Just before the latest Cirque du Soleil traveling show begins in its striped tent on Randall’s Island, New York City, an announcer warns that the production contains flashing lights, “which may cause difficulty for people with photosynthesis epilepsy.” Very considerate, these French Canadians. But given that this audience has more than its share of hip, jaded Manhattanites, the management might also offer an advisory that Kooza features something far more hazardous to an urban sophisticate’s enjoyment: mimes and clowns. Who among us has not mocked a mime Those mordant, white-faced pierrots, especially of the Russian variety, are usually about as funny as Dostoevsky, as buoyant as Brezhnev
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Why Google Wants You To Google Yourself
The act of Googling oneself has become the digital age’s premiere guilty pleasure — an activity enjoyed by all and admitted by few. The phenomenon has even been the subject of scholarly research.
Why American Idol Keeps Soaring
Theoretically, American Idol should not exist. It’s a broad-based mainstream hit when series like that are no longer supposed to be.
Forgotten Franklin letters offer glimpse into U.S. history
An American professor doing research in London stumbled across a series of previously unknown letters written by, to, and about Benjamin Franklin, a stunning find that sheds new light on early U.S. history.
In Trying Times, Colleges Willing to Boost Financial-Aid
For many college hopefuls this year, getting in was the easy part. Now comes the real challenge: figuring out where they can afford to go
‘Horse Boy,’ family find respite from autism in Mongolia
When 3-year-old Rowan Isaacson darted away from his father and dived into a herd of grazing horses, it easily could have been the end of the small autistic boy. He was babbling under the hooves of a boss mare.
A Top Interrogator Who’s Against Torture
He’s the special agent who came in from the cold — and waded straight into the debate over the use of harsh interrogation techniques.
Armstrong cleared by French doping agency
Lance Armstrong has been cleared to ride in this year’s Tour de France after the French anti-doping agency (AFLD) confirmed they would not be launching any disciplinary procedures against the seven-time champion. The AFLD opted not to take any action against the 37-year-old, following an incident in the French riviera town of Beaulieu-sur-Mer on March 17. The American returned from a training ride to find a doping official at his French home.
Forget the recession, live like a rock star in new hotel
London’s newest hotelier Mark Fuller is showing commendable bravado for someone about to open a luxury hotel during a global recession. “F*** the recession, let’s get on with it,” he says, while sitting on the roof terrace of the Sanctum Soho, a 30-room establishment dubbed the rock’n’roll hotel, as much for its “anything goes” service philosophy as the pedigree of its owners, which include the co-managers of heavy metal band Iron Maiden. “We do not recognize there is a credit crunch because we believe you should battle through it,” Fuller says, adding “If you get panicky and scary about things like this you’re no man at all.” Besides, he admits, three years ago when he started working on the concept of an ‘alluring haven of hedonism’ (as the hotel is described on its Web site), the credit crunch didn’t exist
Does Pakistan’s Taliban Surge Raise a Nuclear Threat?
When asked last year about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Admiral Mike Mullen didn’t hesitate: “I’m very comfortable that the nuclear weapons in Pakistan are secure,” he said flatly. Asked the same question earlier this month, his answer had changed.