Calypso Now
With the U.S. military engaged in multiple battles around the world, it’s time to revisit that haunting classic of war and steel-drum cinema, “Apocalypso Now.”
Archive
A collection of 14232 issues
August 30, 2011: Morning
* Chinese parents incensed at demolition of unsanctioned schools—and the high-rises that replaced them. * Ai Weiwei blasts Beijing, where one of the only positives is that people still give birth to babies. * If terrorist methods are as widely available as automobiles, why are there so few Islamist terrorists? * Chronic
August 29, 2011: Afternoon
* Irene can't be pinned on global warming, but more events like Irene should be expected in a warming world. * Hotels preserve chairs and tables during hurricanes by tossing them in the pool. * Rivka Galchen's fabulous 2009 Harper's essay on the quest to control hurricanes.
Quick and Energetic, but Conventional
Unless my team is playing, I’m on the underdog’s side. According to the latest Radiolab episode, so are most people—90 percent in some studies. That means when I’m watching detective programs, I have a soft spot for the police inspectors, particularly those who have to work
Reconciliation
Confessionals are designed to draw the penitent into soul-searching. The spaces themselves are bare, but our knowledge of their function can make viewing more complicated.
August 29, 2011: Morning
* Flooding from Irene devastates portions of upstate New York, Vermont, submerging several small towns. * Waiting out the storm in a school gym. * Libyan rebels resist Western pressure, say they won't extradite Lockerbie bomber. * Top Gun proves we vote at the box office—Bigelow's upcoming bin Laden
August 27, 2011: Weekend
* Latest updates on Hurricane Irene. * Extraordinary chronicle of an "ordinary" day in Mexico's drug wars—cause of 43,000 homicides since 2006. * Former Mexican President Fox suggests truce, amnesty, legalization. * If one of my employees started smoking crack I'd confiscate his gun and kick
August 26, 2011: Afternoon
* Attractive Irene tracker from the Times. * South Africa's police vow to stop high rate of cops being killed; population terrified of killer cops. * Men torch casino in Mexico, killing 53; worst attack in five years of anti-gang policing. * Recent history of MI6 and Gadhafi's relationship,
Nipples at the State Fair
The state fair puts on display the usual cornucopia of wonders both natural and synthetic, all ready for your sampling. A young man gets in touch with his appetite.
August 26, 2011: Morning
* The MLK Memorial opening has been postponed—not that King wanted it in the first place. * On the nature of memory, historical and structural amnesia, and society's humiliated silence. * New Rimbaud translations confirm the poet as an enduring obsession for all rebels, e.g., Ashbery. * In 1861 a