‘Into the Presence’ (Music)

It’s probably too much to hope that one record could restore the word “prog” as a compliment rather than a pejorative, but let’s try anyway: “Into the Presence” is superlative progressive rock and one of the best rock albums of the year.

It’s a coming-out party for Luis Carlos Maldonado, a session guitar virtuoso who is finally making his solo debut. The drummer is Tim Alexander of Primus and A Perfect Circle, but he’s the solid, professional complement: The crunching riffs, soaring voice and wall-to-wall guitars are all Maldonado — no synthesizers required.

Maldonado’s tremolo and preference for a high vocal range are obviously reminiscent of Queen, but that’s hard to fault. His skill as a rhythm guitarist is established on the first track, “End Game,” in which he does a call-and-answer with acoustic arpeggios and electrified riffs.

The highlight of the 10-song set is in the middle, where the majestic “The Garden” is followed by classic rock nugget “Broken Words.” There’s a bit of Spanish guitar in the love song “My Only Crime,” which also has bilingual lyrics.

‘Caprica’ (DVD)

Telling “Caprica’s” target audience to check it out is like a asking a roomful of kindergarteners to give candy a chance.

“Battlestar Galactica” just ended its run on a high note, and the “Caprica” series — which takes place 50 years before “Galactica” and purports to illustrate the happenings that formed that show’s basis — doesn’t air until next year.

So until then, we have this, which pulls triple duty as a feature-length film, a pilot episode and a tease. Happily, it succeeds on all three fronts and fulfills its mission of leaving you wanting more. “

Caprica” makes an imposing entrance by trotting out an entirely new cast of characters (Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales, Paula Malcomson, Alessandra Toreson) and taking its time establishing any intriguing connections between them and the “Galactica” universe. Centering the narrative beginnings around an angst-ridden teenager and the implications of virtual-reality dimensions doesn’t bridge the gap. But “Caprica” uses the extended runtime to its advantage, and by film’s end, the ties between the two series are established and effectively compelling, capping it off with an excellent endgame twist that brings the whole thing around.

‘Me 2.0’ (Books)

Dan Schawbel’s self-help title suggests reinvention, but it’s really about refining one’s identity (and the perception of it) to align with who you are and what you do. He presents a very detailed and comprehensive guide to employing a full arsenal of mostly online tools — including social networking — to develop a public persona that will enable you to be the go-to person for your area of expertise. In addition, he provides a very thoughtful set of self-assessments and bullet points for evaluating and acting upon the appropriate combination of tactics.

Much of what he writes may be obvious to regular (and mature) participants of social networking sites, though it’s also a brave (and cowardly) new world out there, and the risk of tainting one’s reputation and poisoning the well in other ways has increased exponentially, at the very least. But Schawbel also throws in a bunch of fundamental tips for career development and life in general that make his book a valuable one-stop source of practical wisdom.