Friday, January 31, 2003
World
The Bond Of Language
U.S. reliance on English-speaking allies may lead to isolation.
How To Get Inside A Student's Head
In a world with complexities that constantly challenge the abilities nature gave us, serious thinking about trade-offs in education cannot be responsibly avoided ó by scientists, educators or policy makers.
Life
On Film And In Print, 'The Quiet American' Still Fascinates
The book endures, having served as a journalistic guidebook, a prophecy and even a tourist icon.
What's In A Name? Plenty For 'Redskins'
We're supposed to be dispassionate, fair and careful not to distort the truth. If there's a team out there called the Redskins, our readers ought to be aware of it, no? But my inner citizen, who clearly has seen too many Keith Jackson telecasts, is thinking, "Whoa, Nellie! If the Pekin Chinks were still around today, would we use the team nickname in the paper?"
A Beautiful Life - And A Beautiful Death
In this moving account David Beresford, long opposed to the idea of euthanasia, tells how his partner's mother chose to end her life after a long and painful battle against bone-marrow cancer.
Thursday, January 30, 2003
World
Echoes Of 1991
Twelve years later we are back in the gulf, facing imminent war. And with far fewer allies this time.
The Mourning After
Both sides of the debate are furiously positioning to cover themselves in case the other side proves right.
Desert Caution
Onec "Stormin' Norman," Gen. Schwarzkopf is skeptical about U.S. action in Iraq.
Tech & Science
Light Particles Are Duplicated More Than A Mile Away Along Fiber
Employing a facet of quantum mechanics that Albert Einstein called "spooky action at a distance," scientists have taken particles of light, destroyed them and then resurrected copies more than a mile away.
Life
Remake Of A Classic
Sure, theyíve been talking about improving Hollywood and Vine for decades. Now itís really happening, and the changes are everywhere.
Bereft Writers Are Used To It
Inured. That best describes much of book publishing to the changes and rumors of changes swirling about it. What used to be considered catastrophic now seems routine. Live by a volcano and smoke becomes just part of the atmosphere.
For The Mix Tape, A Digital Upgrade And Notoriety
This may be the golden age of the mix CD. Of course, this is also the golden age of copyright infringement, and the music industry is using technological and legal measures to crack down on piracy.
Goodbye, Mr. Chipstein
My interest in university teaching was initially aroused by the leisure it promised.
Wednesday, January 29, 2003
World
Here Comes The New Europe
Although all concerned vociferously deny it, Europe is indeed beginning to divide — slowly, unevenly but perceptibly — into two very distinct camps.
Making A Case
What is most unfortunate about the President's lack of public engagement in the argument for force is that the objections to it are answerable.
Tech & Science
The War And The Web
We have an opportunity to have history write itself. If we capture and save the news stories, remarks and organizing e-mails, then later generations will have the best account ever created for what actually happened in the run up to a war.
Life
The Bean And Me
It was a contentious relationship, until she learned to love them.
Challenging Chefs With Odd Cuts
A small revolution is building: farm-raised, high-quality meats are showing up on special menus around town.
War Of The Words At Hip-Hop Magazines
Editors of two hip-hop magazines, XXL and The Source, are engaged in a nasty feud, attacking one another in print and in rap verse.
Expressions
Tuesday, January 28, 2003
World
Just The Facts
George W. Bush is being told by some pundits and others that ringing oratory is what he most needs in his State of the Union address tomorrow night. That is exactly wrong.
Anti-Europeanism In America
You might say that to highlight "American anti-Europeanism," as I have done in this essay, will itself contribute to the downward spiral of mutual distrust. But writers are not diplomats. American anti-Europeanism exists; and its carriers may be the first swallows of a long, bad summer.
Tech & Science
What Science Can (And Cannot) Tell You
Science has no methods for deciding what is ethical. That is a matter for individuals and for society. But science can clarify the questions being asked, and can clear up obfuscating misunderstandings.
Life
High Priest Of Low-Life America
Loved by Hollywood and lionised by fellow writers, Elmore Leonard still can't see what all the fuss is about.
How 'Jack' Hopped Away With A PG Rating
The "Kangaroo Jack" rating is another nail in the coffin for a ratings board that has shown itself to be wildly out of touch with parents.
A Bookworm As A Child, Now The Talk Of The Town
Right after The New Yorker magazine named Deborah Treisman, a West Villager with lifelong ties to the literati, as its fiction editor, a job that in the vivid imagination of fiction writers carries clout equivalent to St. Peter's at the Pearly Gates, a frisson of apprehension shot through the literary milieu. Ms. Treisman felt it, too.
