August 2002

What baseball needs to do now By King Kaufman
A few modest proposals to prevent the game from squandering whatever fan goodwill remains. (08/31/2002)

Bio-sleuth or crackpot? By Anthony York
Scientist Barbara Hatch Rosenberg has pressed to keep the investigation into last year's anthrax attacks alive. But bio-weapons researcher Steven Hatfill is not amused. (08/31/2002)

Savoring the season that almost wasn't By King Kaufman
2002 hasn't been a classic, but it's great that the heroics of Schilling, A-Rod and the rest won't be lost. (08/31/2002)

"The Last Kiss" By Charles Taylor
News flash: Men drive women nuts, flee responsibility! This Italian comedy hit asks why we should care. (08/30/2002)

"Undisputed" By Stephanie Zacharek
It's definitely time for a nasty-good prison boxing flick. But despite Ving Rhames' muscles and some butt-kicking action, this isn't it. (08/30/2002)

"How I Killed My Father" By Andrew O'Hehir
Bergman meets Hitchcock on Freud's couch in a dazzling, pitch-perfect intellectual thriller from French director Anne Fontaine. (08/30/2002)

"Satin Rouge" By Stephanie Zacharek
Middle-aged mom turns belly dancer in this Tunisian delight, a sweet and sexy celebration of real women's real bodies. (08/30/2002)

Opening up to your inner psychopath By Brother Void
(08/30/2002)

Letters
Readers respond to "Cat People vs. Dog People" and an interview about our dwindling water supply. (08/30/2002)

Literary daybook, Aug. 30
Real and imaginary events of interest to readers. (08/30/2002)

This Modern World By Tom Tomorrow
The optimist's guide to war with Iraq. (08/30/2002)

Chasing Steinbeck ... with children By Rachel F. Elson
Andromeda Romano-Lax set out to retrace the writer's path to the Sea of Cortez. But while Steinbeck's book bears little mention of his wife, Romano-Lax's is driven by the presence of her own family. (08/30/2002)

New life for Operation TIPS By Dave Lindorff
Blasted for plans to link the spy program to "America's Most Wanted," John Ashcroft has tapped another private firm to run its volunteer hotline. His most fervent supporter: Joe Lieberman. (08/30/2002)

Joe Conason's Journal
A Labor Day gift from baseball players. Plus, how the Democrats become a majority party, Jeb Bush settles a voting rights suit in Florida and Colorado gets rocky for a GOP incumbent. (08/30/2002)

Strike 4 By Allen Barra
The baseball deal will either make the game worse for fans or it'll be a sham that won't hold salaries down. The owners came close to wrecking the season for this? (08/30/2002)

George W. Bush, hard at work on the environment Cartoon by Mark Fiore
Who says the president isn't concerned about ecology? Au contraire, he's obsessed! (08/30/2002)

Isolated, again By Kim Gurney
At the U.N. Summit on Sustainable Development, the harshest critics of Bush's recalcitrant policies -- and his absence -- are Americans. (08/30/2002)

The invention of the nude in America By David Bowman
Thomas Eakins caused quite a stir by encouraging his male and female painting students to get naked for each other. (08/30/2002)

"File-sharing: Guilty as Charged?"
By Damien Cave (08/30/2002)

Ask the pilot By Patrick Smith
Where are all the female pilots? And how do airliners find the runway in the fog? (08/30/2002)

The filth and the fury By Carina Chocano
Conservative watchdogs at the Parents Television Council now have scientific proof: Sabrina is better for your kids than Buffy! And "Doc," starring Billy Ray Cyrus, is the best show on TV. (08/29/2002)

Music preview: P:ano By Murray Jason
Nick Krgovich and Larissa Loyva's debut album, "When It's Dark and It's Summer," invites listeners on an experimental, chilled-out pop adventure. Listen in. (08/29/2002)

Cat people vs. dog people By Laura Miller
Who is more annoying? Our intrepid reviewer plunges into the overflowing litter box of pet lit to find out. (08/29/2002)

Literary daybook, Aug. 29
Real and imaginary events of interest to readers. (08/29/2002)

Tom the Dancing Bug By Ruben Bolling
If you like Spider-Man, you'll love ... the Amazing George W! (08/29/2002)

The Bush form of hardball By Robert Scheer
President Bush thinks baseball players are overpaid prima donnas, but is strangely mum about his fat-cat pals at Enron. (08/29/2002)

Optimism in baseball talks By Keith Olbermann
In five Wednesday meetings, the last ending Thursday morning, owners and players inched closer to an agreement. Stay tuned. (08/30/2002)

A land of guns and whispers By Phillip Robertson
Pakistan sweeps its tribal areas for criminals, riling its population and fueling rumors that Taliban fighters are nearby. (08/29/2002)

Test your CEO knowledge By Arianna Huffington
Take the corporate accountability quiz. (08/29/2002)

Olbermann Extra By Keith Olbermann
Optimism flags as hard-line owners refuse to compromise on key issue. (08/30/2002)

A cool cowpoke gets political By Mark J. Miller
Steve Earle, a new disc under his belt, talks about his tumultuous career -- a hair-raising ride that has included many wives, an ugly romance with heroin, and watching a man die. (08/29/2002)

Mystery of Jacko's third child deepens By Amy Reiter
Debbie Rowe says: The kid is not my son; Dolly Parton gets a few things off her chest. Plus: Gwyneth gets a frickin' $23,000 cellphone! (08/29/2002)

Joe Conason's Journal
Readers send in races to watch. Plus: Hope for baseball. (08/29/2002)

The all-American pervert By David Thomson
Even as he sank into a fatal sexual morass, Bob Crane remained a blandly wholesome nice guy. (08/29/2002)

Meet Mr. Anti-Google By Farhad Manjoo
A crusading webmaster says the popular search engine's page-ranking algorithm is "undemocratic." (08/29/2002)

When "Friends" meet the Lord By Carina Chocano
All is not as it seems in "Contest Searchlight," Comedy Central's mockumentary series about the making of a bogus sitcom starring Peter Gallagher as Jesus. In chaps. In New York City. (08/28/2002)

