May 2000

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
"Survivor": Where's the Professor when you need him? Kevin Smith's cartoon "Clerks" (05/31/2000)

Sharps & Flats By Seth Mnookin
Devo cracked a thousand whips at art-world pretense. In the end, the one-note joke leveled the world's greatest dance music for nerds. (05/31/2000)

The boob tube By Sharon Goldman Edry
MTV used to show music videos: Now it offers kids an almost constant stream of torrid teens, hot sex and whipped-cream bikinis. (05/31/2000)

"The Happy Bottom Riding Club" by Lauren Kessler By Patricia Kean
A juicy, smart biography of heiress Pancho Barnes, who wanted only one thing: More. (05/31/2000)

One is the loneliest number By Garrison Keillor
My husband locks himself in the spare room and masturbates five or six times a day to videotapes and sex magazines. (05/31/2000)

Stupid death tricks By Jeff Stark
How a Web performance artist created a fake chain of theme-park cemeteries and embarrassed 39 newspapers, 19 radio stations, six TV stations, 10 magazines and 20 Web sites. (05/31/2000)

Oh, grow up By Sean Elder
Offspring is making a smarter parenting magazine. Is that what parents want? (05/31/2000)

The K Chronicles By Keith Knight
Live nude band night at the Fillmore (05/31/2000)

Kids as guinea pigs By Dawn MacKeen
The death of a 9-month-old boy rekindles an agonizing debate: Should powerful drugs be tested on children? (05/31/2000)

Moms: I want my SUV! .
"I bought an SUV and haven't looked back." (05/31/2000)

The lunacy of the mental health care system .
"That poor tormented girl -- and all the others like her." (05/31/2000)

Geek sex -- get over it! .
"An occasional orgy is no substitute for the real thing." (05/31/2000)

Homework chain saw massacre By Maura Kelly
Sometimes an English essay can be a threat to do bodily harm. (05/31/2000)

Prada family values By Amy Benfer
Harper's Bazaar shows us moms in transparent blouses and teen daughters in Limp Bizkit videos. (05/31/2000)

The curriculum crusades By James Traub
Progressive teaching practices don't work as well as a traditional focus on basic skills and a rigorous curriculum. So why do we still use them? (05/31/2000)

Can you spell failure? By Myla Goldberg
The Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee seen on ESPN offers its vast audience exactly what it's hungry for: Loser TV. (05/31/2000)

Who tattled on Tommy Lee? By Amy Reiter
Mr. Pamela back in stir; the comedy stylings of Bob Dole? Eddie Van Halen scores an ounce of prevention; Jodie Foster: No. 2 on the way? Plus: Clinton caught cheating! (05/31/2000)

The battle with Hillary is joined By Jesse Drucker
Rick Lazio is formally christened as New York state's GOP nominee for U.S. Senate. (05/31/2000)

Bush may stall Texas execution By Alicia Montgomery
The Republican hopeful bags military brass briefing and rises in Western polls. Gore divides environmentalists as Nader gains ground among greens. (05/31/2000)

Emergency sex By Jeff Drayer
A young doctor explains the natural, easy connection between sex and healthcare. (05/31/2000)

Octogenarian stripper wows Midwest By Jack Boulware
Disco Ernie has been dancing for money for 24 years. (05/31/2000)

The MP3 of movies? By Damien Cave
A new video compression technology promises to make online film swapping as easy as pie, but Hollywood's got nothing to worry about yet. (05/31/2000)

Burning Man culture clash By Katharine Mieszkowski
Is the National Geographic Society trying to wipe out an already-extinct tribe of revelers? (05/31/2000)

Donated statues and prayerful pretzels By Burt Wolf
Munich's got the best of Germany -- open plazas, a commitment to art and food so fatty you'll never want to leave. (05/31/2000)

Sexual harassment in the skies By J A. Getzlaff
Frustrated passenger groped flight attendants (05/31/2000)

Demon wraith By Charles Taylor
On "The Practice," Helen Gamble's desire for vengeance -- a passion that happens to be pervasive in our culture -- is eating her alive. (05/30/2000)

Real Life Rock Top 10 By Greil Marcus
Eminem, Don Henley, Dusty Springfield and the Sex Pistols (05/30/2000)

Sharps & Flats By Geoff Edgers
No more pain, no more broken hearts: Andy Partridge and XTC are the men who murdered love. (05/30/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for Tuesday, May 30, 2000 (05/30/2000)

"Enola Gay" by Mark Levine By Melanie Rehak
A forceful book of poems about our barely disguised appetite for destruction. (05/30/2000)

The real Sylvia Plath By Kate Moses
Her newly published, unexpurgated journals reveal the poet's true demons -- and support a little-known theory about what drove her to suicide. First of two parts. (05/30/2000)

The death of music retail as we know it? By Eric Boehlert
Confronted by an apocalyptic mix of blank CDs and Napster, the record shop faces extinction -- in 12 months. (05/30/2000)

The urge to merge By Steve Bodow
Summer?s here and the time is right for merging on the Street. A look at who?s seeking matrimonial and monetary bliss this wedding season. (05/30/2000)

"Half Empty, Half Full" By Annie M. Paul
While optimism may seem a sunny subject, full of hearts and flowers, it's a weapon in Susan Vaughan's hands. (05/30/2000)

Better off deaf? .
"I was stunned when the deaf culture ostracized me for not being deaf enough." (05/30/2000)

Public school supporters should walk their talk .
"Don't automatically assume that private schools are superior." (05/30/2000)

Phishheads phight back .
"To blame the phans is ridiculous." (05/30/2000)

My first art By Carol Weis
Three decades later, my first lover returned to remind me that I could still whip up a mean crhme anglaise. (05/30/2000)

Recipe: Summer pudding By Carol Weis
Filled with fresh summer berries and a flavor to confound the most sophisticated palate. (05/30/2000)

The charter school challenge By Jonathan Schorr
Notes from two pioneering California charter schools -- one a success story, the other a failure. (05/30/2000)

The latest civil rights disaster By David Horowitz
Ten reasons why reparations for slavery are a bad idea for black people -- and racist too. (05/30/2000)

Charles Barkley By Larry Platt
The most fascinating sports figure since Muhammad Ali, he gave rise to a generation of hip-hop athletes. (05/30/2000)

Matthew Perry holds on to his organ! By Amy Reiter
The "Friends" star loves his liver, plans to keep livin' with it; Amy Brenneman: "Lesbianism's chic"; Puff Daddy sheds a lawsuit, while Beastie Boys try one on. (05/30/2000)

Unfavorite son By Jake Tapper
Winning his home state of Tennessee is a big goal -- and surprising challenge -- for Al Gore. (05/30/2000)

Bush blasts Gore on military By Alicia Montgomery
Gore gets green thumbs up as Ventura threatens to jump in the presidential ring. Lazio, New York's Republican golden boy, stumbles but gets the party nod. (05/30/2000)

Going down By Virginia Vitzthum
Surprise! Women like receiving oral sex (almost) as much as men do. (05/30/2000)

Viagra rave By Jack Boulware
Impotence drug popular with Canadian club crowd. (05/30/2000)

Napster at law By Damien Cave
Attorney-turned-interim CEO Hank Barry promises to make money, not war, for the beleaguered music-swapping service. (05/30/2000)

Who's afraid of a bear market? By Joey Anuff and Gary Wolf
Almost everyone, but don't expect a crash to scare off day traders. In fact, it might turn you into one. (05/30/2000)

Just another flight to Cali By Elliott Neal Hester
Mini-dramas unfold on a Colombian odyssey. First of two parts. (05/30/2000)

Sumo wrestler flashes Japan on TV By J.A. Getzlaff
The giant star loses his loincloth and his match, too. (05/30/2000)

This Modern World
Season finale! Gushy sentiment plus a cliffhanger! (05/30/2000)

"Shanghai Noon" By Stephanie Zacharek
Jackie Chan's latest teams him up in 1880s America with Owen Wilson -- and gives a giddy glimpse of what he'll be doing after he gets too old to do his death-defying stunts. (05/26/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for Memorial Day Weekend, May 26-29, 2000 (05/26/2000)

"8 1/2 Women" By Andrew O'Hehir
Peter Greenaway's masterful meditation on grief, sexual indulgence and power might just be his masterpiece. (05/26/2000)

"Experience: A Memoir" by Martin Amis By Andrew Roe
The renowned novelist opens up on the subject of his famously vile father, Sir Kingsley, and the $30,000 fortune he spent repairing his own famously vile teeth. (05/26/2000)