A Horse-Whisperer's Tale Trails Dominick Dunne
A slander suit brought by Gary Condit against Dominick Dunne for repeating an unsubstantiated tale raises the question of whether journalists can traffic in rumor.
A Goal For Ground Zero: Finding An Urban Poetry
Sometimes we actually do acknowledge poets to be legislators of the world. One of those rare moments may be here.
Come To LeBow Country
Maverick tycoon Bennett LeBow wants to help the world stop smoking. By selling genetically modified tobacco. Grown by the Amish.
Everybody's A Critic
Why is there such a disconnect between those who watch movies as an escape and those who view them for a living?
Grand Old Protest
A Republican web site that even Bush-bashers can love.
Monday, January 27, 2003
World
Affirmative Action: Goal Vs. Issue
How can a concept such as affirmative action split Americans into so many warring factions?
Falling Into The Gap
The Miami area is the most extreme example of the economic inequality that is becoming more and more evident throughout the U.S.
Tech & Science
Health Data Monitored For Bioterror Warning
To secure early warning of a bioterror attack, the government is building a computerized network that will collect and analyze health data of people in eight major cities, administration officials say.
Immortal Code
The CEO goes to trial. The programmers hit the street. And yet sometimes a piece of code is so elegant, so evolved, that it outlasts everything else.
Why VHS Was Better Than Betamax
VHS won because "the whole product" did what people wanted at a price they were willing to pay. And when people use the VHS v Beta analogy, they are not indicating a market failure but their own ignorance.
Zap!
Just by pointing his super-magnets at the right spots on your head, Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone can make you go momentarily mute or blind.
Life
Variations For Four Hands On A Theme By Tocqueville
It's hard for many people to imagine two authors writing together. What happens when they disagree? What if one likes long sentences, the other short?
Sunday, January 26, 2003
World
America's Dreams Of Empire
It is time for people in my part of the world to ask themselves a question: Why are the streets of Islamabad, Cairo, Riyadh, Damascus and Jakarta empty? Why do only fanatics demonstrate in our cities? Let us hang our heads in shame.
Reagan's Son
Bush's seeming invincibility to bad news may be exasperating to Democrats, but it was no surprise to Michael Deaver, the shrewd public relations man who played Karl Rove to an earlier president, Ronald Reagan.
Now 'No' To Agreement, Later 'No' To Independence?
The twists and turns of the Singapore-Malaysia dispute over water have been more complex and surprising than even the best episodes of the X-Files.
Sense And Censor-Bilities
Censorship has existed in societies throughout the ages. The only difference has been the degree of its influence. In the 21st century, censorship must now balance the competing demands of pluralistic and multicultural societies. While a secular society is probably the best protector of freedoms in the modern world, it also has to protect the interests of particular groups against others - via censorship - to keep the peace. There can be no system that will accommodate every wish.
Tech & Science
The Race To Kill Kazaa
The servers are in Denmark. The software is in Estonia. The domain is registered Down Under, the corporation on a tiny island in the South Pacific. The users — 60 million of them — are everywhere around the world. The next Napster? Think bigger. And pity the poor copyright cops trying to pull the plug.
Life
Lust-See TV
The shocking story of a diehard television resister who hops into bed with the tube.
Book 'Em
Getting the secrets of top chefs onto the page takes a gut reaction.
How To Write A Catchy Beer Ad
Football, guitars ó and twins ó turned a commercial into a phenomenon.
Is PowerPoint The Devil?
Is PowerPoint changing not only the way we do business and educate our young, but also the way we think?
Saturday, January 25, 2003
World
Why Bush Won't Wait
President Bush says he has not yet decided whether to go to war with Iraq, but this week the signs were that he had all but given up on peace.
Tech & Science
If A Machine Creates Something Beautiful, Is It An Artist?
Chess could be relegated to the realm of a complex math problem if computers ever "solve" the game ó- figure out all the possibilities and know the result regardless of what moves are played.
The Civil War Inside Sony
Sony Music wants to entertain you. Sony Electronics wants to equip you. The problem is that when it comes to digital media, their interests are diametrically opposed.
Life
Reality TV Alters The Way TV Does Business
Not only will reality shows continue to flood network's schedules next fall, but television executives are also predicting such developments as an end to the traditional television season.
Unbleeped Bleep Words Spread On Network TV
Broadcast television, under intensifying attack by saltier cable competitors, is pushing the limits of decorum further by the year, and hardly anyone is pushing back.