Music preview: Akufen By Ewald Christians
Montreal-based DJ Marc Leclair plunders radio broadcasts for what he calls "microsamples" and collages the fragments onto a canvas of contagious dance beats. Listen in. (08/28/2002)

Bestsellers
This week's bestselling books courtesy of Powells.com. (08/28/2002)

Literary daybook, Aug. 28
Real and imaginary events of interest to readers. (08/28/2002)

Not a drop to drink By Suzy Hansen
Forget oil -- an expert on the world's water supply talks about the vital substance we will hoard, ration and probably go to war for in the near future. (08/28/2002)

The K Chronicles By Keith Knight
Who needs equal rights, pay, treatment or justice when you have "the power of black privilege in America"? (08/28/2002)

Embracing death By Susanna Stromberg
A recent study says that parents who hold their stillborn infants may be traumatized by the experience. Yes, the moments I spent with my dying newborn were the most painful of my life -- but they were also the richest. (08/28/2002)

Above the law By Michelle Goldberg
Mainstream experts say only far-right legal extremists believe we can invade Iraq without congressional approval -- but those zealots are running the Bush administration. (08/28/2002)

Israel's Iraq dilemma By Aluf Benn
Israeli leaders are overjoyed at the prospect of a U.S. invasion -- but it isn't good politics to admit it. (08/28/2002)

Barrymore wants meat By Amy Reiter
Drew chooses steaks and leather over vegetarianism; Blabenstein: Former SNLer Julia Sweeney says she's "easily orgasmic"! Plus: Kato Kaelin is baaack. Again. (08/28/2002)

Jeb Bush's summer bummer By Anthony York
A former business partner is being sued by the Justice Department. The man he hoped would clean up children's services plunged him into another scandal. His daughter went to jail. Bush's best hope for staying governor? Divided Democrats. (08/28/2002)

Joe Conason's Journal
Readers speculate about White House secrecy. Plus: When Maureen's very, very good. (08/28/2002)

Giving good voice By Stephanie Lehmann
Cellphone sex is handy if you're horny while walking through Bloomingdale's. (08/28/2002)

"0wnz0red" By Cory Doctorow
Programmers who hack their own bodies don't need exercise and never get sick: A new short story from one of science fiction's bright young stars. (08/28/2002)

Where are the female directors? By Michelle Goldberg
There are women in the Senate, women heading studios and busloads of young women emerging from film school. So why are 96 percent of films directed by men? (08/27/2002)

Music preview: Interpol By Kevin Johannesen
This stylish New York foursome effectively evokes the ghost of Joy Division and other heroes of 1980s new wave. Listen in. (08/27/2002)

"Cicero" by Anthony Everitt By Lawrence Osborne
Ancient Rome's greatest politican and public speaker lived a life of intrigue, betrayal and violence -- and no American leader today can hold a candle to him. (08/27/2002)

Literary daybook, Aug. 27
Real and imaginary events of interest to readers. (08/27/2002)

Story Minute By Carol Lay
Top god shops for a therapist (08/27/2002)

The ring, adoptions and cosmetic surgery
Readers respond to articles about returning an engagement ring, Florida adoption law and a hippie chick's face-lift. (08/27/2002)

So will they strike? By King Kaufman
Maybe, maybe not. But since baseball players and owners aren't even addressing the fundamental problem, we'll be asking the same question in a few years. (08/27/2002)

A diary of baseball's coming crunch time By Keith Olbermann
Posturing owners! Angry bankers! Scary lawyers! Rats who gnaw the eyes out first! A day by day guide to the last weeks of the labor war. (08/27/2002)

The feeling is mutual By Arianna Huffington
After Enron, the accounting industry was dinged for conflicts of interest. But what about the mutual fund managers? (08/27/2002)

Baseball greetings, Ernie Harwell By King Kaufman
The voice of the Tigers has broadcast more big-league games than anyone else. His retirement breaks one of the last links to an age when fans knew the home team through one man's words. (08/27/2002)

Ryan and Reese: The joy of oversharing By Amy Reiter
Phillippe and Witherspoon reveal the secret to their connubial bliss; Mel Gibson on castration anxiety and cornflake issues; Britney victimized by wicked pranksters! (08/27/2002)

Joe Conason's Journal
Does George Will bother to check if he's right? Plus: Bush envoy says Iraq war "unwise." (08/27/2002)

My girlfriend made me watch "Annie Hall" By Cary Tennis
She does not banter brilliantly! She misses my clever references! Is she trying to tell me something? (08/27/2002)

Buy Linux. It's the law By Farhad Manjoo
A San Diego lawyer says California's state government should be forced to dump Microsoft in favor of open-source alternatives. But can free software get into politics without getting dirty? (08/27/2002)

Real Life Rock Top 10 By Greil Marcus
(08/26/2002)

Expect the worst ... and be happy! Ranted by Cary Tennis
In an era of diminished expectations, those of us who've never had much hope to begin with are starting to feel lucky. (08/26/2002)

"You Send Me" by Patricia T. O'Conner & Stewart Kellerman By Jonathon Keats
Two former New York Times editors explain how to express yourself correctly when writing online -- but why should we listen to them? (08/26/2002)

Literary daybook, Aug. 26
Real and imaginary events of interest to readers. (08/26/2002)

Salon recommends
Mary McCarthy's witty, stinging criticism and more of our favorite new books. (08/26/2002)

This Modern World By Tom Tomorrow
We've got to attack ... something. (08/26/2002)

The essential worker's lament By Matt Bergantino
I have cramps, too much toner, and nothing more to say. (08/26/2002)

Herr Schroeder can't catch a break By Ashley Fantz
Gerhard Schroeder was seen as Germany's Bill Clinton -- media wise, progressive and practical. Today, mired in an enigmatic reelection campaign, only his wife defends him. (08/26/2002)

Dan Quayle vs. Jennifer Aniston By Amy Reiter
There he goes again: Ex-V.P. back on the single mommy track; a new babe for Billy Bob? Rachel Roberts, real or surreal? Plus: Heather Graham on her own sexiness! (08/26/2002)