The procrastinator's way By Meisha Rosenberg
I succumbed to my embarrassing addiction to writers' self-help books and wound up with a dog and a purple fountain pen. (05/26/2000)

The long hot summer By Gregg Kilday
Hollywood raises the curtain on its annual money-spinning event, but this year's model looks awfully thin. (05/26/2000)

Photo finish By Eric Boehlert
Read 'em and sweep: ABC and NBC tie for the May TV ratings sweeps, but both sides claim victory. (05/26/2000)

This Modern World Tom Tomorrow
(05/26/2000)

The K Chronicles Keith Knight
You think Tom Cruise's mission is impossible? (05/27/2000)

Tom the Dancing Bug Ruben Bolling
Billy Dare, Boy Adventurer, foils Mr. Nucleo! (05/27/2000)

Story Minute Carol Lay
But do you love me? (05/27/2000)

Should shrinks probe the violent fantasies of patients? By Dawn MacKeen
They often don't. And that failure can be tragic. (05/26/2000)

There's something about Britney -
"Spears' image blurs the line between fantasy and reality" (05/26/2000)

"Ex-gays" are repressed -- or bisexual -
"'Reparative' therapy led to years of suffering" (05/26/2000)

Camille Paglia gets it wrong on gun control .
"We are at the mercy of our government's martial forces." (05/26/2000)

Money talks By Catherine Davis
In wealthy school districts, it drowns out the sound of the teachers. (05/26/2000)

The war over vouchers By Stephen Talbot
As home to one of the largest school voucher programs in the nation, Cleveland is ground zero in the battle. (05/26/2000)

Vouchers and the GOP By Stanley Crouch
The Republicans' quick fix for education reform doesn't compute. Here's why. (05/26/2000)

Why is this man smirking? By Joe Conason
Bush's plan to privatize Social Security sounds too good to be true -- and that's the problem. (05/26/2000)

The other Ondaatje By Nick Ryan
Given his dramatic exploits, the brother of the man who wrote "The English Patient" and "Anil's Ghost" could have walked right out of a novel. (05/26/2000)

Nothing Personal: If you have a fit, you musn't hit By Amy Reiter
Report: Enraged girlfriend put the whomp on O.J. The real reason for Grant and Hurley's split. Plus: President Clinton on the, ahem, bigness of "Baywatch." (05/26/2000)

Why should we trust this man? By Dante Chinni
Frank Luntz is king of the pollster pundits, but don't ask him where his numbers come from. (05/26/2000)

Lie of the Week By Joshua Micah Marshall
George W. Bush on Al Gore's promise about funding attack ads. (05/26/2000)

The first encounter By Laura Reese
She had seen him do it to another woman, and now she wanted it done to her; a chapter from a new S&M; thriller. (05/26/2000)

Hurt me By Karen Croft
A chat with Laura Reese, author of the sexual thriller "Panic Snap." (05/26/2000)

Nicaraguan melodrama By Jack Boulware
Congressman attempts suicide, humiliated by charges of bigamy. (05/26/2000)

If code is free, why not me? By Annalee Newitz
Some open-source geeks are as open-minded about sex as they are about hacking. (05/26/2000)

Would you be wooed by Boo? By Janelle Brown
The designers who built Europe's flashiest e-commerce flop put themselves up for hire. (05/26/2000)

Into the jaws of destiny By Bill Belleville
Whatever you think a shark is, you're wrong -- until you look it in the eye. (05/26/2000)

Chickens attack toddlers in California By J.A. Getzlaff
Henpecked by angry citizens, the Sonoma City Council calls foul on free-roaming birds. (05/26/2000)

What's the "Frequency," Gregory? By Michael Sragow
Veteran "Hill Street Blues" and "NYPD Blue" director Gregory Hoblit scores the spring's sleeper hit with "Frequency." (05/25/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for Thursday, May 25, 2000 (05/25/2000)

"Of Two Minds" By T.M. Luhrmann By Laura Miller
A subtle study of the conflict between talk-oriented and drug-oriented psychotherapy -- and a frightening demonstration of how medical budget cutters are betraying the mentally ill and putting the rest of us at risk. (05/25/2000)

Crazy like a fox By Sean Elder
Fox news is out to save its ailing Web site by borrowing -- literally and politically -- from its resurgent news channel. Even if it means rewriting a few stories. (05/25/2000)

Seven days in May: Britney Spears does it again! By Eric Boehlert
The bubbly teen phenom storms the charts with a massive No. 1 album, but will nasty rapper Eminem cut her down to size? The record industry scores a record-setting week. (05/25/2000)

Who will care for the crazy? By J.B. Orenstein
She was 18 and had been found hanging by a noose. But the moment I saw her insurer, I knew she was one of the lucky ones. First of two parts. (05/25/2000)

A message to our readers -
We feel your pain! (05/25/2000)

O no! By Lisa Moricoli Latham
Oprah produces a deeply flawed magazine for the deeply flawed. (05/25/2000)

Early Christmas for Beijing By Bruce Shapiro
The House of Representatives approves permanent trading status for China, but the move is mostly a symbolic gesture. (05/25/2000)

Guilty pleasures from China By Alexandra Starr
Get ready for all the cute $4.99 T-shirts you can stuff into a shopping bag. Just remember: Someone will pay the price. (05/25/2000)

Nothing Personal: Like a stalker By Amy Reiter
Madonna's stalker didn't mean any harm; he just wanted to be near her. Plus: Posh's plans to pop 'em out. (05/25/2000)

Tripp's off the hook By Alicia Montgomery
Bush hits rewind on conservative speech as Gore -- in his glam new makeup --guns for Heston and loses labor. (05/25/2000)

World's first elephant midwife? By Jack Boulware
Vet's job is to encourage births among captive elephants. (05/25/2000)

Does Microsoft need a makeover? Salon Technology staff report
As Judge Jackson ponders a three-way breakup, experts offer the company some PR advice. (05/25/2000)

Flying behemoth By Chris Colin
United Airlines, the world's largest carrier, announced plans to acquire US Airways. If the deal takes off, will competition nose dive? (05/25/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for Monday, May 22, 2000 (05/24/2000)

The fall TV menu By Joyce Millman
You want a side of Regis with that? (05/24/2000)

"M:I-2" By Charles Taylor
Director John Woo's pyrotechnics and the spark between Tom Cruise and Thandie Newton can't redeem a strangely impersonal actioner. (05/25/2000)

You have your mother's temper By Garrison Keillor
I hated my mother for not controlling her rages, and now I find myself turning into her. (05/24/2000)

"Plowing the Dark" by Richard Powers By Pam Rosenthal
A riveting novel conjures up the bygone days of virtual reality and the promise of the unreal world that might have been. (05/25/2000)

Peons rejoice! By Craig Offman
The book business gives its infamously low-paid assistants a raise. (05/24/2000)

Sound and fury By Arthur Allen
Thousands of deaf kids can hear, and speak, thanks to a stunningly effective ear implant. So why is the deaf community in an uproar? (05/25/2000)

In the toilet -
Ladies' restroom manners are deplorable. (05/25/2000)

A big boo-boo -
Boo.com -- "The design was ridiculous" (05/25/2000)

The Napster dispute -
"Metallica's actions will cost them" (05/24/2000)

AIDS and AZT -
"Coke dealers use giveaways, too" (05/24/2000)

Colombia on the brink -
Will assistance escalate the war, or can reforms be tied to U.S. aid? (05/24/2000)

Road sows By Beth Gallagher
Why do women drive SUVs? Could it be that they believe that size matters -- in the driveway? (05/24/2000)

El Pescador fights back By Daryl Lindsey
Fisherman Donato Dalrymple sues Janet Reno for violating his right to privacy. (05/24/2000)

The charter school magnate By Eve Pell
With his controversial privately run schools, entrepreneur David Brennan pushes Ohio into the center of the school-choice debate. (05/24/2000)

Truly guilty pleasures By Alexandra Starr
China's unfettered entry into the WTO should make Nike, Liz Claiborne and the Gap awfully happy. (05/25/2000)

Mommy smearest By Amy Reiter
It's spillsville for Jaid Barrymore, splitsville for Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley and the slammer for Bobby Brown. (05/25/2000)

Blame it on Gisele By Amy O'Connor
A Brazilian runway Amazon turns New York into Sco Paulo's sister city. (05/25/2000)

Calendar -
Salon.com's guide to upcoming political events. (05/24/2000)