A Blitz Of Super Commercials
Super Bowl advertising is a high-tech art form unto itself; Witness the spot pitting Michael Jordan at 23 against MJ at 39.
A Super Sunday For Football And For Madison Avenue
As Madison Avenue gears up for Super Bowl Sunday ó the biggest day of the year for both advertising and football ó marketers and agencies are adopting a strategy torn from a gridiron playbook: get big or go home.
Friday, January 24, 2003
World
Sex- And Death-Crazed Gays Play Viral Russian Roulette!
Rolling Stone claims that a full quarter of new HIV infections stem from morbid thrill-seeking. Sean Hannity is swallowing the story — should you?
Where's The Bang For The Buck?
What we have here is a huge tax cut for the rich without a commensurate bang for the buck for the economy.
AIDS Panel Choice Wrote Of A 'Gay Plague'
Views of White House commission nominee draw criticism.
Why We Know Iraq Is Lying
The world knows from examples set by South Africa, Ukraine and Kazakhstan what it looks like when a government decides that it will cooperatively give up its weapons of mass destruction. The critical common elements of these efforts include a high-level political commitment to disarm, national initiatives to dismantle weapons programs, and full cooperation and transparency.
Tech & Science
Exhibitionist Technology
Hungry for eyeballs, museums go high techó-and face a rogueís gallery of costs and costly mistakes.
The Guilt-Free Soldier
New science raises the specter of a world without regret.
Life
How To Manage A Dream Factory
Harder times are reminding the industry of the critical importance of creating good content. But that means managing the tensions between artists and suits.
Only Art Can Make Us Human
The complex issue of art and the Holocaust.
EOF
Lucky Segway Winners Are Scooting Into History
"People are more likely to say 'Hi' to you when you are on one of these things."
Thursday, January 23, 2003
Tech & Science
Fickle Evolution: Winged, To Wingless, To Winged
An international team of researchers reports evidence that wingless stick insects have re-evolved wings at least four times in the history of the group.
Master Key Copying Revealed
A security researcher has revealed a little-known vulnerability in many locks that lets a person create a copy of the master key for an entire building by starting with any key from that building.
Because It's There: Putting Everest Online
This year, just in time for the 50th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary's first ascent of Everest, climbers on the mountain will have the chance to connect with the world below by e-mail. That is because Tsering Gyaltsen, the grandson of the only surviving Sherpa to have accompanied Hillary on that famed climb, is planning to build the world's highest Internet cafe at base camp.
The Reality Of Race
There's hardly any difference in the DNA of human races. That doesn't mean, argues sociologist Troy Duster, that genomics research can ignore the concept.
Life
No Purebreds In Publishing
Lingering questions after the upheaval at Random House last week: What constitutes literary publishing?
Meanwhile: On The Queen's English, The Sun Also Sets
When younger Singaporeans do say something in English, they often mean something very different.
Deep Thinkers Missing In Action
Even at elite campuses, some students and faculty fret over anti-intellectualism.
Blondes Prefer Gentleman
Forget romance. The obvious purpose of this show is to confirm all the worst stereotypes about the shallow, bitchy, gold-digging, back-biting ways of women.
Expressions
I Miss My Pants
I miss my pants.
They appear to be somewhat lost.
Wednesday, January 22, 2003
World
In Abortion Rights Fight, A Pause For Celebration
As celebrations go, last night's party marking the 30th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade was decidedly bittersweet.
The Class President
The Bushes see the world through the prism of class, while denying that class matters.
The Cold Test
What the Administration knew about Pakistan and the North Korean nuclear program.
Why Feminism Is AWOL On Islam
As news of the appalling miseries of women in the Islamic world has piled up, where are the feminists? Whereís the outrage?
Life
The Big Time
The Super Bowl deserves nothing less than a massive menu. We're game.
It's Not Totally Bankrupt
"Joe Millionaire" is, surprisingly, not all mean, thanks largely to Evan Marriott.
The Zen Of Briasing
Braising is an art, but one that requires no advanced degrees to master — just simple, often inexpensive cuts of meat and lots of time.
Norman Mailer Ruminates On Literature And Life
Not five minutes into the interview, Norman Mailer put in his hearing aid. "I'm a little deaf," he said. "If I'm at all vague in my replies, it means I didn't hear you. I'm usually not vague."
How Indie Was The International Herald Tribune?
Newspapers should serve their readers, not their employees.
