MyAppleMenu Reader

The other things in life

You are here : MyAppleMenu > MyAppleMenu Reader > 2002 > 09

Monday, September 30, 2002

World

Suberting Hong Kong's Autonomy
by Jonathan Fenby, Time
It's taken a few years, but now Beijing has what it wants: complete control.

Life

22 Rooms With A 3-D View
by Paul Richard, Washington Post
The renewed sculpture galleries at the National Gallery of Art take up much of the ground level of the elegant West Building and prompt this odd sensation. Not long after you enter them, your hands will start to tingle.

Monsters And Other Secrets Of The Writing Life
by Dinitia Smith, New York Times
Is there a monster in the house? Is there a baby writer sitting over there on the floor storing up memories of family fights and betrayals for future books? Beware.

EOF

War Cry
by Ted Rall
Making the case for United Nations intervention against the United States, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami told the organization yesterday that military action will be "unavoidable" unless the U.S. agrees to destroy its weapons of mass destruction.

Sunday, September 29, 2002

World

E. Timor Points A Way For Mideast
by Ian Urbina, Los Angeles Times
Strong U.N. action can lead to a peaceful transfer of power.

Life

The Mysteries Of Translation
by Wendy Lesser, Chronicle Of Higher Education
No translator wants his achievement stolen or denied; yet just as certainly, no translator wants her voice to overpower that of her source author.

The Age Of Innocence
by Ann Patchett, New York Times
Perhaps the problem is that as Americans, we no longer have any idea what constitutes a child.

In The Age Of Focus, How The Mind Wanders
by Lisa Belkin, New York Times
Whatever spin you put on it, being distracted is the norm of working life.

As Security Cameras Sprout, Someone's Always Watching
by Dean E. Murphy, New York Times
With the recent arrest of a woman in Indiana whom a security camera videotaped beating her daughter in a parking lot, the presence of electronic eyes across America has drawn new attention.

Saturday, September 28, 2002

World

Some Say Deterrence Is Enough...
by Eugene Volokh, National Review
... but two can play at the deterrence game.

Life

Voices In The Wilderness
by Jonathan Franzen, The Guardian
Readers and writers are united in their need for solitude, in their pursuit of substance in a time of ever-increasing evanescence: in their reach inward, via print, for a way out of loneliness.

The Writing Life
by Stanley Crouch, Washington Post
No matter what kind of literary reception a writer secretly desires, what may please him most is an unexpected, ornery reader.

Tasting It All At A Buffet Of Meridians
by Ann Costello, New York Times
A globe-circling couple and their 12 bags take Radisson's cruise to everywhere.

Think You Have A Book In You? Think Again
by Joseph Epstein, New York Times
Save the typing, save the trees, save the high tax on your own vanity. Don't write that book, my advice is, don't even think about it. Keep it inside you, where it belongs.

Friday, September 27, 2002

World

Outward Bound
by The Economist
Do developing countries gain or lose when their brightest talents go abroad?

Ready To Rumble In Singapore
by David Ignatius, Washington Post
Why is one of the world's most successful politicians also one of the most litigious?

Speaking Freely In The Barbershop
by Micheal Eric Dyson, New York Times
Some of the critics complaining most loudly about the film are not interested in straight talk.

Look Who's Playing Politics
by Michael Kelly, Washington Post
This speech, an attack on the Bush policy on Iraq, was Gore's big effort to distinguish himself from the Democratic pack in advance of another possible presidential run. It served: It distinguished Gore, now and forever, as someone who cannot be considered a responsible aspirant to power.

Life

Give The Guy A Break
by Marian Keyes, The Guardian
When Marian Keyes became a successful novelist, her husband gave up his career to support her. So what's the big deal? Isn't it time we stopped cheering househusbands to the rafters?

A Reader's Rhapsody
by Katie Roiphe, New York Times
It was at Mount Sinai Medical Center that I first felt the power of books, high above Fifth Avenue, where the annual New York Is Book Country fair is taking place this weekend.

In Broad Daylight
by Paul Krugman, New York Times
How could a $30 billion robbery take place in broad daylight?

Web Site Fuels Debate On Campus Anti-Semitism
by Tamar Lewin, New York Times
A Web site that identifies college professors who don't support American efforts in the Middle East has outraged so many professors that more have asked that their names be added in protest.

When Bloggers Commit Journalism
by J.D. Lasica, Online Journalism Review
What do informed amateurs and niche experts bring to the media ecosystem? Should journalists blog? And should they rely on weblogs as news sources?

Thursday, September 26, 2002

World

The Fifty-First State?
by James Fallows, The Atlantic
Going to war with Iraq would mean shouldering all the responsibilities of an occupying power the moment victory was achieved. These would include running the economy, keeping domestic peace, and protecting Iraq's bordersóand doing it all for years, or perhaps decades. Are we ready for this long-term relationship?

In President's Speeches, Iraq Dominates, Economy Fades
by Dana Milbank, Washington Post
As he seeks to boost Republican candidates in the midterm elections, President Bush is increasing his emphasis on terrorism and national security, shedding his previous determination to demonstrate his concern about the flagging economy.

Not Getting America
by Jonah Goldberg, National Review
We don't rule the world. We lead the world — this is a huge distinction to people who live outside the intellectual menagerie of an Ivy League English department.