Houses of the holy By Jake Tapper
George W. Bush offers an olive branch to Jewish voters while trying to set a different tone from his father's squabbles with pro-Israel lobbying groups. (05/24/2000)

Trail Mix: Did Bush go AWOL on Guard? By Alicia Montgomery
Rick Lazio's running start leaves Hillary Clinton at a loss for a target and voters cautiously optimistic. (05/25/2000)

The masculine mystique By Anna Holmes
A new book takes a look at what makes a man sexy and stylish, but its theories about masculinity are less compelling than its photos of men in many guises. (05/24/2000)

Self-defense for prostitutes By Jack Boulware
CARE urges Bangladeshi hookers to take up karate. (05/24/2000)

Macho boys and entrepreneurial gurus By Katharine Mieszkowski
They swear. They hunt. They make millions. The "eBoys" of Benchmark Capital and "Confessions of a Venture Capitalist" show us the ropes of Sand Hill Road. (05/24/2000)

London's "Millennium Wheel" bungles Wordsworth By J.A. Getzlaff
The poet's sonnet makes no sense and no one notices. (05/24/2000)

Intrigue under the big screen By Rolf Potts
At a 1-dinar cinema in Amman, Jordan, the real story has little to do with the movie itself. (05/25/2000)

Oops, she's doing it again! By Strawberry Saroyan
She's a Mouseketeer trafficking kiddie porn, a school-girl queen selling sex in a leathery cat suit. Does Britney Spears have any idea what she's doing? (05/22/2000)

The incredible shrinking Mulder By Joyce Millman
He's bored with "X-Files" and, frankly, so are we. (05/22/2000)

Sharps & Flats By Seth Mnookin
Phish could be a great pop band -- if all those damn trustafarians got out of the way. (05/22/2000)

Gritty city By Nelson George
The author of "One Woman Short" and "Hip Hop America" picks five great urban books. (05/22/2000)

New in paperback By the Salon Books Editors
Martin Amis, Paul Auster, Nathan Englander, Janet Fitch, Neal Stephenson and more (05/22/2000)

Salon recommends By the Salon Books Editors
What we're reading, what we're liking (05/22/2000)

"Chang and Eng" by Darin Strauss By Jonathan Miles
A daring first novel probes the psychological -- and sexual -- lives of the celebrated Siamese twins. (05/22/2000)

Raging youths tune in to aging soaps By Lydia Lee
Can Hottie and Trouble pull in the ratings for daytime TV? (05/22/2000)

Holy & Moly! Swedish fashion takes Manhattan By Heather Alexis Chaplin
Can H&M;, the comically low-priced Stockholm retailer, conquer America and sink its teeth into the Gap's once-invincible ankles? (05/22/2000)

Pay no more By Steve Bodow
Wall Street may have snubbed the $12.5 billion marriage between Lycos and Terra Networks, but the deal could lead to free Web and phone service. (05/22/2000)

Into the closet By Barry Yeoman
Can therapy make gay people straight? (05/22/2000)

Today's Salon -- new look, new sites David Talbot
Welcome to our redesign, and our newest additions: Salon Business, Sex and Shop. (05/22/2000)

Blech, master none
Slave-loving Gor aficionados are sick. (05/22/2000)

DNA and roots none
African-Americans' interest in genealogy isn't trivial. (05/22/2000)

A psychiatrist for Prozac none
On balance, it's a blessing. (05/22/2000)

Today's Salon -- new look, new sites By David Talbot
Welcome to the redesigned site, with its newest additions: Salon Business, Sex and Shop. (05/22/2000)

Making martyrs of our kids By Jennifer Foote Sweeney
It's absurd to say parents who choose private school shouldn't participate in the public debate over education. (05/22/2000)

Public schools, private choices By Louis Freedberg
Al Gore could have sent his son to Wilson High, a public school, but chose nearby Sidwell Friends, which is private. Here's a look at both. (05/22/2000)

Can these schools be saved? By Joan Walsh
Salon's week-long look at the state of America's public schools (05/22/2000)

Whacked-Bush By Amy Reiter
G.W. has his finger on the pulse! So a question about "Sex and the City" didn't refer to real, live urban nooky? At least he's heard of the Afghan supergroup Taliban! (05/22/2000)

Shear madness By Susan Emerling
The writer and star of "Dirty Blonde" talks about channeling Mae West and the uses of celebrity worship. (05/22/2000)

Lie of the Week By Joshua Micah Marshall
Bush on Gore on Social Security: The candidate offers an embarrasing gaffe and a mischievous deception. (05/22/2000)

"The History of Fellatio" By Annie Auguste
Annie Auguste talks to author Thierry Leguay and finds out that humans may be the only animals that give blow jobs. (05/22/2000)

Tragic surgery in Singapore By Jack Boulware
Botched surgery leads to small testicles and big breasts. (05/22/2000)

Randomized thoughts By Thomas Scoville
Hey Gemini, it's time to stop making sense and let chaos reign. (05/22/2000)

Camera on a chip By Mark Compton
Photobit CEO Sabrina Kemeny's tiny image sensors will bring us "Get Smart"-style watches and cellphones that take snapshots. (05/22/2000)

Backpackers stealing from homeless Down Under? By J.A. Getzlaff
Cheap travelers are helping themselves to meals designated for Australia's homeless. (05/22/2000)

Sydney, revised edition By Deirdre Macken
With the Olympics approaching, it's time we cleared up a few misconceptions about Australia's beloved town. (05/22/2000)

(05/20/2000)

(05/20/2000)

"Dinosaur" By Michael Sragow
Bambi meets Godzilla: Disney goes for the goo in a by-turns gory and sappy new epic of computer-generated images. (05/19/2000)

"Small Time Crooks" By Charles Taylor
The latest from Woody Allen is an enjoyable trifle -- but Tracey Ullman and Elaine May walk off with the picture. (05/19/2000)

"Road Trip" By Andrew O'Hehir
As long as this lewd, crude, plotless wonder keeps careening along the open highway, it's all good. (05/19/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for Weekend, May 19-21, 2000 (05/19/2000)

(05/19/2000)

"American Moderns: Bohemian New York and the Creation of a New Century" by Christine Stansell By Virginia Heffernan
Tuning in, turning on and dropping out -- in the 1890s. (05/19/2000)

Just give me the recipe, and shut up already! By Ann Hodgman
Sometimes you have to wade through pages of clotted prose to get to the (Tuscan) goods. Plus: A great bread book. (05/19/2000)

Malaysian vice cops nabbed By Jack Boulware
"Religious" officers allegedly request bribes and sex from couple arrested for being too "close." (05/19/2000)

Skin trade By Arthur Allen
Are burn victims going without so that supermodels can engorge their bodacious bodies? (05/19/2000)

Ladies who spray By Mary Roach
If you sprinkle when you tinkle, cut it out! (05/19/2000)

Letters to the editor
Is Prozac a crutch? Plus: Tips for saving your sex life on antidepressants; Did homophobia drive apart the brothers Nabokov? (05/19/2000)

One Hundred Demons By Lynda Barry
One Hundred Demons (05/19/2000)

In antitrust we trust By Allen Barra
If baseball's exemption were lifted, real fans might be able to afford tickets, and teams would stop holding cities hostage. Call your congressman. (05/19/2000)

Bachelor No. 1 By David Goodman
Perhaps I could learn a thing or two about women from Matthew McConaughey. Nah. (05/19/2000)

Love for sale on the rocks By Amy Reiter
Marla and Posh hock love tokens; frosh director visits Buck Palace, sneaks toke. Plus: Tonya Harding strikes again! (05/19/2000)

Political Calendar
A complete schedule of upcoming political events. (05/19/2000)

Giuliani stays on the fence By Jesse Drucker
The mayor teases the public with an interview on MSNBC, but still doesn't announce a decision about his political or medical future. (05/19/2000)

Does anybody care about fighting the DMCA? By Damien Cave
A protest at Stanford against the ultra-restrictive copyright law generates little heat and sparse attendance. (05/19/2000)

DEN, Boo: R.I.P. By Scott Rosenberg
These spectacular dot-com flameouts are lessons in bad thinking, not harbingers of industry-wide collapse. (05/19/2000)

Catalan conception By Michele Back
The night I conceived, there was no light from the heavens, just weariness -- and that Barcelona music. (05/19/2000)

Kentucky distillery goes up in flames By J.A. Getzlaff
Lawrenceburg finds itself short 17,000 barrels of bourbon. (05/19/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for
Thursday, May 18, 2000 (05/18/2000)