The blowhard next door By Ben Fritz and Bryan Keefer
The boyish Sean Hannity seems poised to inherit Rush Limbaugh's mantle. And he isn't letting little things like facts get in his way to the top. (08/26/2002)

Joe Conason's Journal
Cheney does a bad Churchill imitation. Plus: Hitchens' Kissinger isn't any better. (08/26/2002)

"Switcher's Remorse"
By Astrid Storm (08/26/2002)

Greetings from Desperation, N.J. By Carina Chocano
Armed with devastating performances from Uma Thurman, Juliette Lewis and Gena Rowlands, director Mira Nair trains her sociologist's eye on the Garden State in HBO's "Hysterical Blindness." (08/24/2002)

A wall of hostility By Ferry Biedermann
More than 200,000 Palestinians live in East Jerusalem and share many of Israel's freedoms. But the arrest of a Hamas cell there has exposed a deep, angry divide. (08/24/2002)

"Serving Sara" By Stephanie Zacharek
Not even Elizabeth Hurley in glitter and a tartan miniskirt can save this dopey comedy. (08/23/2002)

"Simone" By Andrew O'Hehir
Never mind the digital babe-ology or Al Pacino in full huzzah, this Hollywood satire is way too clever for its own good. (08/23/2002)

The interstate of life By Brother Void
(08/23/2002)

Killers among us
Readers respond to a review of "Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago" and an interview about perpetrators of genocide. (08/23/2002)

Literary daybook, Aug. 23
Real and imaginary events of interest to readers. (08/23/2002)

Lynda Barry
August Tripping (08/23/2002)

Taxpayer-funded lies By Michelle Goldberg
Antiabortion groups use "crisis-pregnancy centers" to scare women out of having abortions. Some lawmakers have cracked down on them. President Bush increased their federal funding. (08/23/2002)

Viewer discretion By Carina Chocano
CNN's al-Qaida tapes were grisly and important, and offered a promising look at what a news channel could actually be. (08/23/2002)

Baseball Economics for Dummies By Allen Barra
The players get it. The big-market owners get it. So why do the small-market owners seem so dense? (08/24/2002)

Britney: "Who cares if I've had sex?" By Amy Reiter
Spears: No press conference on copulation; Lucy Liu ready to get "ass kicked" by Bill Murray; Madonna and Guy's desert-island life. Plus: Jacko fathers third child! (08/23/2002)

Barking Shaman: Our bite is worse By Amy Reiter
Come, treat yourself to a dreamy spa getaway that you will never, never, never forget. Ever. (08/23/2002)

Joe Conason's Journal
Conservative columnist gets duped by a spoof. Don't cry for Cynthia McKinney. Plus: This fall's most important book. (08/23/2002)

Searching for Marcello By David Bowman
Photographer Daniela Federici talks about what is sexy (food, pregnancy and Marcello Mastroianni). (08/23/2002)

Ask the pilot By Patrick Smith
How hard is it fly an airliner? And why can't I keep my tray table down during takeoff? (08/23/2002)

"Coming Up Next: Ambushed on 'Donahue'!"
By Henry Jenkins (08/23/2002)

File sharing: Guilty as charged? By Damien Cave
New numbers on declining music sales could mean that MP3 trading really is hurting CD sales. But that still doesn't mean we should lock up the pirates. (08/23/2002)

Let's talk about sex By Ken Foster
Margaret Cho on her Emmanuelle year, her super-duper leather dude ex-boyfriend and why Asian-Americans make fun of their parents. (08/22/2002)

Music preview: Jay Farrar By Kyle Wills
Ex-Uncle Tupelo and current Son Volt frontman Farrar follows up last year's solo effort "Sebastopol" with "ThirdShiftGrottoSlack," a five-track EP featuring new and remixed material. Listen in. (08/22/2002)

Ordinary people, extraordinary evil By Suzy Hansen
What kind of person can attack, mutilate and kill a total stranger or even a neighbor? A scholar talks about the dark potential in all of us. (08/22/2002)

Tom the Dancing Bug By Ruben Bolling
Our CEO president. (08/22/2002)

With this ring, I abscond By Alexis Quinlan
In my head, I know the diamond goes back when the engagement is broken. In my heart, I want revenge. (08/22/2002)

Fox populi By Charles P. Pierce
What do the barking heads of Fox News Channel and other Murdoch media have that CNN, Rather and Donahue don't? A true, virtuous, tabloid soul. (08/22/2002)

"Too Hot to Handle"
By Eric Boehlert (08/22/2002)

Teacher or terrorist? By Eric Boehlert
A Florida university is stepping up efforts to sack faculty member Sami Al-Arian, accusing him of terrorist ties. Critics say the charges are specious -- and a threat to academic freedom. (08/22/2002)

How to spend $67 billion By Arianna Huffington
What would you do with all the money squandered by corporate America? (08/22/2002)

J.Lo for first lady? By Amy Reiter
No way: Ben says he has "too many skeletons" in the closet; Heather Graham: British blokes "aggressive enough"; Plus: Snoop Dogg to host "Girls Gone Wild" boobathon! (08/22/2002)

Al-Qaida Studios' Greatest Hits! Cartoon by Mark Fiore
From "Casablanq'a" to bloopers to "When Animals We Are About to Gas Attack!" (08/22/2002)

Joe Conason's Journal
Al-Qaida's origins in fantasy, and Safire's unconvincing argument for attacking Iraq. (08/22/2002)

The erotics of reading By David Thomson
Nicole Kidman playing Virginia Woolf is far more possessed, and thus far sexier, than Gwyneth Paltrow in "Possession." (08/22/2002)

Bamboo Dick, first in flight By Debbi Gardiner
What's all this fuss about the Wright brothers? All good Kiwis know New Zealand's Richard Pearse got there first. (08/22/2002)

"One Hour Photo" By Charles Taylor
Robin Williams as a superstore psycho? Kill me already. (08/21/2002)

