The joy of Carol Cling

There's always reward in reading good writing.

And so there is with the piece this morning in the Las Vegas Review-Journal in which Carol Cling writes about local-kid-made-good Anthony Zuiker. The creator of CSI is a big success now, but Carol tells us the human story of a father working apart from his family.

"People wonder why you can't go for a beer on a Friday night -- but there is no beer," he says, clearing his throat as the emotion builds. "I'm writing in a small dingy office and just trying to get home to my kids."

I know what it feels like, brother.

I'm always glad when I take the time to read Carol's writing. Aside from pieces like this, she writes movie reviews for the newspaper. Over the years, I've been able to compare my tastes to Carol's and thereby come up with an accurate personal read on her recommendations.

For example, if she says an action film stinks, it's probably worth seeing for me. If she says an action film is good, it's probably excellent. And if she says an action film is excellent, it probably stinks in my book.

And, isn't that we all look for in a movie critic? If you can find out where you fit on the Cling Scale, you'll have a good fix on the weekend flicks. (See her latest here.)

The added joy of Carol Cling is that aside from being a true bell in movie assessment, she's also a fine writer.