There are 321 days left in the year. This is Ash Wednesday. Here are some business and legal highlights from this date in history:

In 1635, America's oldest public school, the Boston Public Latin School, was founded.

In 1914, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, known as ASCAP, was founded in New York.

In 1920, the League of Nations recognized the perpetual neutrality of Switzerland.

In 1935, a jury in Flemington, N.J., found Bruno Richard Hauptmann guilty of first-degree murder in the kidnap-death of the infant son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh. Hauptmann was later executed.

In 1945, during World War II, the Soviets captured Budapest, Hungary, from the Germans.

In 1945, Allied planes began bombing the German city of Dresden.

In 1960, France exploded its first atomic bomb.

Five years ago: Discovery's astronauts hauled the Hubble Space Telescope aboard the shuttle for a one-billion-mile tuneup to allow it to peer even deeper into the far reaches of the universe. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke through the 7,000 barrier for the first time, ending the day at 7,022.44.

Using humor to lure voters

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- Did you hear the one about the unknown candidate for attorney general who spent more than $1 million on ads making fun of himself? Republican Bob Coleman, a newcomer to Illinois politics, is about to launch a series of campaign commercials that use humor to catch voters' attention. One ad shows him trying to speak Polish at a political event. He ends up saying, "My uncle's chicken is dancing in his underwear." Another shows Coleman's frantic attempts to film a commercial while holding a baby. Baby after baby screams as he tries to talk, and the last one vomits on him. The ads end with the tag line, "Coleman for attorney general. A great lawyer, not a great politician."