"Gettysburg" by Noah Andre Trudeau By Allen Barra
A new book proves that you can tell the story of this legendary battle in a new way -- from the point of view of the men who fought it. (08/21/2002)

Literary daybook, Aug. 21
Real and imaginary events of interest to readers. (08/21/2002)

Bestsellers
This week's bestselling books, courtesy of Powells.com. (08/21/2002)

The K Chronicles By Keith Knight
Once upon a time in the playground. (08/21/2002)

Trial by public humiliation By Janelle Brown
Some birth mothers in Florida must publish their sexual histories in local newspapers if they wish to place their child for private adoption. (08/21/2002)

Conspiracy Theory By Keith Olbermann
An ominous cosmic force is working for the Harlem Little League team. Or against it. But definitely against the Florida State University football team. (08/21/2002)

Monsters of our own creation By Robert Scheer
In Iraq and Afghanistan, our current allies will be tomorrow's enemies. (08/21/2002)

An equine renaissance By King Kaufman
Arlington Park's owner rebuilt it after it burned, only to shut it down. Now the gleaming racetrack is bringing the Breeders' Cup to the Midwest. (08/21/2002)

A girl's breast friend By Amy Reiter
Anna Nicole and Jamie Lee talk about their mammary glands; Hugh Grant on superficial women; will Willis and Moore do it some more? Plus: Liz Hurley on loving, leaping and lots of water! (08/21/2002)

GOP poster boy goes bust By Tim Grieve
Mired in scandal, California businessman Bill Simon is losing a can't-lose race against Gov. Gray Davis. For the Bush White House, that's a problem. (08/21/2002)

Joe Conason's Journal
The most disturbing recent Iraq story you haven't read about in most newspapers. Plus: Scowcroft under attack, and more ill-advised bombshells from a certain blonde. (08/21/2002)

Embracing the "inner ho" By Tracy Quan
David Sterry is a baseball writer and former male prostitute who is working on a novel with no sex in it. (08/21/2002)

Switcher's remorse By Astrid Storm
An Episcopal priest goes from Windows to Mac but then has second thoughts. Is her computing soul at risk? (08/21/2002)

Black to the future By Uju Asika
Director Isaac Julien talks about "BaadAsssss Cinema," his Independent Film Channel tribute to the outrageous fashions, foot-high Afros and subversive politics of '70s blaxploitation movies. (08/20/2002)

Music preview: Sleater-Kinney By Ross White
Portland's post-riot grrrl trio start up their songwriting machine again -- and deliver a fresh new album, "One Beat." Listen in. (08/20/2002)

Acceptable losses By Charles Taylor
The 739 people killed by Chicago's 1995 heat wave were the victims of a mayor who believed in running his city like a business. (08/20/2002)

Literary daybook, Aug. 20
Real and imaginary events of interest to readers. (08/20/2002)

Garrison Keillor starts largest book club By the Associated Press
(08/20/2002)

Story Minute By Carol Lay
Cold pursuit. (08/20/2002)

Heritage camp and honoring the raped
Readers respond to articles about summer camps for foreign adoptees and the media's coverage of rape. (08/20/2002)

Too hot to handle By Eric Boehlert
The New York Fire Department suffered a communications breakdown on Sept. 11, and hundreds of firefighters died. Why are so many journalists ignoring the story? (08/20/2002)

When does a massacre matter? By Michelle Goldberg
Evidence that American allies in Afghanistan slaughtered captured Taliban soldiers first surfaced last spring. Will a Newsweek cover story force an investigation? So far, the U.S. and U.N. say no. (08/21/2002)

Diesel's heat and a pageant parody
Readers respond to an appreciation of Vin Diesel's mojo and a satire on beauty pageants. (08/20/2002)

The life of the Dead By Douglas Cruickshank
Band insider Dennis McNally talks about his new 600-page biography of the Grateful Dead, and answers questions about their long, strange trip. (08/20/2002)

Madonna swept away doggy style By Amy Reiter
Costar makes boy toy bark, says she's "tough as a lizard"; baloney pony steals scene from Robin Williams; Samuel Jackson and Snoop Dogg in thespian debate. Plus: Donny Wahlberg sings the Backstreet Boy blues. (08/20/2002)

Cooking up a conspiracy By Bryan Keefer
Bob Novak's phony conspiracy -- that Clinton "cooked the books" on the U.S. economy -- falls apart on scrutiny. (08/20/2002)

Joe Conason's Journal
Bill Kristol and other American "chicken hawks" henpeck Republican defectors. (08/20/2002)

Sting's advice By Cary Tennis
Is it true that if you love someone you have to set them free? (08/20/2002)

Coming up next: Ambushed on "Donahue"! By Henry Jenkins
More dangerous than Grand Theft Auto 3 -- a defender of video games is given the trash talk-show treatment. Here's what he really wanted to say. (08/20/2002)

"12 Monkeys" By Virginia Vitzthum
Combining time-travel thriller and experimental film, Terry Gilliam's 1995 oddball classic steals a tale of doomed love and cruel fate from Hitchcock -- then pays back the debt. (08/19/2002)

Dylan Thomas: The Caedmon Collection, Part 7
Thomas reads poems by Robert Graves, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Louise Bogan and others. (08/20/2002)

Salon recommends
Visiting the settings of classic British children's books, plus more of our favorite new books. (08/19/2002)

Book gangs of New York By Sam Apple and Rebecca Jacobs
The biggest, baddest literary crime boss on the mean streets of Manhattan declares war. (08/19/2002)

Literary daybook, Aug. 19
Real and imaginary events of interest to readers. (08/19/2002)

The beauty of a hippie chick face-lift By Terry Greene Sterling
I surrendered to vanity, but I wanted to keep it real. How does one avoid looking like a Beverly Hills real estate agent? (08/19/2002)

The fading war on drugs By Dan McGraw
How Osama bin Laden caused the decline of DARE, the anti-drug program that brought you "Just Say No." (08/20/2002)

The new racial profilers By David Horowitz
Ward Connerly's new crusade would get the government out of the business of tracking everybody's racial identity. But liberals still don't get it. (08/19/2002)