Tech & Science

End Of The Fossil-Fuel Era
by Jeremy Riflein, Washington Post
Will the European Union take the lead in staking out the future of energy?

Bob Wallace, Software Pioneer, Dies At 53
by John Markoff, New York Times
Bob Wallace, a pioneering programmer of the personal computer era who helped invent "shareware" software marketing , died on Friday at his home in San Rafael, Calif. He was 53.

Hollywood's Gadget Factories
by J.D. Bierskorfer, New York Times
Even with the boom in personal technology — or perhaps because of it — the fusion of science fact and Hollywood fiction has not lost its appeal.

The Virtue Of Engineering Cynicism
by David Weinberger, Darwin
Cynicism among engineers isn't a character flaw. It is key to their strength.

Life

Hong Kong Film At The End Of The Reel?
by Bryan Walsh, Time
Beleaguered by limp sales and rampant piracy, the SAR's movie industry cries out for help.

Magazines Talk Books
by Martin Arnold, New York Times
In a very dicey economic time for magazines, when many find it difficult to sustain themselves, two new ones have just started up, about books of all subjects. Which speaks not only to a particularly bravura entrepreneurial spirit but also to speculation that there are enough people out there who are willing to spend money for their love of commentary about books and the writers who produce them.

Vox Populi, Online And Downtown
by Amy Harmon, New York Times
A meeting at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in July at which 4,000 New Yorkers gathered to pass judgment on the original six plans for rebuilding the World Trade Center has been cited as an exercise in the very principles of participatory democracy, in which informed public discussion leads to the best decisions.

Pop-Up Move To TV Set From Computer Screen
by Brian Steinberg, Dow Jones Newswire
The pop-up ad — that Internet bane — has migrated to the TV screen, despite achieving widespread disdain from lovers of the Web.

Bending Journalistic Ethics Sometimes Does More Good Than Bad
by Jack Mabley, Daily Herald
The Tribune firing of Bob Greene has generated nationwide discussion about journalistic codes of ethics. I mentioned in a TV interview that by today's codes I'd have been fired a dozen times for some of the things I did as an investigative reporter and editor.

Wednesday, September 25, 2002

World

The Roaring Nineties
by Joseph Stiglitz, The Atlantic
As the chairman of Bill Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers, and subsequently as the chief economist of the World Bank during the East Asian financial crisis, Joseph Sitglitz was deeply involved in many of the economic-policy debates of the past ten years. What did this experience tell him? That much of what we think we know about the prosperity of the 1990s is wrong. Here is a revised history of the decade, by the winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics.

Life

TV Ads Show Generation Y's Anti-PC Attitude
by Michael Walker, New York Times
Television ads are increasingly seen as a way to reach under-25 viewers for whom television is merely another spoke in a personal media hub.

Naples, By Pizza Possessed
by Daniel Williams, Washington Post
The pizza has soul here, and you can't alter soul.

Tips Past The Tipping Point
by Florence Fabricant, New York Times
Handy tip charts showing up lately on restaurant credit card receipts all over the country do more than spare you the math.

Despite Starbucks Jitters, Most Coffeehouses Thrive
by Kevin Helliker and Shirley Leung, Wall Street Journal
The battle between independent coffeehouses and Starbucks may be one of the most hostile — and most misunderstood — rivalries in retailing.

Michel Houellebecq: Drunken Racist Or One Of The Great Writers? The Jury Is Out
by John Lichfield, Independent
Prophet; pornographer; fascist; racist; trouble-maker; drunk; nihilist; moralist; self-publicist; misogynist; martyr to freedom of speech; one of the greatest living writers. Which is the real Michel Houellebecq?

Expressions

Piazza Pilo
by Rosanna Warren, Slate

Tuesday, September 24, 2002

World

Hitler And Bad History
by Richard Cohen, Washington Post
What worked for Stalin may be working for Hussein.

Tech & Science

No Island Is An Island
by Duane Silverstein, San Francisco Chronicle
Although islands conjure up images of pristine tropical paradises, they are also among the world's most threatened ecosystems.

Here They Are, Science's 10 Most Beautiful Experiments
by George Johnson, New York Times
What they have in common is that they epitomize the elusive quality scientists call beauty. This is beauty in the classical sense: the logical simplicity of the apparatus, like the logical simplicity of the analysis, seems as inevitable and pure as the lines of a Greek monument.

The Clockwork Computer
by The Economist
An ancient piece of clockwork shows the deep roots of modern technology.

Life

Battle Of The Planets
by Michael Holden, The Guardian
Selling the future is a dirty business.

What Matters To Us
by Peter Carlson, Washington Post
Us magazine looks like a cheesy gossip rag. And it is a cheesy gossip rag, of course, but it's also a brilliant anthropological study of the folkways, the mores, and the bizarre mating habits of that exotic tribe known as celebrities.

Publishers Trying To Salvage Troubled Magazines
by David Carr, New York Times
Publishers of magazines old and new are trying to salvage brands that advertisers and readers have left behind.

Monday, September 23, 2002

World

High-Altitude Rambos
by Bob Herbert, New York Times
"So many men and women have fought and died for freedom in this great country, and now we are in danger of ruining that in the name of security."

Tech & Science

Blood In The Jungle
by Betsy Carpenter, U.S. News
A newly discovered Maya text chronicles the ebb and flow of an ancient superpower conflict.