Sharps & Flats By David Hill
Johnny Cash never killed a man just to watch him die, but he forged a career of love, God and murder. (05/18/2000)

A dread-ful performance By Michael Sragow
At a group-grope press interview, John Travolta talks about his alien-diva star turn in "Battlefield Earth." (05/18/2000)

Chain gang By Julia Gracen
Fans of John Norman's novels about the planet Gor create virtual and real-life worlds in which women are slaves. (05/18/2000)

"Red Mafiya: How the Russian Mob Has Invaded America" by Robert I. Friedman By Mark Schone
A superb introduction to the new face of organized crime is rife with tales of amputation, castration and blood-sprayed trophy blonds. (05/18/2000)

Tom the Dancing Bug By Ruben Bolling
Ruben Bolling (05/18/2000)

Vibrators on the stock exchange By Jack Boulware
Sex-toy firm has high hopes for Australian IPO. (05/18/2000)

The dream and the coming disaster By Sabin Russell
AIDS threatens to ravage the hopes of South Africa's young democracy. Don't expect leaders to get excited because a few companies cut the cost of HIV drugs. (05/18/2000)

Letters to the editor
Abortion isn't easy -- in movies or in life. Plus: Is gun control elitist? Virtual panty raids are better than gore fests. (05/18/2000)

Not in my family By Janis Cooke Newman
In her new novel, "A Member of the Family," Susan Scarf Merrell gives us more reasons to be afraid of orphans from the former Soviet Union. This adoptive mother of a Russian child is not amused. (05/18/2000)

Real Simple editor quits By Sean Elder
Staffers assume Time Inc. top editor Norman Pearlstine pushed Susan Wyland out, hoping for a bigger return on a $40 million investment. (05/18/2000)

Breaking rank for human rights By Ana Arana
With lives and money at stake in the Colombian drug war, one human rights lawyer takes a pragmatic approach to influencing U.S. aid. (05/18/2000)

Milosevic's media blackout By Laura Rozen
The Serbian president turns out the lights on the independent media and Serb protesters clash with police. (05/18/2000)

The Erin Brockovich of the bonobo By Deirdre Guthrie
Sex sells, says Dr. Susan Block, so why not use it to save an endangered species? (05/18/2000)

Paula keeps her pants on By Amy Reiter
She thought her publicist was talking to Penthouse about doing an article, OK? Plus: Christina and Britney, best friends 4ever! Sort of. (05/18/2000)

"Scam" ads the norm By Jake Tapper
An NYU report says that so-called issues ads are really used to target candidates. (05/18/2000)

Hillary haters spam cyberspace By Alicia Montgomery
Court calls for first lady's phone records. Giuliani to give a final answer, but either way he keeps the cash. Keyes continues crusading on the sidelines. (05/18/2000)

Free stock trading, anyone? By Steve Bodow
Ameritrade is the first major online brokerage to offer "no commission" trading, but the low-ball experiment seems destined to tank. (05/18/2000)

How does your Garden.com grow? By Deborah Claymon
For a Net start-up trying to seed the world with its brand, it grows with a different business card for every season and a Chia Pet-inspired billboard. (05/18/2000)

Boo hoo! By Lydia Lee
Over-the-top design and a burn rate of $120 million in six months force the achingly hip fashion retail site to give up the ghost. (05/18/2000)

Englishman smuggles dead relative onto tour bus By J.A. Getzlaff
His fellow passengers are unaware the corpse is a corpse. (05/18/2000)

Meat is gross, but it tastes good By Sallie Tisdale
Desperate to find that my hunger for animal flesh was alien, I overlooked the fact that it was all too human. (05/18/2000)

Carolina on our minds By Donald D. Groff
Dive in South Carolina, drive to South America and zip over to Venice without intimidation: Travel tips from our expert. (05/18/2000)

Shakespeare meets Sisqo By James Diers
Shall I compare thy thong to a ... (05/17/2000)

Girls school rules By Pam Grossman
"All I Wanna Do" director Sarah Kernochan on preps then and now, clandestine contraception and how she lost "The Hairy Bird." (05/17/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for May 17, 2000 (05/17/2000)

Sharps & Flats By Joey Sweeney
Bedhead sing their swan song through Macha, the only indie-rock band forgiven for smelling like patchouli. (05/17/2000)

"Ten Thousand Sorrows: The Extraordinary Journey of a Korean War Orphan" by Elizabeth Kim By Brigitte Frase
An immigrant's brutal and disturbing memoir of abuse at the hands of fundamentalist parents and a sadistic husband. (05/17/2000)

The gay Nabokov By Lev Grossman
The novelist never could face the secret that cost his brother his life. (05/17/2000)

The K Chronicles By Keith Knight
Keith Knight (05/17/2000)

Prozac indignation By Craig Offman
How a little-known Harvard clinician needled sleeping giant Eli Lilly (05/17/2000)

Sex-free bliss? By Stephen G. Bloom
Depressed people often have to choose between drug-induced happiness and sexual fulfillment. (05/17/2000)

At peace with Prozac By Kelly Luker
The drug was my salvation. Does that make me a spiritual sloth? (05/17/2000)

English doctor likes to watch By Jack Boulware
A fertility physician is arrested for monitoring patients' sexual activity. (05/17/2000)

Knowing what's up down there By Carmen Winant
Life is one long vagina monologue for this precocious teen, the daughter of a sex educator. (05/17/2000)

How Barron's got its groove back By Diane Seo
The new-economy business magazines haven't flexed as much muscle as an old-school weekly that still knows how to make the Street go round. (05/17/2000)

A reader's guide to the Columbine report By Daryl Lindsey
We point you to the highlights in a true-crime chronology of the high school killing spree (05/17/2000)

Columbine's unanswered questions By Dave Cullen
The father of one of the students killed at Columbine blasts the sheriff's department's new report on the incident. (05/17/2000)

Columbine High School shootings report
Order information for the Jefferson County Sheriff's report on the Columbine High School shootings. (05/17/2000)

The 49th Annual Miss Universe Pageant By Cintra Wilson
The wank parade of inflato-chested international hose bags that won't go away. (05/17/2000)

The Million Mom March: What a crock! By Camille Paglia
National policy shouldn't be set by packs of weeping white women led by Rosie O'Donnell. (05/17/2000)

Out, out, damned rumor By Amy Reiter
Whitney Houston sets the record straight in Out magazine; Ricky Martin chats with his Little Ricky. (05/17/2000)

Gunning for the center By Jake Tapper
George W. Bush is trying to modify and moderate his perceived positions on guns. (05/17/2000)

Gore's word turns on weed By Alicia Montgomery
Bush takes stock of Social Security attacks, Hillary runs for real and the Greens go after greed. (05/17/2000)

Democrats make Hillary legit By Jesse Drucker
New York's party convention officially nominates the first lady for the U.S. Senate while a certain mayor goes unmentioned. (05/17/2000)

The unknown hackers By Rachel Chalmers
Open-source pioneers Bill and Lynne Jolitz may be the most famous programmers you've never heard of. (05/17/2000)

Hey, man, it's Cayman By Burt Wolf
Turtle meat, pirates and 10 sunken ships: The grand island has something for everyone. (05/17/2000)

Paris cash machines run dry By J.A. Getzlaff
A strike by armored truck guards means a shortage of francs for the French. (05/17/2000)

"Center Stage" By Stephanie Zacharek
Nicholas Hytner, director of "The Madness of King George," takes a mild-mannered genre picture and turns it into a rare entertainment. (05/16/2000)

"The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" By Charles Taylor
A restored version of Luis Buñuel's Academy Award-winning black satire takes aim at the Spanish director's most cherished old hates. (05/16/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for Tuesday, May 16, 2000 (05/16/2000)

Sharps & Flats By Seth Mnookin
Downtown jazz pianist Matthew Shipp takes the A train. (05/16/2000)

G'day, Caesar! By Christine Kenneally
A funny thing happened to Russell Crowe's accent on the way to the Colosseum. (05/16/2000)

"Stern Men" by Elizabeth Gilbert By Jonathan Miles
In a terrific first novel, a restless 18-year-old feminist idles away a summer on an island of irascible Maine lobstermen. (05/16/2000)

Can you make yourself like someone? By Garrison Keillor
I love and care for my adopted child, but I don't always like him. Is this normal? (05/16/2000)

Story Minute By Carol Lay
Carol Lay (05/16/2000)