The coming populist revolution? By Arianna Huffington
In the wake of corporate America's woes, who will tap into the American people's sense of outrage? (08/19/2002)

Asia Argento's XXX sex dreams By Amy Reiter
Diesel's co-star gets wet in slumberland; meow: Justin's granny disses Britney; John Waters' Big Apple pot bust; Paltrow says Brit blokes blow! (08/19/2002)

Joe Conason's Journal
Election 2000 flashback: Nader wants it both ways! (08/19/2002)

Accounting scandal at Mother Earth, Inc. By Farhad Manjoo
Put that rainforest on your spreadsheet and suddenly the global economy looks different, by trillions of dollars, a new study shows. (08/19/2002)

Love in a cold climate By Stephanie Zacharek
Director Neil LaBute, with help from a glowing Gwyneth Paltrow, defies all expectations in his glorious, difficult and tender screen adaptation of A.S. Byatt's literary romance "Possession." (08/16/2002)

"Blue Crush" By Charles Taylor
Saga of surfer girls in Hawaii is a snooze. On land, that is. On the water, it might be the most intense visual experience you'll find at the movies this year. (08/16/2002)

Long live the King By Alex Halberstadt
Elvis Presley died 25 years ago this week, and his hardcore fans are getting "too old to shag." But the bizarre and marvelous world of Elvismania will never die. (08/16/2002)

This Modern World By Tom Tomorrow
The president's economic pablum. (08/16/2002)

Wacko in Waco By Arianna Huffington
At their summer camp economic summit, Bushians find comfort by withdrawing from a confusing, complicated and unfriendly world. (08/16/2002)

The conspiracy theory that wouldn't die By Damien Cave
Did a shadowy group of American diplomats threaten the Taliban last year, provoking the 9/11 attack? Many on the left think so. Now the diplomats tell their side of the story. (08/16/2002)

Whaling on the enemy Cartoon by Mark Fiore
The Navy readies its new supersonic sea weapon. But it sure does smell fishy. (08/15/2002)

Ira Einhorn's long, strange trip By Neil Gordon
After two decades on the run from charges in a horrific murder, the counterculture icon is home and headed for trial. But in France, he's still a human rights hero. (08/14/2002)

Bush is shocked -- shocked! By Robert Scheer
Not far from WorldCom's headquarters, Bush expresses concern at corporate misdeeds. Standing with him were the men that wrote the script for disaster. (08/14/2002)

Redefining the bottom line By Arianna Huffington
Corporate rebels are pushing a new manifesto that makes social and environmental impact as important as profit. (08/13/2002)

The media titans still don't get it By Scott Rosenberg
Corporate America lost billions on the Net. That doesn't mean the medium has no value -- but the moguls remain clueless about where it lies. (08/13/2002)

This Modern World By Tom Tomorrow
How to ensure victory in any conflict. (08/12/2002)

Summers at Camp Ethnicity By Janelle Brown
Are camps for foreign adoptees just a place for their parents to exorcise white guilt, or do they help the kids develop pride, cope with prejudice and get in touch with their roots? (08/12/2002)

Hot pursuit of a nonstory By Eric Boehlert
Grandstanding members of Congress, abetted by the celebrity-obsessed news media, are blowing Martha Stewart's stock trade way, way out of proportion. (08/11/2002)

Extreme fun By Stephanie Zacharek
In "XXX," Vin Diesel not only single-handedly rescues the action genre -- he displays exquisite table manners. (08/09/2002)

"24 Hour Party People" By Jeff Stark
This dizzying saga of the '80s Manchester music scene is garish, reckless, endlessly self-indulgent and totally untrustworthy. What a blast! (08/09/2002)

"Blood Work" By Charles Taylor
Clint Eastwood gets a new heart, but never cracks a smile, in his latest competent, hard-boiled detective yarn. (08/09/2002)

Music preview: Autechre By Kyle Wills
"Gantz Graf" is the new EP by Sean Booth and Rob Brown, aka Autechre, creators of some of the most mind-boggling soundscapes in electronic music to date. Listen in. (08/09/2002)

Embracing your inner corpse By Brother Void
(08/09/2002)

Literary daybook, Aug. 9
Real and imaginary events of interest to readers. (08/09/2002)

"The Case for Raymond Chandler"
By Allen Barra (08/09/2002)

Lynda Barry
Glow (08/09/2002)

The motherrunner, the "Why me?" gang and another alarming study
Readers respond to articles about a mother who's an ultrarunner, why nobody gets a free pass, and research about children of working moms. (08/09/2002)

The "shame" of rape By Margot Magowan
Why does the media hide rape victims who fight back instead of honoring them as heroes? (08/09/2002)

Don Fehr's drug-testing gamble By Allen Barra
The Players Association head agreed to random drug testing because he knows it's a phony issue for the owners. Plus: George Allen, and more baseball memories. (08/09/2002)

Bobby Bowden's sick humor By Keith Olbermann
Defenders say the FSU coach borrowed Todd Beamer's phrase "Let's Roll" with the greatest respect. So then why did he make a joke about it with reporters? (08/09/2002)

Joe Conason's Journal By Joe Conason
The mystery of the disappearing Dick Armey quote. (08/09/2002)

I see London, I see France By Roger Bruhn
Beauty queens abdicate amid charges of accidental nudity and wanton naughtiness. (08/09/2002)

Size matters to Vin By Amy Reiter
"XXX" costar says Diesel shaves to make it look bigger; Red Hot Chili Pepper bassist threatens to whip it out; mama Hurley takes baby to meet Papa Bing. Plus: Marriage advice from Tommy Lee! (08/09/2002)

Vin Diesel is hot By Janelle Brown
I know lusting after this big ugly hunk of a man is ridiculous -- but it's not just physical. Really. (08/09/2002)

The back Dorr By Anthony York
The president sneaks an appointment -- with old ties to the Bushes -- past Congress. (08/09/2002)