Life

The Better Angels
by Andrew Curry, U.S. News
From Fort Sumter to Appomattox, parks that once confined their interpretation to military maneuvers and strategy are now beginning to talk about the causes and consequences of the war.

Can McDonald's Shape Up?
by Daniel Eisenberg, Time
Will a broader menu and spiffy new digs get the burger giant on track?

The Art Of Darkness
by Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times
On 'Stepford Wives' anniversary, Ira Levin is surprised by his effect on popular culture.

Kids Lit Grows Up
by Charles Taylor, Salon
Inspired by Harry Potter, bestselling authors Michael Chabon, Neil Gaiman, Carl Hiaasen and Isabel Allende are spearheading a renaissance in books that enchant readers of all ages.

Make Room For Daddy
by Charles Taylor, Salon
Why do men sit on subways with their legs splayed like Suzanne Somers' in a Thighmaster ad? Is their precious package more important than our comfort?

Shanghai, Modern But Still Exotic
by Daisann McLane, New York Times
Shanghai may no longer have the raffish mystique of its early 20th-century incarnation as a place of guns, girls and gamblers, but a different mythology, no less alluring, has taken its place.

Why Are English Departments Still Fighting The Culture Wars?
by Mark Krupnick, The Chronicle Of Higher Education
Everyone has heard about the culture wars that have torn apart university departments of English. But it was still shocking to read a New York Times article a few months ago about how animosity between traditional and theory-oriented professors at Columbia University has decimated its once-great department.

Expressions

Dancing Lessons
by Liza Ward, The Atlantic
In June of 1959, on the day before Charles Starkweather was to be electrocuted, my mother went out and bought a Studebaker Golden Hawk. Teenagers were gathering around the Nebraska State Penitentiary, waiting for the lights to dim when 2,200 blue volts went slamming through the murderer's body. I'd been watching them strut back and forth across the television screen from the safety of our living room. They were defiantly hanging off the hoods of cars, slugging beer, their eyes fixed on the prison windows for some sign of Starkweather's passing.

Sunday, September 22, 2002

World

A World Away
by Robert G. Kaiser, Washington Post
Central Asian students see the U.S. — and themselves — in a new light.

Life

The Safety Catch
by Phil Hogan, The Observer
Why hi-tech solutions fail to answer low-level problems.

Must-See Metaphysics
by Emily Nussbaum, New York Times
Joss Whedon knows how to sneak complex ideas into pop packages. Having created an alternate feminist universe with 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' he is exploring existentialism with his new sci-fi series, 'Firefly.'

Free Speech 101
by Dahlia Lithwick, Slate
Wartime censorship is alive and well and living on campus.

Saturday, September 21, 2002

World

Why I'm Fighting Federal Drug Laws From City Hall
by Christopher Krohn, New York Times
How did I, a mayor of a small town in California, wind up in a tug of war with the Drug Enforcement Agency?

Life

Musical Chairs
by Peter Paphides, The Guardian
Today's pop stars, say their critics, aren't half as talented as their predecessors because they have little or nothing to do with writing their songs. But that misses the point. Kylie and Robbie aren't really so very different from Elvis or Frank. In pop, the songwriter has always been the power behind the throne.

A Beautiful World
by Hank Stuever, Washington Post
Duct tape and other uplifting snippets from the Miss America front lines.

So Many Planes, So Few Passengers
by The Economist
Things go from bad to worse for big airlines, and not just because of September 11th.

Bribes, Threats And Naked Readings
by Christopher Dreher, Salon
In a world where more and more new books get less and less attention, authors will do anything to promote their work.

Letter From Egypt
by P. J. O'Rourke, The Atlantic
"There is a question," our correspondent writes, "that less-sophisticated Americans ask (and more-sophisticated Americans would like to): Why are people in the Middle East so crazy? Here, at the pyramids, was an answer from the earliest days of civilization: People have always been crazy."

Expressions

Eve In The Garden
by Shelley Renee-Ruiz, The DMQ Review

Glass Darkly
by Sally Ashton, The DMQ Review

Friday, September 20, 2002

World

Crisis Of '62 Calls To Bush
by Lawrence J. Korb, Los Angeles Times
He should ponder how JFK hnadled Cuba emergency.

Iraq, Upside Down
by Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times
Don't believe the polls that a majority of Americans favor a military strike against Iraq. It's just not true.

Tech & Science

Radio Telescope Proves A Big Bang Prediction
by Dennis Overbye, New York Times
After 271 20-hour nights of staring at the Antarctic sky, a radio telescope at the South Pole has confirmed a critical prediction of the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe.

More Sci- Than Fi, Physicists Create Antimatter
by Dennie Overbye, New York Times
In science fiction, antimatter, with its perfect convertibility to energy, is the ultimate rocket fuel, but the CERN scientists see their antihydrogen atoms as a ticket not across the galaxy but in effect to a different mathematical universe, in which positive is negative and left is right.

Life

$2,200 Trash Can? Sure, Why Not?
by Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times
Designers share their visions of the ultimate wastebasket.

Notes From Boston: Big Dig Bluster
by Jane Holtz Kay, New York Times
Boston offers a cautionary tale about how difficult it is to re-create a walking city in a nation long dominated by the car.

Rosie The Star Pulls Plug On Rosie The Magazine
by David Carr, New York Times
The publishing industry, which has increasingly found a new kind of golden goose by hitching magazine franchises to the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart and Ms. O'Donnell, might be rethinking the trend.

