Chat With Jewel, Or Ricky Martin On AOL

Jewel has come a long way from being homeless in Canada, (or am I thinking of Jim Carrey?). Her side-splitting rubberface antics in the "Ace Ventura" films were packed with manic energy and pratfalling genius, (no, wait, now I really am thinking of Jim Carrey). No, Jewel is the earnest female rocker whose books of poetry have sold more copies than John Keats had hot dinners. See her in an interview and performance that will be Webcast through ivillage.com at 3 p.m. EST, 2 p.m. CST, 1 p.m. MST, 12 noon PST. Then on the same channel, you can chat with Jewel and her mother at 9 p.m. EST, 8 p.m. CST, 7 p.m. MST, 6 p.m. PST.

Not to sound hyperbolic or anything, but OutKast is the greatest musical group in history. In the jungle of dull corporate rap, OutKast stands out with a clever charm and an undeniable musical creativity and artistry. Their 1998 album "Aquemini" was perhaps the year's best, alternating among multivariate styles with a versatility seldom seen on rap albums. Their latest, "Stankonia," is highly anticipated, especially by me. See Big Boi and Dre perform in a live Webcast on hob.com at 3 p.m. EST, 2 p.m. CST, 1 p.m. MST, 12 noon PST.

Ken Burns is the one of the few people able to gain national fame for making documentaries. It helps that instead of making ones about, say, Christo or R. Crumb, he chooses topics like the Civil War and baseball. A Ken Burns documentary means spending an evening with lots of slow zooms into grainy photos and voice-overs by Garrison Keillor -- not exactly a Jackie Chan movie, but it has a lot of quiet pleasures to offer. Chat with him about his latest, "Jazz," on barnesandnoble.com at 4 p.m. EST, 3 p.m. CST, 2 p.m. MST, 1 p.m. PST.

Bruce Hornsby. What can I say about Bruce Hornsby? Can I say that he's a turn-of-the-century inventor best known for the inflato-scope-ometer, which cures cancer, diabetes, rheumatism, whooping cough, Gulf War syndrome, rock-a-pneumonia, the boogie-woogie flu, perpetual falling down, and the condition known as General Unhealthiness Disorder (GUD)? I could say it, but it wouldn't be close to be being true. In actuality, Hornsby is an '80s soft-rock star who made his biggest mark with "The Way It Is." Chat with him on msn.com at 9 p.m. EST, 8 p.m. CST, 7 p.m. MST, 6 p.m. PST.

AOLers only: Ricky Martin is bright-faced, sexy (so I'm told -- I wouldn't know since I'm such a two-fisted, red-blooded heterosexual American male! Arr Arr! Arr ? ar ar ? ar ? sigh), talented, and knows a good pop hook like I know how to lamely mask latent homosexual impulses. Wait, did I write that or just think it? Oh well, too late now. Anyway, fresh on the heels of the wild, sexy success of "Livin' La Vida Loca," he's got a new album soon, called "Sound Loaded." First there will be an opportunity to listen to it, and then you can chat with Martin himself. It all happens on aol.com at 8:30 p.m. EST, 7:30 p.m. CST, 6:30 p.m. MST, 5:30 p.m. PST. AOL members only. Keyword: Live.