Hot spot By Virginia Vitzthum
The FDA has just approved Eros, a tiny suction device that increases blood flow to a woman's clitoris. (05/16/2000)

Raiders of the lost panty By Jack Boulware
A new video game all about the search for lost underwear. (05/16/2000)

Feds drop saccharin from the list of cancer-causing chemicals By David McGuire
But the safety debate continues. (05/16/2000)

Letters to the editor
Are SUV drivers overconfident? Plus: Louisiana's governor of hearts; Can a million moms be wrong? (05/16/2000)

It'll take more than a million moms By Bruce Shapiro
To have an impact on the next election, gun-control advocates need to take a few reality checks. (05/16/2000)

All media, all the time By Sean Elder
Inside.com wants your undivided attention, and $19.95 a month. Plus: Jesus goes local. (05/16/2000)

Columbine report released By Dave Cullen
The long-delayed CD-ROM details the events of the massacre but fails to answer the central question: Why? (05/16/2000)

The Columbine Report
Uncut text, video and audio from the year-long investigation into the tragedy. (05/16/2000)

Lou Reed By Chris Colin
The Velvet Underground founder gave us heroin, the exalted transvestite and euphoric nastiness. Who knew salvation could sound so good? (05/16/2000)

The purse of the Barrymores By Amy Reiter
Jaid Barrymore busted for gun possession and illegal postering. (05/16/2000)

Don Giuliani By Jake Tapper
A masterwork given new meaning. (05/16/2000)

The blundering pundit By Eric Boehlert
Dick Morris' predictions about the New York Senate race have all been off the mark. (05/16/2000)

Gore's personal problem By Alicia Montgomery
Voters say he's good on issues but bad on personality. Bush banks on sunny days ahead for Social Security, and Republicans want Giuliani's decision now. (05/16/2000)

BSD Unix: Power to the people, from the code By Andrew Leonard
How Berkeley hackers built the Net's most fabled free operating system on the ashes of the '60s -- and then lost the lead to Linux. (05/16/2000)

Will you tell me a story -- please? By Wagner James Au
There are plenty of games at E3, but nothing promises genuine innovation or a compelling narrative. (05/16/2000)

Napster fans to Metallica: Prove it! By Janelle Brown
30,000 users of the MP3 trading service claim the band misidentified them. (05/16/2000)

Wanted: Canada's Loch Ness monster By J.A. Getzlaff
British Columbia's mysterious "Ogopogo" has a price on its slippery head. (05/16/2000)

Eating on the fly By Elliott Neal Hester
Better than anyone, flight attendants know the nightmare that is airline food. (05/16/2000)

Sharps & Flats By Carrie Havranek
Another solipsistic chick with an airy voice? Leona Naess proves that's not such a bad thing. (05/15/2000)

Greil Marcus: Real Life Rock Top 10 By Greil Marcus
The "Seinfeld" stamp, "Careless Love," Wire's arty punk revival and more. (05/15/2000)

Beware the 800-pound gorilla By Eric Boehlert
With "Millionaire," one of the most successful TV shows ever, ABC threatens to crush its bewildered competition during the crucial May sweeps for advertising dollars. (05/15/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for Monday, May 15, 2000 (05/15/2000)

Anti-heroes By Louis Begley
The author of "Mistler's Exit" celebrates three deplorable protagonists. (05/15/2000)

"Tuff" by Paul Beatty By Hal Hinson
A comic novel about a 320-pound brother whose journey out of the 'hood includes sumo wrestling and a bizarre run for political office. (05/15/2000)

This Modern World By Tom Tomorrow
Tom Tomorrow (05/15/2000)

First, do no harm; second, defend yourself By Katherine Uraneck, M.D.
She was tiny, she was old, but do I regret hitting her? Hah! (05/15/2000)

Table dancing for tickets By Jack Boulware
A teenage boy in Tennessee dresses in his mother's underwear to win a concert contest. (05/15/2000)

Letters to the editor
Bush's nonchalance toward death penalty is disturbing Plus: Is Microsoft's call for censoring justified? America's "Child Geniuses" are just book-smart. (05/15/2000)

Abortion at the movies By Audrey Fisch
"Cider House" fails where "High Fidelity" rules. (05/15/2000)

Put 'em up By Steve Bodow
Interest rates are about to rise, but maybe not high enough. (05/15/2000)

March of the racketeers By David Horowitz
The Democrats are suing Tom DeLay for normal political practices and calling it "racketeering." But the real racketeers in Congress are Democrats and their family name is Kennedy. (05/15/2000)

The hands that rocked the capital By Alexandra Starr
Nearly a million mothers take their gun control message to Washington while the Second Amendment Sisters stage a feisty sideshow. (05/15/2000)

Gulf War crimes? By Daniel Forbes
In his latest exposi, the New Yorker's Seymour Hersh reports allegations that the military committed a massacre against Iraqi soldiers and whitewashed it. (05/15/2000)

The return of Miriam Makeba By Adele M. Stan
"Mama Africa" is back in the USA with a new CD, a summer tour and a lot to say. (05/15/2000)

Queen Amilambada By Amy Reiter
"Dirty Dancing, the franchise." And, yes, fries do come with that shake. (05/15/2000)

Bland ambition By Jake Tapper
GOP vice presidential front-runner Tom Ridge ruled Pennsylvania during a time of unprecedented prosperity. His biggest accomplishment? Tom Ridge. (05/15/2000)

Rudy skips campaigning By Alicia Montgomery
Instead he goes golfing, dines with a girlfriend and worries New York's GOP. Hillary handles moms mob and Gore's campaign loses grip on women. (05/15/2000)

Win a Neiman Marcus Shopping Spree! neiman
Win a Neiman Marcus Shopping Spree! (05/15/2000)

Wireless warrior By Wendy M. Grossman
Symbian CEO Colly Myers is partial to his electric knife sharpener -- but he's built an operating system that could radically change your phone. (05/15/2000)

And justice for all By David Cassel
Metallica's pursuit of Napster inspires protests and parodies across the Web. (05/15/2000)

Free Software Project Bibliography
An incomplete listing of FSP research materials. (05/15/2000)

Iran backs its camels with cash By J.A. Getzlaff
The government now offers insurance for the valuable beasts. (05/15/2000)

Memoir of the Spanish Civil War By Laurie Lee
A moment of passion before she left to become a soldier: An excerpt from "Erogenous Zones: An Anthology of Sex Abroad." (05/13/2000)

Ford's SUV shocker By the Salon News staff
Camille Paglia, David Horowitz, the Sierra Club and the Cato Institute on Bill Ford's corporate mea culpa. (05/13/2000)

Hezbollah gets its way By Flore de Preneuf
Why Lebanon isn't euphoric about the impending pullout of Israeli forces. (05/13/2000)

"Star Wars," star marriages, star cokes By Amy Reiter
True lover's knot, Billy Bob and Angelina tie it; Anakin cast! Plus: Paula Jones "that kind of girl" after all. (05/13/2000)

Do not disturb By Jason Wilson
On a small Nicaraguan island, two strangers and I find paradise. Naked on a pristine beach, I wonder if there's anything wrong with cliché. (05/13/2000)

Hell no, we won't WTO By Silja J.A. Talvi
A new CD relives the night that ex-members of Nirvana, Soundgarden and the Dead Kennedys united to entertain the troops at the Battle of Seattle. (05/12/2000)

"Battlefield Earth" By Andrew O'Hehir
L. Ron Hubbard's pulp sci-fi classic comes incomprehensibly to the screen starring Scientologist John Travolta. (05/12/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for Weekend, May 12-14, 2000 (05/12/2000)

"Hamlet" By Stephanie Zacharek
There's something rotten in Denmark, but not in this darkly glittering update of Shakespeare's great tragedy. (05/12/2000)

"The Fundamentals of Play" by Caitlin Macy By Dan Cryer
The rich have rules but they won't explain them, according to a smart novel about life after the Ivy League. (05/12/2000)

Shanghaied in Tinseltown By Neil Gordon
John Fante was one of America's great writers, encountering equal measures of victory and defeat during a decades-long career. But did Hollywood strangle his talent, or did he do it himself? (05/12/2000)

Flesh and blood and DNA By Arthur Allen
A geneticist sparks outrage with a project to help African-Americans trace their family roots. (05/12/2000)

Foreskin success By Jack Boulware
Despite a flap over penis reconstruction, an Australian conference concludes that doctors can rebuild them. (05/12/2000)

Letters to the editor
Where have all the sexy movies gone? Plus: Songwriters should share credit; is "three strikes" on its way out? (05/12/2000)