Meals Make Us Human
by Felipe-Fernadez-Armesto, The Guardian
Never mind obesity, it's the loneliness of the fast food eater that matters.

Thursday, September 19, 2002

World

Recipes For Death
by Nicholas D. Kirstof, New York Times
We have a window now, while terrorists still have difficulty obtaining reliable recipes for bio- and chemical weapons. If we continue to allow these cookbooks to improve, buttressed by helpful articles in professional journals, then over the next 10 years we may empower terrorists to kill us on an unimaginable scale.

Life

Conan O'Brien Is Mr. Emmy
by Frank DiGiacomo, The New York Observer
"I have one thing that I want to be. I want to be that guy for my generation."

All That Viewers Ask For Is A Little Closure
by Brian Lowry, Los Angeles Times
So are networks hurting themselves in the long run by letting loyal customers, people who sat through a season's worth of commercials, end the experience with a bad taste in their mouths? Because until technology solves this dilemma, just thinking about it as a consumer, does wanting to know how the story ends really sound like too much to ask?

Ebert's Outburst Was Stellar
by Jeff Simon, The Buffalo News
It was awful, I tell you. I missed all the fun.

Wednesday, September 18, 2002

World

D.C. Gives A Lesson In Voting
by E. J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post
Shouldn't a user-friendly society consider user-friendly elections?

Notes From Tallahassee: Two Strikes And You're In Congress
by Diane Roberts, New York Times
If Florida can't get its act together by November's general election, some of Katherine Harris' fellow Republicans may be the ones that suffer.

Life

The Great Expectations Of Women's Magazines
by Mary Ann Sieghart, The Times
If Cosmo wants its readers to beat their 'extreme sadness', it could start by admitting that some things are simply not possible.

Read Between The Lines
by Adrian Searle, The Guardian
With his simple slabs of colour, Barnett Newman reduced painting to its basics. So why is his work so rewarding?

Sober Steps Back To The Runway
by Robin Givhan, Washington Post
After a tough year, the do's and taboos of fashion are still shifting.

From Tuscany, Simple Perfection
by Nigella Lawson, New York Times
When good food writers die — to misquote Oscar Wilde — they go to Italy. I, however, am taking no chances with what will be coming to me in the afterlife and so have decided to spend as much time as possible there while alive.

Learning To Avoid A Deal-Killing Faux Pas In Japan
by James Brooke, New York Times
Yes, something as seemingly inconsequential as the mishandling of a business card can be a deal killer in Japan.

Expressions

Prayer Meeting
by W.S. Di Piero, Slate

Tuesday, September 17, 2002

World

Wretched Excess
by Hannah Beech, Time
Flush with the spoils of capitalism, China's fledgling multimillionaires are living large. Mao would have had a cow.

Tech & Science

In Nature Vs. Nurture, A Voice For Nature
by Nicholas Wade, New York Times
Steven Pinker, a psychologist of language, is trying to make it safer for biologists to theorize about the genetics of human behavior.

New Eyes In Space, Even Sharper Than Hubble's
by Warren E. Leary, New York Times
The Next Generation Space Telescope will allow astronomers to close in on the beginning of time.

Life

Still Sexy After All These Years
by Celia Brayfield, The Times
The ground-breaking bestseller that 30 years ago encouraged us to have more erotic fun has been reborn as sexist as ever but with added social responsibility.

Novel Is Restored, But The Grudge Continues
by Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Times
The things that pass between serious writers and their editors usually are intensely private. Like any process involving genuine intimacy, literary editing presumes both parties' discretion. Its absence is what makes this week's unusual publishing event—the reissuing of Gore Vidal's historical novel "Creation"—more interesting still.

Trent Reznor's Pretty Hate Machines
by David Kushner, Salon
A geek before geeks were cool, the high-tech musician explains why he had to reclaim his programming roots for his next album.

Monday, September 16, 2002

Tech & Science

Against All The Odds
by Jeffrey Kluger, Time
Christopher Reeve tells how he is regaining control of his body, one finger at a time.

Vision Of The Future
by Thomas H. Maugh II, Los Angeles Times
Researchers are on the right track to produce artificial sight for the blind.

Scientist Gives Voice To Blind
by Paula Schleis, Beacon Journal
Ray Kurzweil was 12 years old when it became pretty obvious that the world could expect great things from him.

Life

The Accidental Laureate
by Matt Seaton, The Guardian
Twenty years ago a shy, lovelorn Cumbrian baker, David Harkins, wrote a poem. This year, the Queen read it out at her mother's funeral.

Baggy Clothes Conceal Bigger Issue
by C. W. Nevius, San Francisco Chronicle
So did clothes go baggy first, or did we just get fat?

Double Takes
by Zahid Sardar, San Francisco Chronicle
After the radical social shuffle of the '60s, the Bay Area experimented with communal living, an idea that stretches back centuries in other parts of the world. But for some in the Bay Area, the experiment became a way of life and a stylish way to age together within environments of their own design.

Cheatin', Writin', & 'Rithmetic
by Brigid Schulte, Washington Post
How to succeed in school without really trying.

Cinema At The Cineplex
by Paul Farbi, Washington Post
"Independent" cinema has come to the burbs, and the burbs seem to like what they're seeing.