A Few Airlines Remain Finicky About Food
All of the publicity in the last year about domestic airlines' deteriorating food service, even in first- and business-class cabins, has opened up marketing opportunities for competitors.
Expressions
Tuesday, January 21, 2003
World
Failed College Math
Americans do not support affirmative action. Even many blacks do not support it.
The More Pernickious Bias Is Less Substance, More Fluff
The way I see it, the problem with the media's political coverage isn't bias. It's shrinkage. And superficiality.
War Stories
Even with greater access, can the media overcome military pressure and its own foibles to make war coverage meaningful?
Tech & Science
Motion-Picture Windows: Soon On A Wall Near You?
Spending lots of time staring out your window? Soon, that could become a different experience.
Mathematicians Find Path Less Travelled
Simulation of Grand Canyon rafting helps manage overcrowding in the wild.
Life
The Actor's Cut?
If film stars could see the big picture, they'd be better directors.
Southern Magazine Is Revived In New Home
This might not be the best time to revive a collapsed regional magazine devoted to fine writing and cultural criticism. Editors of The Oxford American, however, are trying.
Salon Clings To Dot-Com Swagger
Now in what may be a last-ditch effort to stay alive, Salon is about to dramatically change its business model.
Monday, January 20, 2003
World
You Can Look It Up, America
Documents matter in a democracy.
Selling Dubyanomics
Across America, unease over the president's plan.
Abortion Foes Attack Roe On New Research
As the nation approaches the 30th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade on Wednesday, the reasoning that the Supreme Court used to define a constitutional right to abortion is facing sharp and novel challenges.
Tech & Science
Gone Ape
What does it mean that orangutans have "culture"? That, like us, they just want to play.
Why? The Neuroscience Of Suicide
New research addresses the wrenching question left when someone ends his or her own life.
Life
Readings
In which our columnist imagines his ideal literary magazine.
Ahoy. Now Put That Out.
On a tobacco-free cruise, a smoker faces a week without cigarettes.
On Media Giantism
Media needs regulation before merger mania afflicts TV and film the way it is has local radio.
Where's The Proof?
Why we keep hearing so much about alcohol's supposed health benefits.
Cheating Uncle Sam For Mom And Dad
Why do so many otherwise honest citizens think itís OK to take Medicaid money they donít deserve?
Gastroanthropology
Discovery the family of man, one shrimp dish at a time.
The Buddy System
Sex in high school and college: What's love got to do with it?
A See-Through Library Of Shifting Shapes And Colors
The design for a Brooklyn arts center by EnrÌque Norten/TEN Arquitectos is a masterwork for New York.
Expressions
EOF
Flying In The Face Of Infertility
Infertile fruit flies injected with a human gene are now able to produce viable sperm — a key step toward treating infertility in men as well as developing a male contraceptive.
Saturday, January 18, 2003
World
The Antiwar Route
Wait a minute — today's antiwar march is turning its back on the Capitol and marching east, toward the Anacostia River?
Life
Homeless Couple Drive Home The Point Of An Ad
This month, I had the opportunity to help in the production of a 30-second public service announcement produced by Women in Film for the Women's Care Cottage.
See Paris, If You Get Around To It
A world traveler finally visits Paris, and warms to its legendary charm.
Forgotten Stars Show Up On Reality TV
There has never been a better time to be a has-been.
Suspicious Minds
Too much trust can actually be a bad thingó-a polity of suckers is no better than a nation of cynics. But Americans' steadily declining faith in one another is a warning.
Friday, January 17, 2003
World
Clemency Without Clarity
Perhaps the best argument against capital punishment may be that it is an issue beyond the limited capacity of government to get things right.
Life
Opting Out Of Hypermass
Modern culture creates its own escape routes.
In Berkeley, Strollers Find Art With Curb Appeal
More than anyone, Arts and Crafts architect Bernard Maybeck made Berkeley one of the nation's architectural treasure-troves. Much of his extraordinary work still stands today, on and near the campus of the University of California and in the hills above it.
Please Don't Bite The Star
Some of the old-style shows, like "Nature" on PBS, are still on, but Animal Planet and some newcomers like the National Geographic Channel have no bounds and know no shame.
Penguins Get A New Will To Swim
The week's most riveting celebrities are 52 Magellanic penguins at the San Francisco Zoo, who have spent the last three and a half weeks swimming round and round a shallow pool in a mysterious marathon.
My Disappearing Daughter
I watched my confident teenager head off to college. A few months later, I greeted a fragile, frightened apparition — 35 pounds thinner than when she'd left. A story of anorexia, guilt and understanding.