Sentimental hogwash By Douglas Cruickshank
In or out of the mental hospital, my mother always found a moment to write the note that would excuse me from Mother's Day. (05/12/2000)

My mother's 10 rules to live by By Elissa Schappell
Take them with a grain of salt, but just one grain or you'll bloat. (05/12/2000)

End of the rogue By Matt Labash
The "Pirate Kingfish" savors his final free days before a jury lowers the boom. (05/12/2000)

Waiting for November By Bruce Shapiro
The Miami family could lose the legal battle over Elian's asylum, but win the war by keeping him here long enough to get a green card. (05/12/2000)

"I never made myself famous" By Daryl Lindsey
Donato Dalrymple defends his role in the ongoing Elian Gonzalez saga. (05/12/2000)

Olympian ticket trouble By Gary Kamiya
If you want to go to the Games, you need lots of money and the ability to juggle basketball, sword fighting and that strangely "modern" pentathlon. (05/12/2000)

It's good to be the queen By Daniel Kraus
For the belles of North Carolina's Azalea Festival, there's nothing like learning to graciously accept appreciative gawking. (05/12/2000)

Just for the thrill of it By Amy Reiter
Halle Berry joins the Whitney "Scot-free" Houston club; James Haven happy for Angelina -- no, really. (05/12/2000)

Miss Militant By Carina Chocano
Girls just wanna have total global domination. (05/12/2000)

Gore gets pounded in polls By Alicia Montgomery
White men flock to Bush while the women's vote splits. Death penalty doubts plague Texas, and undecided voters leave Giuliani behind. (05/12/2000)

Rude Rudy returns By Jesse Drucker
Meekness gone, his temper flares as everybody wonders: Will he or won't he? (05/12/2000)

"Sisters" take on mothers By Christina Ianzito
Gun-toting advocates aim message at Million Mom marchers. (05/12/2000)

Post of the Week Post of the Week
Post of the Week (05/12/2000)

Webby or not, here they come By Carina Chocano
At the fourth annual Webby Awards, more fun with springs and short speeches. (05/12/2000)

Nag on wheels By Paul LaFarge
For just $6, I turned a rental car into my mother; its global positioning system was flawed and irritating, but ultimately kind of lovable. (05/12/2000)

Oslo man drives onto runway By J.A. Getzlaff
A speeding plane misses his car by 10 feet. (05/12/2000)

As we waft out into the world By Megan McNamer
Notes from a bar in Thailand: Potential binds us passengers together. Then, at the point of arrival, our camaraderie evaporates. (05/12/2000)

"The poor dears!" By Michael Sragow
Director Mike Figgis talks about putting his troupe of actors through the rigors in his four-films-in-one marvel, "Time Code." (05/11/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for Thursday, May 11, 2000 (05/11/2000)

Sharps & Flats By David Cantwell
Teen trio Hanson grows up on "This Time Around." But will they still have an audience willing to listen? (05/11/2000)

Fox crowns the smartest kid in America By Joyce Millman
"I scored in the top 2 percent of all collegebound high school seniors when I recently took the ACTs." (05/11/2000)

Shop-happy By Joan Smith
Do Americans shop too much? Maybe, but social critics fail to grasp the delights of stuff and the true causes of our nagging malaise. (05/11/2000)

"American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley -- His Battle for Chicago and the Nation" by Adam Cohen and Elizabeth Taylor By Andrew O'Hehir
A big biography tells the full story of the legendary politician, with a sharp focus on his battle to keep the Windy City segregated. (05/11/2000)

Tom the Dancing Bug By Ruben Bolling
Ruben Bolling (05/11/2000)

Condoms for sale By Jack Boulware
Chinese parents and teachers are not sure they want rubbers sold at colleges. (05/11/2000)

The shape of dreams By Andreas Killen
Freud called them the royal road to the unconscious. A hundred years later, the debate over what they mean goes on. (05/11/2000)

Letters to the editor
"Metallica did the ultimate in uncool acts." Plus: Do Buchanan petitioners' ends justify their means? And: Life after an ileostomy. (05/11/2000)

Supplicant By Kathryn Harrison
My mother gave me up before either of us knew the value of a mother. After her death, I no longer confuse longing with love. (05/11/2000)

Perfect for this world By Avital Gad Cykman
Scarlett O'Hara taught my mother to make a velvet dress out of the living room curtains. And my mother, before she died, taught me that I must win at all costs. (05/11/2000)

Godless television By Sean Elder
CBS drops Christian Web site ad from "Jesus" miniseries. (05/11/2000)

What Elian learned in Georgetown By Daryl Lindsey
Unlike Cuban homes, American houses have swimming pools in the basement. (05/11/2000)

Civil war in Miami? By John Lantigua
The battle over Elian has led non-Cubans to threaten secession, and to back a recall drive against the mayor. (05/11/2000)

Julie Strain: Ultravixen! By Stephen Lemons
At "6-foot-1 and worth the climb," the star of Playboy TV's "Sex Court" is Hollywood's queen of the B's. (05/11/2000)

Stripper mauled By Amy Reiter
Paula Jones "that kind of girl" after all; but Mike Tyson, "upset" by stripper's advances, not that kind of boy. (05/11/2000)

Rudy's blues rock race By Alicia Montgomery
His wife cries and so do New York Republicans. Hillary keeps quiet while GOP wannabes start the replacement relay. (05/11/2000)

The hanging governor By Alan Berlow
Did execution-happy George W. Bush sign off on the lethal injection of an innocent man? (05/11/2000)

The E3 explosion By Moira Muldoon
Advance announcements for hundreds of games showing this week in L.A. make journalists feel like the giant gaming expo is overloading their senses. (05/11/2000)

Micro-remedies By Salon Technology staff
In lieu of a breakup, Microsoft proposes some minor behavior modifications to cure it of its monopolizing ways. (05/11/2000)

Embrace, extend, censor By Andrew Leonard
Microsoft asks Slashdot to remove posts revealing copyrighted information. (05/11/2000)

Pay to cross By Donald D. Groff
Expert advice on getting to Prince Edward Island, checking out the Santa Fe Trail and boning up on the Baltics. (05/11/2000)

India opens first superhighway By J.A. Getzlaff
The six-lane freeway runs from Bombay to Pune. (05/11/2000)

Sharps & Flats By Lisa Gidley
Like a long drive through the American Southwest, Calexico's "Hot Rail" evokes a landscape of sun-cracked desert basins and lusty border towns. (05/10/2000)

The book on film By Sarah Vowell
Director Martin Scorsese presents a new series of books about film, starring James Agee, Vachel Lindsay, David Selznick and "2001." (05/10/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for Wednesday, May 10, 2000 (05/10/2000)

The reeducation of Lauryn Hill By Rodd McLeod
The hip-hop songstress says she wrote and produced her multiplatinum album. A lawsuit contends that's not the whole truth. Behind the case is a bigger question: What is a pop song, anyway? (05/10/2000)

"Hair: Public, Political, Extremely Personal" by Diane Simon By Maggie Jones
Part how-to manual, part cultural history -- what hair means and what the hell to do about yours. (05/10/2000)

The K Chronicles By Keith Knight
Keith Knight (05/10/2000)

The tantric moviegoer By Ray Sawhill
New media has hurt sex on film, but there are ways to watch movies in an erotic frame of mind. Second of two parts. (05/10/2000)

Greasers By Jack Boulware
Turkish oil wrestlers feel threatened by gay men. (05/10/2000)

Letters to the editor
Should adoption records be open to adult adoptees? Plus: Oral sex self-portraits aren't art; "U-571" director has no right to question the authenticity of "Das Boot." (05/10/2000)

My mother the nun By Theresa Rusho
It's true she was a bride of Christ -- just don't ask for details of the marriage. (05/10/2000)

My four favorite photos of my mother By Amy Bloom
Her true selves are revealed, as real as uncut gems. (05/10/2000)

ILOVEYOUTOO! By Jonathan Poletti
Let's take a moment to appreciate the brutal sexual politics of the love virus. (05/10/2000)

Mourning the loss of Cardinal O'Connor By Stanley Crouch
America's most powerful Catholic was a tough guy, and he was wise to the ways of politics and human beings. (05/10/2000)

The White (House) conference on teens By Arianna Huffington
Columbine made teenage problems national news -- but kids need community action, not anemic P.R. (05/10/2000)

A little boy's night on the town By Daryl Lindsey
A Georgetown society dinner for the Cuban refugee raises eyebrows -- and thickly mascaraed lashes. (05/10/2000)