Secrets Of Digital Creativity Revealed In Miniatures
by Matthew Mirapaul, New York Times
Most of us seem to want to experience an artistic creation as a finished product, not as a mound of raw materials. So an exhibition called "Gobs of Paint" or a concerto titled "Loads of Notes" would probably have some problems attracting an audience. Which means that "Codedoc," an online exhibition of digital artworks that focuses on their underlying computer code, is a daring endeavor.

Sunday, September 15, 2002

World

Good Students And Good Citizens
by James Bernard Murphy, New York Times
Just because civic virtues must be learned, does not mean they can be easily taught — and still less that they can be taught in schools.

Minority Vs National Views
by Tan Tarn How, Straits Times
Instead of questioning whether they are 'true Singaporeans', it may be more fruitful to focus on the issues they raised.

Tech & Science

Physics In Crisis
by Sidney Nagel, Physics Today
Physics is in crisis. We have lost our ideals and focus as a unified field.

Life

Girl Power
by Claire Halliday, The Age
Funky interiors and the best DJs help, but it's the door bitch who can make or break a nightclub.

Going Hunting In Seinfeld Country, Just For Laughs
by Rick Lyman, New York Times
Can a comedian find material for his standup routine on the streets of Manhattan? Jerry Seinfeld tours his neighborhood, the Upper West Side, for some good jokes.

Stop, In The Name Of Love
by Anna Moore, The Observer
More and more people are giving up sex in the months before their wedding. But, abstinence doesn't always make the heart grow fonder.

Saturday, September 14, 2002

World

What Time Is It?
by Michael Kinsley, Washington Post
There just isn't time for all the things it's time for.

Life

Can Women Save Country Music?
by Stephanie Zacharek, Salon
Dynamite new albums from the Dixie Chicks, Kelly Willis and Allison Moorer bridge the gap between alt-country and those cowboy-hat robots in Nashville.

The Poetic Voice Of Change
by Kirstal Brent Zook, Washington Post
Gathering celebrates the passion of author-activist June Jordan.

Friday, September 13, 2002

World

A Tale Of Two Cities
by The Economist
There is one New York that is recovering well from September 11th—and another New York that probably never will.

Life

The Legacy Of The Battle For Seattle
by Tom Hayden, The Nation
With dot.coms bombing and Boeing going, Seattle has lost its artificial luster, returning to the status of a lovely, cultured city instead of the mecca of a global kingdom.

(Never) Mind Your Language
by The Economist
Reviving Gaelic is a tall order, even with taxpayers' cash.

Beware The Perils Of Drink-Dialling
by Marion McGilvary, The Times
A friendly warning for a new student generation about the demon drink, mobile phones and old lovers.

The Restaurant That Fed The World
by Andrew Freeman, San Francisco Chronicle
Windows' general manager reflects on emergence of a dining community.

Book Club Encourages Read-And-Release
by Dan Nephin, Associated Press
Hornbaker is the founder of BookCrossing.com, an Internet book club that combines karma and kismet and encourages people to leave their books at coffee shops, parks, airports or anyplace else.

50 Ways To Leave Your Fajitas Combo Plate
by Robert Siegel, New York Times
The day of a breakup is always fraught with tension. I know it's over, but the cashier doesn't.

For A Change, Commentators Let Coverage Unfold Without Too Much Talk
by Caryn James, New York Times
Television rarely leaves you alone with your thoughts, but for a couple of shining, solemn hours in yesterday's dawn-to-midnight coverage it did.

Thursday, September 12, 2002

World

Exploring A Painful Past
by Margot Cohen, Far Eastern Economic Review
TV shows and films have begun building on new freedoms of expression to probe Indonesia's history of discriminating against the ethnic Chinese.

Tech & Science

The Big Picture On Digital TV: It's Still Fuzzy
by Eric A. Taub, New York Times
Digital television was supposed to be commonplace by now. Instead, it is widely unavailable, and the public remains confused about just what it is.

Grisly Task Changes All
by Tom Walsh, Detroit Free Press
"That was a very emotional moment for me. I suddenly realized I had 40 pieces of the same guy here, the same man, and I know who it is, and at this particular moment in time, I'm the only person in the world who knows that."

First Telescope? Try Binoculars
by Alan M. MacRobert, Boston Globe
As hobbies go, astronomy has a tough reputation.

Life

May I Have A Word, Please?
by Mark Mason, The Times
Do they honestly believe that by raising themselves up on towers of verbiage they will protect themselves from our wrath?

We Will Forget
by Andrew Sullivan
Perhaps we should leave our own memories of that day behind and think of those wives and husbands and children and parents who cannot live a single day without remembering.

What Do We Tell The Children?
by Judith Viorst, Washington Post
Could we tell them
To please stop asking so many questions?

In New York, A Film Of The Unforgettable
by Lynne Duke, Washington Post
For 70 minutes, they watched the twin towers burn. More precisely, they watched an uncut, real-time documentary film of the twin towers burning.

Did We Blow It By Going A Week Early With Our 9/11 Issue?
by Mark Whitaker, Slate
I don't think so, but striking a balance between being "ahead of the curve" and "catching the moment" is one of the many challenges in my job, particularly in this increasingly crowded and competitive media environment.

At Gound Zero: Bagpipes, Readings And Flowers
by New York Times
"This poem makes me feel like my daddy is speaking to me."