The Pentagon's internal war By Joshua Micah Marshall
The career military and their civilian bosses at the Pentagon are at odds over weaponry, Saudi Arabia -- and Iraq. (08/09/2002)

Gore, Fox and the Boss By Anthony York
Did Al and Tipper twist arms for Springsteen tix? Or is the conservative network dishing up a little disinformation? (08/09/2002)

Asia Argento is a hottie By Charles Taylor
You just can't take your eyes off her. (08/09/2002)

"Deal Breakers"
By Douglas Cruickshank (08/09/2002)

Ask the pilot Patrick Smith
When airplanes collide, who is responsible? Are we doing enough to prevent such disasters? (08/09/2002)

"The ghost of Bruce Springsteen"
By Joey Sweeney (08/08/2002)

Dirk Bogarde's art of decadence By Cintra Wilson
He started off as the Leonardo DiCaprio of his day -- and became art film's leading Gentleman Pervert. (08/08/2002)

Stranger in a strange land By Carina Chocano
Anna Nicole Smith is a parody of a blond bombshell in a parody of a TV show. Bloated, lonely and pathetic? Yes. The end of civilization? No. (08/08/2002)

How do we live brokenhearted? By Eric Boehlert
Bruce Springsteen reconciles life after Sept. 11 with a blazing New Jersey tour opener. (08/08/2002)

Bite me! By Peter Benchley
After being annoyed with what he calls phony hysteria over last summer's shark attacks, Peter Benchley, the author of "Jaws," sets the facts straight in his new book "Shark Trouble." (08/08/2002)

Literary daybook, Aug. 8
Real and imaginary events of interest to readers. (08/08/2002)

Heroes and villains By Laura Miller
Two new books try to illuminate the conspirators behind the 9/11 hijackings -- and the Americans who fought them in the sky. (08/08/2002)

Tom the Dancing Bug By Ruben Bolling
Sam Roland, the detective who dies, in "A Death Most Fatal" (08/08/2002)

Motherrunner By Eileen Kelly
Being alone is not enough. I have to be alone and running. (08/08/2002)

Joe Conason's Journal
Does "Slander" end in a Freudian slip? Plus: Tom Ridge's Edison Schools deal gets investigated. (08/08/2002)

Democracy on auto pilot By Arianna Huffington
Despite all the congratulatory backslapping in Washington for passing a corporate reform bill, it is not likely to change corporate America's grip on power. (08/08/2002)

Aniston: Sex scene felt "wrong" By Amy Reiter
A hot night for Jennifer and Brad: Dominoes; Cameron says she'll stay single; will censors chop 007's booty call? Plus: Jennifer Love Hewitt on chest rubbing! (08/08/2002)

Why we should invade -- right now! Cartoon by Mark Fiore
Secret nukes, terrorist training camps and payments to suicide bombers. And we hear Iraq is bad, too! (08/08/2002)

Spinsanity By Brendan Nyhan
A Bush budget man admits his mistake. But Robert Novak embraces it. (08/08/2002)

Cheney speaks! By Edward W. Lempinen
He left the bunker to meet the press -- sort of -- in a genteel setting where questions were filtered and follow-ups were impossible. Halliburton? Iraq? Will he run in '04? He talked about them all -- his way. (08/09/2002)

Keen on Keener By David Thomson
You know Catherine Keener is trouble. But you can't stop yourself. (08/08/2002)

Gnutella bandwidth bandits By Farhad Manjoo
The file-trading network's developers are discovering that even their wide-open, free-for-all technology might need a little policing. (08/09/2002)

"The Good Girl" By Andrew O'Hehir
Jennifer Aniston stars as a bored housewife caught up in chaos and motel-room sex in this hardworking, low-budget indie. (08/07/2002)

Radio's titan hits the skids By Eric Boehlert
After replacing a high-profile exec, Clear Channel, the 800-pound gorilla of the entertainment industry, suddenly faces a lot of banana peels. (08/07/2002)

"Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams" By Stephanie Zacharek
Cooler gadgets! Mini-mutants! A mad scientist on a mysterious island! Robert Rodriguez follows up his 2001 smash with another comic fantasy that'll please adults as much as kids. (08/07/2002)

The empire strikes back By Eric Boehlert
As the music industry's "pay-for-play" scandal deepens, the big five record labels try to crush the expanding power of the dreaded indie promoters. (08/07/2002)

"After Shakespeare" by John Gross, ed. By Jonathon Keats
Victor Hugo raised him in a séance, Voltaire ripped him off and Byron called him a vulgar dog. The world's great writers just can't leave Shakespeare alone. (08/07/2002)

Literary daybook, Aug. 7
Real and imaginary events of interest to readers. (08/07/2002)

Bestsellers
Harry Potter IV in paperback, summer thrillers and more in this week's bestselling books courtesy of Powells.com (08/07/2002)

The K Chronicles By Keith Knight
My very first fanboy (08/07/2002)

Housing and its discontents By Cary Tennis
Our house has become an unexpected obsession, a strange gift, an object of passion and frustration, and a wall to slump against in exhaustion. (08/07/2002)

Summer kidnapping panic By Michelle Goldberg
President Bush compares it to terrorism. But the number of children abducted by strangers is down, not up. So why is the media scaring the wits out of parents? (08/07/2002)

Joe Conason's Journal
More on how the Pennsylvania miners have been shafted. Plus: Ann Coulter spawns an army of Internet fact-checkers. (08/07/2002)

More ways to misuse 9/11 By Keith Olbermann
When a college football team makes "Let's Roll" its slogan, is it patriotism or profiteering? (08/07/2002)

Jerry Hall's new guy is "normal"! By Amy Reiter
Mick's ex says "emotionally healthy" boyfriend a welcome change; Angelina and dad make nice; uh, Pierce, the 007 thing is just pretend. Plus: Go on the Tony Soprano diet! (08/07/2002)

Deal breakers By Douglas Cruickshank
You may not push that hottie out of bed for eating crackers. But what about for wearing Tevas? (08/07/2002)

The bot who loved me By Katharine Mieszkowski
Are those secret-admirer e-mails real -- or just the latest excrescence of an Internet marketing machine grown unfathomably sleazy? (08/07/2002)