Petty striving By Sarah Wildman
It's not easy being a struggling artist when your dad toured with Bob Dylan. (05/10/2000)

Skywalk this way By Amy Reiter
Anakin cast! 19-year-old Canadian Hayden Christensen snags Jedi role; and what's that pacifier doing in Elizabeth Hurley's mouth? Plus: Not a good week for stalkers. (05/10/2000)

Last stop on John McCain's non-victory tour By Marty Levine
At last, the senator ties the knot with George W. Bush, but has to be reminded to say the word "endorsement." (05/10/2000)

Rudy Giuliani to separate from his wife By Jesse Drucker
Battered by cancer and the breakup of his marriage, the tough New York mayor shows his vulnerable side -- but his wife strikes back. (05/10/2000)

Rudy cuts cancer funds By Alicia Montgomery
Grumbling follows McCain's halfhearted endorsement of Bush. Gore burns Republicans on Confederate flag and gets torched in new poll. (05/10/2000)

Cybersex 101 By Katharine Mieszkowski
Can't find porn online? Maybe you need a real adult education -- one that brings hardcore scenes and sex chat tips into the classroom. (05/10/2000)

Ask.com goes bananas By Janelle Brown
Dot-com ads now blanket not just the bulging Net business magazines, billboards and TV -- but our very own fruit bowls. (05/10/2000)

Napster throws Metallica a curveball By Janelle Brown
The music-swapping software company uses the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to protect fans from being unduly blocked from its service. (05/10/2000)

Fire and ice By Burt Wolf
Scorched by volcanic eruptions and scored by passing glaciers, Edinburgh offers fertile ground for literary minds of all kinds. (05/10/2000)

Oaxaca grills world's largest tortilla By J.A. Getzlaff
The Mexican bread spans 14-plus feet in honor of the city's 468th birthday. (05/10/2000)

Trent Lott, wandering hero By Chris Colin
A new report names the Senate majority leader the worst of the corporate sluts. But our slut may be the greatest living American. (05/10/2000)

Olympian heroes By Jeff Stark and Stephanie Zacharek
Jeff Stark and Stephanie Zacharek discuss the new album from Sleater-Kinney, the band that wants to take over the freaking world. (05/09/2000)

Sharps & Flats By Joe Heim
Belle and Sebastian spinoff Looper's billowy songs float on groovy rhythms, electronic beats and laid-back vibes. (05/09/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for
Tuesday, May 9, 2000 (05/09/2000)

Metallica, how could you? By Brian Lew
Metallica became a sensation as fans traded its tapes for free. Now they're suing Napster for doing the same thing. (05/09/2000)

"Shopping" by Gavin Kramer By Matthew DeBord
A doomed East-West romance set in a Tokyo of brand-name whores and green-tea-flavored condoms. (05/09/2000)

Out of the past By Garrison Keillor
Now that I'm in a committed relationship, my ex-boyfriends are coming out of the woodwork. Do I have to turn them away? (05/09/2000)

Story Minute By Carol Lay
Carol Lay (05/09/2000)

Movies in heat By Ray Sawhill
Films used to erotically seduce us; now they tend to sedate instead. First of two parts. (05/09/2000)

Sex educator says most people masturbate By Jack Boulware
It can cut down on the number of sex partners and danger of disease. (05/09/2000)

Letters to the editor
Are women's magazines dead? Plus: Don't break out the Geritol for NBA players; Cardinal O'Connor was not a hero to all. (05/09/2000)

A tale of two mothers By Denise Ryan
My mother was a chain-smoking, champagne-swilling, braless art mom. My best friend's mother was June Cleaver. They both suffered -- and made difficult choices. (05/09/2000)

Summer of the monkey-boys By Colin Harrison
A hot summer day, a carload of teenage boys and a dangerous driving mistake reveal a mom's capacity to pardon boyhood transgressions. (05/09/2000)

Clash of the featherweights By Joe Conason
George W. Bush and Al Gore both support contradictory policies on China and Cuba. Neither can explain why. (05/09/2000)

Rolling back three strikes By Gary Delsohn and Sam Stanton
In California, even some tough-on-crime politicians are beginning to fight a law that sends people to jail for life for petty theft. (05/09/2000)

"A concentration camp on American soil" By Daryl Lindsey
Sen. Bob Smith offers a new description for the Cuban boy's Wye Plantation digs. (05/09/2000)

Joel-Peter Witkin By Cintra Wilson
Is his darkly imaginative photography an intellectually camouflaged freak show or high art? (05/09/2000)

More knotty behavior By Amy Reiter
True lover's knot, Billy Bob and Angelina tie it; Windsor knot, Fergie and Andrew eye it; and definitely not, Kathie Lee's rodent debacle leaves her fit to be tied, not Pied. (05/09/2000)

McCain says yes! By Alicia Montgomery
The Arizona senator gives it up, endorsing former rival Bush. (05/09/2000)

Coeds for Pat Buchanan! By Karen Olsson
A youth movement gets him on the Texas ballot without ever having to say his name. (05/09/2000)

Alan Keyes teams up with Lenora Fulani By Alicia Montgomery
The press yawns as the political odd couple of the year performs together before a half-packed house. (05/09/2000)

"The Leap" By Janelle Brown
Tom Ashbrook's tale of self-doubt, poverty, marital discord and a $25 million jackpot is just the thing to inspire would-be entrepreneurs to take the start-up plunge. (05/09/2000)

Failing is fun! By Andy Dehnart
Did your start-up go bankrupt? Are you out of a job? A new Web site will help you network with other dot-com failures. (05/09/2000)

RIAA 1, Napster 0 By Eric Boehlert
Napster lost its first round in court. But with both sides of the lawsuit depending on the murky Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the war is far from over. (05/09/2000)

Japanese court throws book at foot cult By J.A. Getzlaff
The cult tells followers they'll die if their feet aren't inspected. (05/09/2000)

Dancing at the blood festival By Rolf Potts
Armed only with curiosity and a stained pair of pants, our correspondent tries to make sense of the Islamic Feast of the Sacrifice in Aqaba, Jordan. (05/09/2000)

Sharps & Flats By Carlene Bauer
Futures past to past futures, Broadcast fuse the cool sounds of '60s films to singer Trish Keenan's chilly fables. (05/08/2000)

The gay, the bad and the hottie By Joyce Millman
Season-ending thoughts on "Will & Grace," "The Sopranos" and "Buffy's" sexy geezer. (05/08/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for Monday, May 8, 2000. (05/08/2000)

"Day of the Bees" by Thomas Sanchez By Rachel King
A Picasso-like painter and his muse and model play out a tale of love and lust in occupied France. (05/08/2000)

Data dazed By A.M. Homes
The author of "Music for Torching" recommends five books for the information-addled. (05/08/2000)

This Modern World By Tom Tomorrow
Tom Tomorrow (05/08/2000)

Nefertiti TV By Jack Boulware
New Egyptian network to deal with sex and birth control. (05/08/2000)

Ghost organ By Jennifer Gilmore
My ileostomy scar has healed, but I still feel like my insides are on display. (05/08/2000)

Letters to the editor
Are the cyberrich selfish? Plus: Should women's equality extend to the death penalty? Don't blame Republicans for cops' zealous raids. (05/08/2000)

An introduction By Jennifer Foote Sweeney
We devote a week to Mother's Day and the messages that don't fit on the cards. (05/08/2000)

Stalked by my birth mother By Beth Broeker
I didn't want to be her baby, not now, maybe never. (05/08/2000)

My mother wears army boots By Lisa Zeidner
She kicked butt for me and I want to thank her. (05/08/2000)

Congo needs help, not Western posturing By David Rieff
A feud between Richard Holbrooke and Madeleine Albright shadows what will likely be useless U.N. aid to war-torn Central Africa. (05/08/2000)

Pony up for OTB By Steve Kurutz
Who needs horses when you've got a row of TVs in an airless storefront at the off-track betting parlor? (05/08/2000)

Backgammon bonanza By Jeremy Weintraub
In New York's gambling clubs, the five-day week is just another grind. (05/08/2000)

Night in pink satin By Jake Tapper
Gore's strategy to conquer America may sound like sugar and spice, but it's no act -- and he's not playing nice. (05/08/2000)

Rudy's wife miffs mourners By Alicia Montgomery
Hanover holds press conference outside John Cardinal O'Connor's wake. Cuban-Americans back Giuliani, Clintons return to Arkansas and Bush fires back on the NRA. (05/08/2000)