Circle The Block, Cabby, My Show's On
Half a billion eyeballs were left with nothing to do except look out the window. It was only a matter of time before television came to the taxi.
At CNN, It's All Problems, All The Time
Why can't CNN get its act together? Here lies one of the most pressing — and perplexing — questions in all of television journalism.
With Incessant Postings, A Pundit Stirs The Pot
Being a law professor, author, husband, father, part-time record producer and space policy wonk would have been enough to keep most people busy. But Glenn Reynolds needed more.
Expressions
EOF
Who Says Science Can't Be Fun?
At MIT's Media Lab and its offshoot, Media Lab Europe, engineers don't take their work too seriously. Often, they find that useful inventions can spring from a whimsical approach to tackling complex problems.
Thursday, January 16, 2003
World
Blue Movie
The "morality gap" is becoming the key variable in American politics.
The United States Of America Has Gone Mad
America has entered one of its periods of historical madness, but this is the worst I can remember: worse than McCarthyism, worse than the Bay of Pigs and in the long term potentially more disastrous than the Vietnam War.
Life
Disco Kings
Forget the big hairstyles and the bad dress sense — the Bee Gees made wonderful music.
Why Shakespeare Is For All Time
Those problems, he knew, are ineradicably rooted in our nature; and he atomized that nature with a characteristic genius never since equaled: which is why every time we moderns consult his works, we come away with a deeper insight into the heart of our own mystery.
Expressions
Happy Hour
Late in the day we go out to the Home for happy hour. It's a little custom we have when I'm on the Cape now. I buy a nice bottle of Chardonnay, or one of Beaujolais, and round about four o'clock I pack my aged mother into my rented car and we drive to the edge of town, where the handsome, gleaming Home houses the ancient and the crippled.
Liberation Spectrum
Wi-Fi radio and Indian sovereignty make for a potent mix — even without antsy venture capitalists mucking things up.
EOF
Come Again, Monsieur?
France's Education Minister says pupils are "bored as dead rats". Our correspondent seeks other meaningless translations.
Check It Out: If You Borrow A Book In Blue River, You'll Never Have To Worry About A Due Date, A Fine Or Library Card
Wednesday, January 15, 2003
World
Is This The Last Stand For Media Diversity?
Assuming that the government further relaxes rules that were previously eased in 1996, you can bank on even fewer media companies owning or controlling more of what we see and hear.
Just Whose Presidency Is This?
Nearly 30 years ago, Americans resoundingly said the presidency belongs to the people — and the White House was taken off the auction block. The time has come to do it again.
Study Explodes Myth Of Area's 'Hypersegregation'
For nearly four decades, researchers across the country have savaged the reputation of Milwaukee and other Northern cities, ranking these metro areas as the country's most segregated. That assessment is dead wrong.
Life
The Burger Takes Center Stage
New York, my research has documented again and again, is a hamburger heaven.
Don't Pay To Play
Why grown-ups shouldn't spend money on video games.
BBC Honcho Smirks At U.S. Copycat Shows
You want to see what American networks will be doing in the next year or two, look to Britain. More specifically, look to the BBC.
Free Speech Takes A Hit In Our Nation's Newsrooms
We're super-sensitive. We're afraid. In trying to be what we think is fairminded, we have plain and simple gone too far.
Content Is Crap
Creative Commons is based on a naive ideology that believes that raw content is gold, which then gets stolen by the evil media companies. In reality, the economics of content are that most of the value-added comes from the filtering process, not the creation process.
The Curse Of Pooh
Sure, kids love him. But he's made everyone close to him miserable. Just ask Disney, which is locked in a billion-dollar battle over his rights.
Expressions
EOF
The Formula For Happiness
Happiness = P + (5xE) + (3xH)
Tuesday, January 14, 2003
World
Bushwhacked
If there is a Watergate scandal lurking in this administration, it is unlikely to be Woodward or his colleagues who will tell us about it. If it emerges, it will probably come out on the web. That is a devastating indictment of the state of American newspapers.
Don't Hide The Truth About AIDS
Much of the American press seemed to lurch back toward the early '80s two weeks ago, while reporting on the death of the famed celebrity and fashion photographer Herb Ritts.
Tech & Science
In Transit
Astronomers use a hot new technique to discover the hottest known planet.
Life
Newspapers Seek Alternative Survival Strategies
Faced with the twin threats of declining circulation and less free time among readers, daily newspapers are beginning to think outside the box.