Back To Downtown
by Judith Weinraub, Washington Post
The quiet streets of a year ago have been brightened by a new hotel restaurant scene.

Downtown Rising
by Regina Schrambling, New York Times
Surprisingly, few restaurants in the area have closed. Perhaps even more surprisingly, new restaurants are popping up all over, like mushrooms after a rain.

Expressions

The City
by Paul Breslin, Slate

Wednesday, September 11, 2002

Life

On Hallowed Ground
by Dave Barry, Miami Herald
Let's also hope that, when they stand here, they know enough to be silent, to show respect. Let's hope they understand why this is hallowed ground.

Getting On With Life Abroad Plane Home
by Dan Gillmor, San Jose Mercury News
Then I'll then get on with my day. As will we all. As we must.

The Fears Of A Child, Reflected In The Clouds Above Any U.S. City
by Jacques Steinberg, New York Times
What is perhaps most remarkable about the way Sept. 11 has lingered in the subconscious of Michaela, a third grader, is not that she she knew no one who died that day, but that she lives in Omaha, 1,200 miles west of ground zero.

New York Newlyweds Look Ahead, Not Back
by Kelly Simmons, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Sunday, Elizabeth and Anthony Rakis will take their leftover wedding cake from the freezer and share a toast to their first year of marriage. And to a better year ahead.

The Artist's Reponse
by Louise Kennedy, Boston Globe
What has helped us make sense of the senseless? Directly and subtly, in ways enormous and small, the events of Sept. 11 affected artists and the work they created.

Life In The Fields Of Sorrow
by Gerard Wright, Sydney Morning Herald
Shanksville was happy to be Nowhere, USA, but the community has lost its innocence to America's grief tour.

Filling The Sky With Words And Meaning
by James Sullivan, San Francisco Chronicle
"A poem," Emerson wrote in his journals, "is made up of thoughts, each of which filled the whole sky of the poet in its turn."

After The Fear, A New Normalcy For Workers In Sears Tower
by Robert L. Kaiser, Chicago Tribune
A hijacking scare nine days after Sept. 11 was a turning point, forcing many to take stock and re-examine their lives inside and outside the skyscraper.

Windows On The Other Side Of The World
by Richard C. Paddock, Los Angeles Times
Half a world away from New York City, on top of one of Asia's tallest buildings, a small piece of the World Trade Center lives on.

The Troubles We've Seen
by Salon
9/11 thoughts from Mark Crispin Miller, David Thomson, Richard Stallman and more.

An Unlikely Hero
by Rebecca Liss, Slate
The Marine who found two WTC survivors.

Still New York, In All Its Pain And Glory
by N.R. Kleinfield, New York Times
One year after it faced its own mortality, New York, in its daily curiosities and unexpungeable flavor, is still New York. For some time, no one knew if that could happen.

The Bravery Of Strangers
by Mike Viqueira, NBC News
I choose to believe that Todd Beamer saved my life because it helps me to believe in hope.

Reflecting On 9/11 - How Important Is What We Do?
by Kevin Bedell, O'Reilly Network
"Listen Kid, it's not you. Don't take it personal. Everybody's stuff sucks."

Expressions

When The Towers Fell
by Galway Kinnell, New Yorker

Tuesday, September 10, 2002

World

The Path To Peace
by Bill Clinton, Salon
The only way to beat terrorism is for the u.S. to unite the world, not divide it.

Tech & Science

Can These Boxes Be Locked Against Terror?
by Andrew C. Revkin, New York Times
Postal authorities are realizing that strengthening security will take years and the nation is probably even more vulnerable than it was last fall.

Life

Where Art Is A Household Word
by Susan Freudenheim, Los Angeles Times
Audrey Irmas' home is a museum-like setting for large works by big names.

Public Spaces, Still Under Siege
by Benjamin Forgey, Washington Post
An ever-widening security net entangles the capital's architecture.

Publisher Tries Literary Lightning Rod To Attract Latino Writers And Readers
by Mirta Ojito, New York Times
Rayo, a bilingual imprint of HarperCollins, is the first attempt by a major publisher to focus on the Latino market in the U.S. as creators and buyers of mostly English works.

The Power Of James Burnham
by Roger Kimball, New Criterion
ìWho is James Burnham?î How often have I fielded variants of that question while pondering this essay!

Monday, September 9, 2002

World

The City And The Country
by Paul Auster, New York Times
Principles that are a daily reality in New York — a belief in the dignity of the individual, a tolerance of differences — are the bedrock creed of American life.

Tech & Science

Who Killed King Tut?
by Jeffrey Kluger and Andrea Dorfman, Time
The boy King died young and was buried in haste. Now a pair of U.S. gumshoes, armed with modern forensics, is trying to crack an ancient case.

Life

Worth Giving Tourism The Big Banana
by Sascha Jenkins, Sydney Morning Herald
Love or hate them, the surprisingly large number of giant fruits and animals are good news for small towns.

Trying To Hit The Right Note, All Day Long
by Paul Farhi, Washington Post
For TV and radio news stations, the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks will be a nonstop blur of memorial events, emotional reminiscences and related news stories. Their challenge: Cover the occasion without bludgeoning it. Everyone else in radio and TV — those normally devoted to playing cartoons, comedy shows or Kenny G songs — faces a different challenge: Ignore the anniversary without seeming callous or mindlessly irrelevant.