The right man for the job By Joyce Millman
His county -- and his country -- cried out for him. And Bruce Springsteen came through. (08/06/2002)

Music preview: Soundbombing III By Dan Kois
The third release in this series of New York underground hip-hop samplers features new material by Mos Def, Missy Elliott, the Roots and others. Listen in. (08/06/2002)

"Barbed Wire: A Political History" by Olivier Razac By Damien Cave
Here's how a simple twist of spiked metal ravaged the American West, crucified a generation of young men and terrorized millions of Europeans. (08/06/2002)

Literary daybook, Aug. 6
Real and imaginary events of interest to readers. (08/06/2002)

Story Minute By Carol Lay
Socket to me (08/06/2002)

Why me? By Dan Shapiro
Why not you? Misery makes the world go round, and nobody gets a free pass. (08/06/2002)

Among the believers By King Kaufman
When the NFL's Ultimate Fans get together in Canton, Ohio, they paint the town red -- and then they start on their bodies. (08/06/2002)

The White House's credibility problem By Arianna Huffington
His company evaded taxes while feeding at the federal trough and doing business with the axis of evil -- no wonder Dick Cheney is still in hiding. (08/06/2002)

Sex-slave whistle-blowers vindicated By Robert Capps
DynCorp, a private military powerhouse, fired two employees who complained that colleagues were involved in Bosnian forced-prostitution rings. The employees went to court -- and won. (08/06/2002)

Boom! Madden on Monday night By King Kaufman
Look at this! He's the same great analyst he was on Sunday afternoons. So will he help the ratings? Not as much as some good games would. (08/06/2002)

When neighbors attack! By Dave Lindorff
Volunteers for Operation TIPS, John Ashcroft's citizen spy army, are being steered to the Fox crime show "America's Most Wanted." Is the merger of tabloid TV with the federal snooping operation funny or scary or both? (08/06/2002)

Chick Hearn, R.I.P. By King Kaufman
Even in his 80s, the Voice of the Lakers never turned into a lovable grandpa type, but that Gatling-gun voice rat-a-tatted play-by-play with astonishing speed and clarity. (08/06/2002)

The Baghdad double-whammy By Robert Scheer
George the Younger sees a chance to boost his sluggish poll ratings and avenge daddy's big political mistake. (08/06/2002)

Joe Conason's Journal
How long will the White House counterterrorism chief stay? Plus: Ann Coulter's publisher considers a correction. (08/06/2002)

Nikki Sixx on depravity By Amy Reiter
To the depths of indecency with Mötley Crüe; miner thanks Osbournes for saving his life; Aniston's psychic armour getting a workout. Plus: Does working on a men's mag make for good sex? (08/06/2002)

Gore vs. Lieberman? By Anthony York
The former Democratic standard-bearers say they're still good friends. But Gore sends a message: If you don't want to get scorched, get out of the way of my fire-breathing populism. (08/06/2002)

The patriot patrol strikes again! By Bryan Keefer
Questioning a possible war with Iraq is equated with supporting Saddam. (08/06/2002)

Mood swings By Cary Tennis
My husband suffers from depression and I've taken a lover. But what about my promise to be with him "in sickness and in health"? (08/06/2002)

"Buy, Lie and Sell High" By Paul Roberts
How investment banks sold the American economy down the river. (08/06/2002)

Real Life Rock Top 10 By Greil Marcus
(08/05/2002)

Air Jordans By Damien Cave
What changed leisure footwear forever and created the wonderful, hideous behemoth of contemporary consumer culture? It's gotta be da shoes. (08/05/2002)

"The Hunt for Zero Point" by Nick Cook By Kurt Kleiner
An editor for the esteemed Jane's Defense Weekly says the U.S. government has been working on Nazi anti-gravity technology in secret for 50 years. (08/05/2002)

Literary daybook, Aug. 5
Real and imaginary events of interest to readers. (08/05/2002)

Salon recommends
An unsettling futuristic novel about the enslavement of mankind and more of our favorite new books. (08/05/2002)

This Modern World By Tom Tomorrow
They're kidding about handing that contract to Halliburton, right? (08/05/2002)

Where's poppa? By Audrey Fisch
Another study causes alarm about children of working mothers. But one of the authors admits that fathers were again left out of the equation. (08/05/2002)

Noelle Bush gets rehab, the poor and black get hard time By Michelle Goldberg
Fed up with draconian drug penalties, a coalition led by angry mothers is threatening to overturn some of the country's harshest laws. (08/05/2002)

Joe Conason's Journal
Bush/Cheney's private recount 2000 air force included planes from Enron, Halliburton -- and Sallie Mae? (08/05/2002)

McCartney's gal sucks air from room! By Amy Reiter
Heather Mills, please get over yourself; the Jolie-Voight vortex spins out of control; Britney sprains tongue. Plus: Zeta-Jones turns down underwear offer! (08/05/2002)

Crazy like a desert fox By Anthony York
Saddam's plea to the U.N. is completely phony. But it could be effective. (08/03/2002)

Antisocial security By Ben Fritz
Republicans who argue that savings accounts can save Social Security are hiding the risks -- and the true costs. (08/03/2002)

I come to bury IAmCarbonatedMilk.com, not to praise it By Heather Cochran
From BuyClamsOnline.com to billromanowskisucks.com, a stroll through the graveyard of defunct domain names offers a melancholy vision of really dumb hopes that were cruelly dashed. (08/03/2002)

Ham and cheese
Readers respond to a politico-cultural critique of Subway's sandwich ad and to an essay about metrosexual posing. (08/02/2002)

"Full Frontal" By Stephanie Zacharek
Julia Roberts and David Duchovny can't save this funny mess about the split between the movies and the real world -- or something like that. (08/02/2002)

"The Master of Disguise" By Charles Taylor
Dana Carvey makes a lackadaisical "comeback" as a man of a thousand faces, none of them funny. (08/02/2002)