Monday, January 13, 2003
World
Remember The Fear
It can be easy to say that the budget demands a reduction in policing. Sometimes it's not so easy to live with the consequences.
The Triumph Of Hope Over Self-Interest
Every few years a group of millionaire Democratic presidential aspirants pretends to be the people's warriors against the overclass. They look inauthentic, combative rather than unifying. Worst of all, their basic message is not optimistic.
An Unnecessary War
This war would be one the Bush administration chose to fight but did not have to fight.
Life
Local Bounty
A New York-San Francisco showdown.
The War Against Movie Critics
So the editor of Variety thinks film criticism is pointless elitism. Does he speak for the moviegoing public — or the Hollywood studio execs and corporate media bigshots who'd like to ditch the critics?
Is TV News Being Driven Out Of The Chase Business?
Memo to the TV news staff: Don't despair.
All Too Real
With 'reality' TV, the networks are embarrassing teary, cringing Americans in record numbers. And those are just the viewers.
A Storyteller's Starter Kit, Stocked With Family Memories
Verbal heirlooms, inspired by old family photos, had been the starter kit for 30-odd years of writing.
Expressions
The Card Trick
It was 1974: not a good year, clotheswise, if you were an eighteen-year-old girl, tall and overweight, with thick, curling hair and glasses.
EOF
A Novelist Who Walks The Walk
An award-winning science fiction writer and digital rights activist has persuaded the publisher of his first novel to make the book available free online for anyone to read, print or even republish on paper.
Sunday, January 12, 2003
Tech & Science
You've Got (A Lot Of) Mail
Baby boomers and Gen Xers persuaded their folks to go online. Now life at the office will never be the same.
If Chickens Are So Smart, Why Aren't They Eating Us?
PETA has started a worldwide "Kentucky Fried Cruelty" campaign, but are chickens really as intelligent as dogs or cats?
Life
Urban Scrawl
Is Boston's obsession with history stifling new architecture, making it timid, dull, and sometimes downright ugly?
Of Age And Attitude
I'm 82, and I'll conduct my own interview, thanks.
Affordable Access To Asia
Too much of a good thing is wonderful on a low-cost airline pass trip to Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Taiwan
Nightmare On Constitution Avenue
The logistical horror of making movies in Washington is getting worse. Just ask Carol Flaisher, the capital's location queen.
Crafting Hope
The journey of a human soul from dust to dust can be a bumpy ride, and so it's been for Beverly Reighard of the little town of Jersey Shore, Pa.
Prison Is A Member Of Their Family
Toney and Lolli are one of the growing number of couples trying to raise kids, pay bills and fall in and out of love with bars between them.
Los Angeles Becomes A Base For Cutting-Edge Performance
Today, seemingly all of a sudden, theater, dance, music and strange hybrids thereof are cropping up all over the Los Angeles basin.
Where The Girls Aren't
Computer science has become the new math — boys only. Is it nature or conditioning?
A Different Drum
With the world on the brink of war, the need for stories of peace is paramount.
Saturday, January 11, 2003
World
'Racism, Injustice, Humiliation'
For weeks, Kamal Nawash's clients were asking him: Should I do it or not?
The Secret War On Condoms
Three thousand years ago an amorous Egyptian couple (probably libidinous liberals) experimented with a linen pouch, producing the world's first known condom. Some right-wingers still haven't gotten over it.
Tech & Science
Scientists Find Clues To The Earliest Objects
Peering deep in space and time, astronomers have seen what they think are some of the earliest known objects in the universe, including the most distant quasar ever detected.
'Gadget Printer' Promises Industrial Revolution
The idea of printing a light bulb may seem bizarre, but US engineers are now developing an ink-jet printing technology to do just that.
Remembrance Of Dot-com Idiocy Past
At least Enron and WorldCom went down because of greed. But as James Ledbetter's "Starving to Death on $200 Million a Year" reveals, the Industry Standard pissed away a fortune out of mere carelessness.
Life
Writer Finds Something He Can't Sell On eBay: His Family
"You hae patrons of the arts, museums and charities. I wanted a patron for my family."
Portable But Posh
Increasingly, glitzy outdoor events like weddings and golf tournaments have equally upscale mobile restrooms.
To Your Helath: Good News For Booze
Thanks, French people. Thanks, researchers. Thanks, beer!
U.S. TV Shows Losing Potency Around World
Want to catch the latest episode of the CBS hit "C.S.I." in France? Tune in Saturdays at 11 p.m. How about the CBS show "Judging Amy" in Singapore? Try weekdays at midnight.