Sunday, September 8, 2002

Life

Go Ahead, Snooze
by Steve Johnston, Seattle Times
What have you got to lose?

In The Soulful 70's, Real Men Played Tennis
by James Kaplan, New York Times
The stars of the modern men's game haven't even begun to arouse the kind of passion tennis players generated a quarter-century ago.

Writer's Block
by Don Aucoin, Boston Globe
Authors may go in and out of style, but it's time to bring George V. Higgins back into fashion.

Writer's Voice Matures With A Generation
by J. Michael Kennedy, Los Angeles Times
Veteran puts aside Vietnam for a tale about boomers who had to settle for less.

The Clouds Of Memory
by Lynne Duke, Washington Post
Windows on the World restaurant lost 72 workers. For those left behind, there is no real moving on.

Don't Rebuild. Reimagine.
by Herbert Muschamp, New York Times
Now is the time for New York to express its ambition through architecture and reclaim its place as a visionary city.

Above All, The Fishing's The Thing
by Rodes Fishburne, New York Times
At Poronui Ranch, there's every comfort on 16,000 acres. But the real lure is the fly-fishing.

Saturday, September 7, 2002

World

The Troubling New Face Of America
by Jimmy Carter, Washington Post
Formerly admired almost universally as the preeminent champion of human rights, our country has become the foremost target of respected international organizations concerned about these basic principles of democratic life.

Life

Placement, People!
by Henry Jenkins, Technology Review
Television's 30-second spot is lurching toward extinction. For the show to go on, the ads will go in.

Poetry And Sept. 11: A Guided Anthology
by Robert Pinsky, Slate
The interest in poetry in the wake of the calamitous attacks of last fall surprised some observers. But the art of poetry makes the breath of any one reader its medium: a commanding appeal, heightened at a time when many of us felt overdosed or overwhelmed by mass media.

Double Exposure
by James Campbell, The Guardian
An old Etonian from a theatrical dynasty, Hugo Williams eschewed the family business and became a poet. His verse reflects his passion for pop music, his obsession with the past and the vicissitudes of his unconventional marriage.

Friday, September 6, 2002

Tech & Science

Mouse And Superman
by Dermot Purgavie and John Goodbody, The Times
Imagine your muscles never aged or weakened, and repaired themselves after injury. Scientists have created a synthetic gene that does just that — and the consequences for sport could be seen as early as the 2004 Olympics.

Life

Sticks And Stones And Lemon Cough Drops
by Sylvia Hochfield, ARTnews
From Joseph Beuys to Eva Hesse to Zoe Leonard, many postwar artists make works in unstable or ephemeral materials. Curators and conservators dealing with latex, lard, bodily fluids, and banana peels are coming up with new preservation strategies.

Television's Special Day Of Pain And Comfort
by Caryn James, New York Times
Television is setting the memorial tone as it offers — or rather demands with its blanket coverage — a day of reflection on Sept. 11.

Thursday, September 5, 2002

World

State Of Despair
by Pete Du Pont, Wall Street Journal
Only freedom can produce truly sustainable development.

Tech & Science

Math = Beauty + Truth / (Really Hard)
by David Appell, Salon
Explaining what the winners of the world's top awards in mathematics actually do isn't as easy as adding 2+2. But we'll give it a try.

Life

The Early Genius Of Wodehouse
by Richard Lambert, The Times
One hundred years ago P.G. Wodehouse left his dead-end job and started his writing career with a series of school stories.

Big Gap For A Poet To Bridge
by Angelique Chrisafis, The Guardian
Coughing back the black exhaust fumes of screeching buses, a handful of poets collected on Westminster Bridge yesterday to commemorate the 200th anniversary of William Wordsworth's sonnet about the spot, now one of London's most clogged-up traffic routes.

Missing The Message On Sex
by Laura Sessions Stepp, Washington Post
Moms in America, take heed: What you think you're telling your teenagers about sex, and what they hear, may be two very different things. And it's your kids' perceptions that shape their behavior.

One Year Later, Standard Time
by Dan Fost, San Francisco Chronicle
It has only been a year since the Industry Standard, the bible of the bubble, shut its doors.

The Laws Of Applause
by William Littler, Toronto Star
Clapping has long been the bond between audiences and performers, but is it losing its meaning?

Expressions

Bessie
by Loraine Campbell, Circle Magazine

Wednesday, September 4, 2002

World

When Scoops Are Product Placements
by Dan Fost, San Francisco Chronicle
Press 'leaks' can serve a corporate agenda.

Tech & Science

Hot Flashes: Exploring The Mystery Of Women's Thermal Chaos
by Denise Grady, New York Times
Is this nature's idea of a joke?

Life

Quotes That Prove Americans Do Have A Sense Of Irony
by David Ward, The Guardian
Its editor, Elizabeth Knowles, said she was looking for the recognition factor, something that was half-remembered and likely to be looked up.

Sept. 11 Goes To School
by Eric Liu, Slate
Patriotism and psychobabble in the civics classroom.

This Is Family Style?
by Jeanne McManus, Washington Post
Memo to the Sopranos: Pass the pasta and mind your manners.

In A Seafaring Body Lurks A Writer's Soul
by Mel Gussow, New York Times
Linda Greenlaw's only complaint about her book tour to promote "The Lobster Chronicles" is that it is keeping her from the height of the lobster season on Isle au Haut.