A higher power By Andrew O'Hehir
"Signs," the latest supernatural chiller from M. Night Shyamalan, shows once again he's a master of terror. But he wants to be a shaman, not just a showman. (08/02/2002)

"Fundamentally Unsound"
By Michelle Goldberg (08/02/2002)

Literary daybook, Aug. 2
Real and imaginary events of interest to readers. (08/02/2002)

The skeptical mystic's crisis of doubt By Brother Void
(08/02/2002)

Lynda Barry
The Crying Swan (08/02/2002)

Defense lawyer or terrorist's accomplice? By Dave Lindorff
The Justice Department insists Lynne Stewart helped the man behind the 1993 WTC bombing. Her defenders say she's a victim of John Ashcroft's jihad against attorney-client privilege. (08/02/2002)

The foolishness of the baseball writers. Plus: More baseball memories By Allen Barra
With sports writers so confused about baseball's labor issues, it's no wonder the fans are all at sea. (08/02/2002)

Death of a journalist, battle for the truth By Ferry Biedermann
How did Imad Abu Zahra die? The conflicting accounts offered by Israelis and Palestinians reveal that the propaganda war has become almost as important as the military one. (08/02/2002)

Joe Conason's Journal
How can Democrats beat Bush in 2004? The way Clinton did it in 1992 -- by uniting the party. (08/02/2002)

Jim Bowden must go By Keith Olbermann
Comparing Players' Association head Donald Fehr to the Sept. 11 hijackers degrades the memory of the victims, and baseball too. (08/03/2002)

Wall Street echoes By Arianna Huffington
Just as our culture at large has celebrated shallowness, so too did the corporate culture. (08/02/2002)

The shadow president By Sean Elder
People say I look like you know who. Why me, lord? (08/02/2002)

Love Pelvis style By Amy Reiter
Priscilla sells her story of romance with the King; Winslet and Mendes get oodles of it. Plus: "Ed" star busted for allegedly smoking crack and Anna Nicole Smith asks a veddy insightful question! (08/02/2002)

The Iraq non-hearings By Anthony York
Defense retreads Cap Weinberger and Sandy Berger fail to bring any substance to Washington's aimless war debate. (08/02/2002)

Paul Gauguin's erotic life By David Bowman
He was cruel to his wife, drove van Gogh mad and delighted in impregnating women. The author of a Gauguin biography talks about why she loves his art anyway. (08/02/2002)

Ask the pilot By Patrick Smith
Can it really get too hot to fly? And what was it like to be in the air on Sept. 11? (08/02/2002)

"The Not-So-Sweet Success of Organic Farming"
By Linda Baker (08/02/2002)

Heavy meta By Carina Chocano
When the networks start gleefully indulging in self-referential, self-mocking camp, as in NBC's terrifying "The Rerun Show," is it about time? Or is it just time for an attitude adjustment? (08/01/2002)

Literary daybook, Aug. 1
Real and imaginary events of interest to readers. (08/01/2002)

"Life of Pi," by Yann Martel By Suzy Hansen
A preposterous but utterly enchanting story about a young Indian boy adrift in a lifeboat with his good friend, a Bengal tiger, and some other zoo animals. (08/01/2002)

"You Are Not a Stranger Here," by Adam Haslett By Laura Miller
Nine surprising stories by a new master about people who must choose between subduing the demons of depression or facing them head on. (08/01/2002)

"The Weather in Berlin," by Ward Just By Suzy Hansen
A washed-up American filmmaker returns to Berlin, where he made his one masterpiece and a mystery from his past awaits. (08/01/2002)

"The Whore's Child," by Richard Russo By Charles Taylor
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Empire Falls" presents stories of brutal compassion about ordinary people confronting their pasts. (08/01/2002)

"The Girl From the Coast," by Pramoedya Ananta Toer By Andrew O'Hehir
A poor fisherman's daughter is plucked from her village to be the "practice wife" of a local aristocrat. (08/01/2002)

"The Lovely Bones," by Alice Sebold By Laura Miller
From heaven, a raped and murdered 14-year-old girl watches her loved ones -- and her killer -- go on with their lives. (08/01/2002)

What to read in August By Salon's critics
We review the best of late summer fiction, from "The Lovely Bones" to a classic tale of a child bride and stories about ordinary people who go off their medication. (08/01/2002)

Tom the Dancing Bug By Ruben Bolling
The Education of Louis: Home ec (08/01/2002)

Dykes on bikes with mikes By Amy Benfer
Lynn Breedlove takes us to her manic world of speed freaks, strippers and queer-core punk rock. (08/01/2002)

Joe Conason's Journal
Bush says he wants corporate tax evaders to knock it off -- but is his cabinet listening? Plus: Republicans suddenly embrace Medicare. (08/01/2002)

Celine Dion's odor By Amy Reiter
Omigawd, what's that smell? Dana Carvey on masturbation humor; what's up with Melanie and Antonio? Plus: Al Roker on thong-wearing grannies! (08/01/2002)

Spinny the Image Boy! Cartoon by Mark Fiore
America's pissed off the world again? It's a job for our plucky superhero! (08/01/2002)

Corporate getaways! By Jason Leopold
President Bush says he's getting tough on crime in the suites -- but his old friends at Enron might never see the inside of a jail. (08/01/2002)

Torched? By Michelle Goldberg
Sen. Robert Torricelli gets a reprimand by his Senate peers. The real surprise? It might actually matter. (08/01/2002)

Bush allies question Iraq strategy By Anthony York
Everyone agrees that Saddam Hussein is a dangerous tyrant, but even Senate Republicans are worried that war may do more harm than good. (08/01/2002)

Ignore, ignore, ignore By Brendan Nyhan
White House staffers underestimated the cost of the Bush tax cut. Why can't they just admit it? (08/01/2002)

In the end, we're all naked By David Thomson
Thoughts on my sister-in-law's suicide. (08/01/2002)

Bootleg culture By Pete Rojas
Powerful computers and easy-to-use editing software are challenging our conceptions of authorship and creativity. As usual, the entertainment industry doesn't like this one bit. (08/01/2002)