Skipping Ads? TV Gets Ready To Fight Back
A leading television producer and two major advertisers have joined forces to present a live variety show with no commercial interruptions. Instead, the advertising messages will be incorporated into the show.
Elvis Again
He had changed the world, but he had become a creature who could not be changed by it.
Friday, January 10, 2003
World
The IMF Strikes Back
Slammed by antiglobalist protesters, developing-country politicians, and Nobel Prizeñwinning economists, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has become Global Scapegoat Number One. But IMF economists are not evil, nor are they invariably wrong. Itís time to set the record straight and focus on more pressing economic debates, such as how best to promote global growth and financial stability.
Thursday, January 9, 2003
World
The American Edge
History offers no guarantees. But history does suggest that there's something to that worn cliche "the American spirit."
Life
Road Outrage
How corporate greed and political corruption paved the way for the SUV explosion.
A Skewed Vision
What's wrong with Holocaust movies.
A Family Tracks Down Outback Memories
We had added memories to our family album, and I had managed to hold on to my children for another brief moment.
Expressions
Down And Out In The Magic Kingdom
I lived long enough to see the cure for death; to see the rise of the Bitchun Society, to learn ten languages; to compose three symphonies; to realize my boyhood dream of taking up residence in Disney World; to see the death of the workplace and of work.
I never thought Iíd live to see the day when Keep A-Moviní Dan would decide to deadhead until the heat death of the Universe.
Wednesday, January 8, 2003
World
Exceeding Expectations
An insider account of how Sept. 11 transformed President Bush.
After The Storm
In the end, 9/11 will have a much bigger impact on the Arab and Muslim worlds than it does on America.
Life
Radio: Where's The Diversity?
In the wake of radio deregulation, consumer groups and industry executives lock horns over how to solve the problem of the same songs blaring over the airwaves. Policy makers are eager to enter the fray.
Taking $5 Wine Seriously
Thanks to a glut, the bargain bins are overflowing — and you can't judge a bottle by its price anymore.
The Tastemakers
Instead of competing for a share of an existing market, Starbucks invented its own.
Expressions
Tuesday, January 7, 2003
World
All News Media Inc.
Without much notice, the federal government is moving toward the most sweeping change ever in the rules that govern ownership of the American news media.
Human, But Not To A Fault
Why do people like President Bush? It isn't complicated.
Tech & Science
The Universe, As A Babe Of 400,000 Years
Using a radio telescope chilled to a fraction of a degree above absolute zero at the South Pole, astronomers have produced what they say are the most detailed pictures yet of the infant universe.
Life
Subterranean Blues
Washington digs itself into a hole.
An Exhibition That Borrows Brazenly
The exhibition "Illegal Art" (and its accompanying CD and Web site) asserts that American copyright laws are overly restrictive and outdated.
Confessions Of A Magazine Junkie
The habit of buying glossies off the rack is addictive — and expensive.
All Things Considerate
How NPR makes Tavis Smiley sound like Linda Wertheimer.
In Praise Of Clutter
Leave my desk alone. It works.
Judgment Day
It's survival of the fittest as companies tighten the screws on employee performance reviews.
If You're Thinking Of Living In...
"I thought, Hob Nob? What the hell does that mean?"
Expressions
Gallatin Canyon
The day we planned the trip, I told Louise that I didn't like going to Idaho via the Gallatin Canyon. It's too narrow, and while trucks don't belong on this road, there they are, lots of them.
EOF
Study: Online Polls Skew To Right
Democrats and Republicans alike turned to the Internet for news during last fall's elections, but conservatives were more likely to weigh in on online polls, according to a study released on Sunday.
Monday, January 6, 2003
World
Doctors Belong In Hospitals, Not Courtrooms
I went to medical school to become a doctor, not to become a moderately knowledgeable legal hack.
Movies & Metaphors
Metaphors burn away all sorts of relevant facts leaving behind only tiny nuggets of understanding.
Life
Can Wal-Mart Get Any Bigger? (Yes, A Lot Bigger... Here's How)
Welcome to Wal-Mart in China, where the late Sam Walton has a new image: the Mao of retailing.
New Line For Lowly Phone Booth
It's outdated, sure, but a personal vice just might keep it alive.
Call It The City Of Darkness, And Give It Vitamin D
These are dark days in the City of Light.
Sunday, January 5, 2003
World
The Lies We Are Told About Iraq
Pentagon propaganda got us into the first Gulf War. Will we be fooled a second time?