Ah, Sweet Mysteries Of Trenton, She's Got 'Em
by David M. Halbfinger, New York Times
With her eight comic crime novels featuring Stephanie Plum, Janet Evanovich has made herself the de facto poet laureate of Trenton, N.J.

Up A Mountin, Chasing A Cheese
by Marian Burros, New York Times
Frico, as the Italians call it, is a simple dish for a complicated part of the world.

Why Do Cell Phones Make Us Stupid?
by Lisa Napoli, MSNBC
They make you stupid because they are eroding the art of conversation, filling the air with the banal.

Strange Case Of A Legal Oddity: She Puts Pen To Paper
by Laura Loh, Los Angeles Times
South L.A. court reporter is the only one in California to shun a steno machine in favor of shorthand on a notepad.

Are Weblogs Changing Our Culture?
by Andrew Sullivan and Kurt Andersen, Slate
Why blogging is "a format designed for Unabombers."

What Is It About British Men? Cheap, Drunk And Stiff Lipped
by Sarah Lyall, New York Times
But as various commentators here weighed in on the relative merits of English men and North American women, it began to emerge that Ms. McLaren was not the only foreign woman who has hoped for Mr. Darcy, only to be saddled with Austin Powers.

Expressions

Flush
by Cate Marvin, Slate

Tuesday, September 3, 2002

Tech & Science

With Towers Gone, Area May Be Vulnerable To Lightning
by Gale Scott, New York Times
When the World Trade Center stood, lightning regularly struck its towers and was safely discharged to the ground. Now, Lower Manhattan could be more vulnerable.

As Alaska Warms, Glaciers Stage A Ferocious Dance
by Michael Parrish, New York Times
Why are some Alaskan glaciers growing, while most are shrinking? Much about glacial movement remains mysterious. But in simplest terms, glaciers are a varied lot, each marching to its own geophysical rhythm.

Life

Bloomberg Butts In
by Hendrik Hertzberg, New Yorker
New York City and the anti-smoking crusade.

A Life Of Ridicule?
by The Times
How is Romeo Beckham going to cope with a name like that? We asked four other Romeos.

Osama Bin Laden Is Alive And Well And Living In Utah
by Katharine Mieszkowski, Salon
As the anniversary of Sept. 11 approaches, terror-related urban legends are running rampant. Luckily, Snopes.com is on the case.

Please Turn Down The Orchestra
by Brian Hunt, This Is London
Orchestras have become much, much louder since the 18th century. And the process has gathered pace dramatically since the Second World War.

Monday, September 2, 2002

Tech & Science

Radio Emerges From The Electronic Soup
by Duncan Graham-Rowe, New Scientist
A self-organising electronic circuit has stunned engineers by turning itself into a radio receiver.

Life

How To Write Like A Pundit
by chromatic, O'Reilly Network
If necessary, repeat yourself until your message becomes conventional wisdom.

Wish You Were Still Here?
by Fergus Osullivan, The Times
Why do we go on holiday? When were there, does the reality live up to the expectation? And do we come home with a changed attitude to life and work, or is it just the same old grind but with a suntan?

Art For Tate's Sake
by Caroline Roux, The Guardian
Can a combination of Condé Nast and Britain's premier art institution sell a magazine?

Solemnity Slips Under The Covers
by Howard Kurtz, Washington Post
Nearly a year after sweeping predictions that the news business would be permanently transformed by the events of Sept. 11, the media world has largely returned to business as usual.

Tofu And Zazen By The Sea
by Ted Rose, New York Times
At the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center in Marin County, overnight guests can join in meditation sessions and do chorse — or not.

Expressions

Holiday A La Carte
by Michael Coffey, Boston Review

Sunday, September 1, 2002

Life

My Country, But Not My Home?
by Richard Lim, Straits Times
In today's decentered, plug-and-play world, is home an outdated notion? Isn't one rooted to ideas, rather than to places? Why be a citizen of a small place, when one can be a global citizen?

A Lost Shortcake Recipe Brings Back Bittersweet Memories
by Jane Ganahl, San Francisco Chronicle
"Can you remember how to make Grandma's strawberry shortcake?" my breathless daughter asked on the phone. She was making dinner for her boyfriend du jour, and clearly was pulling out all the stops.

Untouched By Tourism, The Ordinary Can Be Extraordinary
by John Flinn, San Francisco Chronicle
It was a nothing-special kind of day in Petersburg, Alaska: The salmon canneries throbbed and hummed, a flyer in a store window advertised an upcoming totem-pole raising, and in the Java Hus coffee shop, two teenage girls chatted about a wolf they'd seen the day before, right on the edge of town.

On The Home Front
by Linton Weeks, Washington Post
Short story imagines the Reagans in a strange, painful struggle with Alzheimer's disease.

Totally Uncooked
by Peggy Orenstein, New York Times
The latest trend for the health-conscious is raw food. Whether it's really healthy is a subject of heated debate.

MyAppleMenu is edited by Heng-Cheong Leong. This site is not affiliated with Apple Computer, Inc. or any other companies in any manner. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, Power Macintosh, PowerBook, iMac, iBook, iPod, and eMac are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. All other brands or product names are trademarks of their registered holders. Copyright © 1996-2004 Heng-Cheong Leong. All rights reserved. MyAppleMenu supports the Open Link Policy.