The Jury Room Is No Place For TV
Televising the deliberations robs jurors of an important part of the right of free speech — the right not to speak publicly.
The Burden
Yet what word but "empire" describes the awesome thing that America is becoming?
It's His Party
Mr. Bush is more than a strong president: he dominates his own party in a way that few modern presidents ever have.
Without Protest, Americans Are Giving Up Freedom
Do we have the courage and integrity to speak out now, before it is too late? Or will we continue to freely shop in our large department stores for gifts for family and friends — as they did in Nazi Germany.
Now COrporations Claim The "Right To Lie"
It's not their "say" they're asking for: it's the right to deceive people.
Life
Higher Expectations
Colleges complain that parents are overinvested in the admissions process. But the urge is simply irrepressible.
The Agony And The Agony
Friendship can be such a pain.
Destiny's Child
I've always known that I would die at 63. I'm now 62.
Fissilingual Predictions
Chewing on the past and future is a New Year's clichÈ that no word-loving breedbate can resist.
Global Media
Big media barons are routinely accused of dominating markets, dumbing down the news to plump up the bottom line, and forcing U.S. content on world audiences. But these companies are not as big, bad, dominant, or American as critics claim. And company size is largely irrelevant to many of the problems facing today's Fourth Estate.
Saturday, January 4, 2003
World
Group Therapy At Ground Zero
The broader political climate carries the same aura of unreality as the ground zero architectural debate.
Life
Father Of Our Country Wouldn't Recognize It
I can imagine living at Mount Vernon a whole lot easier than I am able to come to grips with our government employing people to search children for weapons.
New Era Succeeds Years Of Solitude
Latin American writers of a younger generation turn to Big Mac culture.
Friday, January 3, 2003
Tech & Science
Scientists Say Orangutans Can Exhibit 'Culture'
Orangutans, those red-haired knuckle-dragging apes, are loping today into the upper echelons of the primate hierarchy. According to research reported in the journal Science, they exhibit what was until very recently considered a uniquely human attribute, culture.
Life
Howell Raines, Pussyfooter
Why can't the New York Times executive editor come clean about his plans for the International Herald Tribune?
A Dash Of Ego In The Race
What makes people like John Edwards think they can lead?
Against Humanity
The rise and fall of anti-social architecture.
Thursday, January 2, 2003
World
The Boys In The Bubble
A full reckoning of hte Enron-WorldCom era must also take into consideration the ways in which the business press failed, too.
Tech & Science
Unsettling, Maybe, But Not Unethnical
The word that keeps getting attached to cloning is "unethical." It's a powerful word, but in the case of cloning it merely gets asserted, never proved.
All Clones Are Not The Same
Distinctions that require explanations tend to get lost in public debate, and the controversy over cloning is a perfect example.
Feeling Blue? This Robot Knows It
By processing information sent from physiological sensors the human counterpart wears, the Vanderbilt robot can detect when its master is having a bad day and approach with the query: "I sense that you are anxious. Is there anything I can do to help?"
Life
What Should I Do With My Life?
The real meaning of success — and how to find it.
Expressions
Total Commercialization Awareness
Al-Qaida online, Slashdot sells out and Yellowstone National Park gets renamed: Salon's top 10 technology and business predictions for 2003.
Wednesday, January 1, 2003
World
140th Anniversary Of The Emancipation Proclamation; Slavery's Lingering Legacy
New Year's Day marks the 140th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which declared freedom for slaves in the 13 states that were in rebellion.
Tech & Science
Life
Butter Is Back — And Other Ideas That Will Change Your Diet In 2003
Did you hear that sound? It's the diet pendulum, slowly but surely swinging back the other way.
Architects Criticize Ground Zero Publicity
While architects have publicly proclaimed the World Trade Center site proposals displayed at the Winter Garden in Lower Manhattan as the greatest architecture show ever, many have privately expressed reservations about the designs' details, the handling of the competition and even the spotlight in which the contestants now stand.
Chefs Who Have Only Themselves To Blame
Most chefs share cooking responsibilities with a seasoned team of knife-wielding colleagues. Yet there are, around the country, stalwart individualists who go it alone, and like it.
The Year, From First Blush To Last Gasp
In magazines, 2002 was the year when even the parakeets got patriotic.
EOF
Make No Mistake About It, Some People Sure Get Upset By Cliches
Overused cliches, wordy redundancies and hyperbolic phrases — including the Bushism "make no mistake about it" — were declared banished today by the overseers of an annual list of "banned" words.