Come on, Eileen By Damien Cave
Napster CEO Eileen Richardson is walking on sunshine. But with lawsuits piling up, is she really dancing on a grave? (05/08/2000)

Actor playing Judas accidentally hangs himself By J.A. Getzlaff
Italian man dies onstage during an Easter reenactment. (05/08/2000)

Mother's Day By Jennifer Foote Sweeney
We devote a week to Mother's Day and the messages that don't fit on the cards (05/07/2000)

Holiday in Paris Holiday in Paris
Holiday in Paris (05/07/2000)

"Digital Diaries" By David Bowman
Natacha Merritt's photographs of herself giving head are a high-tech display of sexual narcissism. (05/06/2000)

America's Cold War casualties By Robert Alvarez
A former Energy Department official dissects President Clinton's new plan to help the sick workers who built the country's nuclear arsenal. (05/06/2000)

"I want to see my mommy" By Daryl Lindsey
Sometimes it's easy to forget what a wretched place Castro's Cuba is. Armando Valladaras reminds us. (05/06/2000)

My perversion By Carlos Amantea
The love that dare not cluck its name; a few words about dirty words in Mexico; and the prize that is Consuela. (05/06/2000)

Air raid on Washington By Rick Anderson
Boeing propositions Congress over China trade vote, and leaves nothing to the imagination. (05/06/2000)

21st Challenge No. 33 Results By Charlie Varon and Jim Rosenau
"Warning: Exiting womb" and other real-life dialog box alerts. (05/06/2000)

Squash that bug! By Janelle Brown and Katharine Mieszkowski
The media catches the "love bug," and starts replicating stories like a virus gone mad. (05/06/2000)

Close quarters By Eric Lawlor
In the compartment of a train leaving Cape Town, South Africa, I discover something about race, witchcraft and toaster ovens. (05/06/2000)

"Gladiator" By Andrew O'Hehir
We who are about to be bored salute you! Russell Crowe stars in Ridley Scott's Roman bloodfest. (05/05/2000)

Sharps and Flats By Joey Sweeney
In an era when everyone is cool, "sadcore" musicians rewrite the pathetic story of tortured soul John Denver. (05/05/2000)

"Up at the Villa" By Michael Sragow
The new film from the folks who gave us "Angels and Insects" is strictly "Minor Piece Theatre." (05/05/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for Weekend, May 5-7, 2000 (05/05/2000)

Toga parties By Michael Sragow
Rather stay home and get decadent watching videos than go see Ridley Scott's "Gladiator"? Here are five classical suggestions. (05/05/2000)

The best American whats of the century? By Jacqueline Carey
A new best-of omnibus has some terrific stories. But are they mysteries? (05/05/2000)

"Buddha's Little Finger" by Victor Pelevin By Craig Offman
In a novel by turns shabby, sexy and visionary, the Russian virtuoso captures post-perestroika Moscow in all its weirdness. (05/05/2000)

Brits love tits By Jack Boulware
Plastic surgery procedures have increased 50 percent in the past five years. (05/05/2000)

Deep, active penetration By Mary Roach
How researchers at one toothbrush maker figure out ways to make dental hygiene a pleasurable experience. (05/05/2000)

Letters to the editor
Is Arianna Huffington naive about poverty? Plus: Don't arrest Whitney Houston, legalize marijuana! Esperanto is not a "fake" language. (05/05/2000)

One Hundred Demons By Lynda Barry
My second grade teacher taught me the secret of puppy love. (05/05/2000)

Remembering Cardinal O'Connor By Ari L. Goldman
He stopped taking my calls after I slammed him in the press, but he still had time to be kind to my mother, an Orthodox Jew. (05/05/2000)

Women's magazines are dead By Ann Marlowe
The death of Mirabella is a leading indicator of a new reality: Gender roles just aren't as important in daily life anymore. (05/05/2000)

Geezer hoops By Allen Barra
NBA basketball is suddenly an old, cold victim of its own marketing strategy. Plus: What was baseball's Elian protest really about? (05/05/2000)

Stalking the wild Frankensalmon By Bruce Shapiro
Foes of genetically altered foods say the Clinton administration's new regulations don't go far enough. (05/05/2000)

"Miami is a banana republic" By Daryl Lindsey
The stench of rotten fruit lingers heavily over City Hall. (05/05/2000)

Amy Sedaris digs wigs and baking By Rex Doane
The star of "Strangers With Candy" likes "small woodland creatures" and wants to play Angie Dickinson as "Police Woman." (05/05/2000)

Department of hell on wheels By David Goodman
A DMV nightmare: The other, evil David Goodman was on the loose. (05/05/2000)

Bush on beer: "I liked the way it tasted" By Kerry Lauerman
Gore pulls a Bradley on Bush, whose words continue to escape him. (05/05/2000)

Life goes on By Jesse Drucker
Did Rudy Giuliani say he had cancer last week? You couldn't tell by his campaign schedule -- or his opponents' actions. (05/05/2000)

Post of the Week Post of the Week
Post of the Week (05/05/2000)

The lord of game developers By Wagner James Au
Peter Molyneux originated the "god game"; his newest production might be his greatest act of creation yet. (05/05/2000)

Nude models press the flesh By Ron Hogan
At WebModel 2000, a convention for online strippers, you too can meet the booth bunny of your dreams. (05/05/2000)

Photographer gets spooked by his own subjects By J.A. Getzlaff
Lost in a Florida swamp, he climbs a tree to avoid alligators. (05/05/2000)

Cafes ... with legs By Felipe Ossa
In conservative Santiago, Chile, an uncharacteristically leggy trend has slipped into the puritanical mix. (05/05/2000)

Mission from Mostow By Michael Sragow
The director of the cult thriller "Breakdown," Jonathan Mostow, talks about making a mainstream splash with "U-571." (05/04/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for Thursday, May 4, 2000 (05/04/2000)

Sharps & Flats By Charles Taylor
As a band, Sarge never knew how good they were. Fortunately, their post-break album "distant" makes a decent epitaph. (05/04/2000)

Misha Glenny's "The Balkans" and Michael Ignatieff's "Virtual War" By Max Garrone
Behind the bombings in Kosovo, two journalists find Western self-interest and self-deception about the physical sacrifice war requires. (05/04/2000)

Battle without blood By Max Garrone
Michael Ignatieff talks about the poison of nationalism, the politics of fear and the strange future of war. (05/04/2000)

Tom the Dancing Bug By Ruben Bolling
Ruben Bolling (05/04/2000)

Porn snafu By Jack Boulware
Larry Flynt accidentally sends smut to skateboarding fans. (05/04/2000)

Eating germs By Susan McCarthy
Our semi-sterile lives may be too much of a good thing. Now scientists are inventing "dirty" therapies to remedy our dangerous cleanliness. Second of two parts. (05/04/2000)

Letters to the editor
Should TV be left to liberals? Plus: Is "snacking" less fun for the "snackee"? Holocaust survivor says he owes his life to "sheer luck." (05/04/2000)

Sexism and the death chamber By Cathy Young
Chivalry lives when a woman must die. (05/04/2000)

The media minuet By Sean Elder
Spring is here. And so is the meeting of media moguls, mavens -- and the National Magazine Awards. (05/04/2000)

The last supper By Myra MacPherson
Recounting the negotiators' shocking final hours before the Elian Gonzalez raid. (05/04/2000)

"I don't think we need a big show" By Daryl Lindsey
The Senate GOP's No. 2 backs away from prickly hearings on Janet Reno. (05/04/2000)

Dennis Cooper By Daniel Reitz
With his excoriating, hallucinatory, viciously funny vision, he's the most important transgressive literary artist since William S. Burroughs -- but even Burroughs didn't get death threats. (05/04/2000)

Rudy's private life under scrutiny By Alicia Montgomery
Hillary keeps her ads kind and cuddly, but blasts hubby's Puerto Rico plan. The NRA shoots off its mouth about Bush. (05/04/2000)

Rudy's "very good friend" By Jesse Drucker
Cancer or not, the mayor gets grilled about a frequent dining partner. (05/04/2000)

Time warp By Brad Wieners
In "Cyberselfish," Paulina Borsook denounces high-tech culture as pitiless, egotistical and libertarian. She was right in 1996. (05/04/2000)

Of greed, technolibertarianism and geek omnipotence By Thomas Scoville
Paulina Borsook talks with Thomas Scoville about her new book, "Cyberselfish." (05/04/2000)

Love bites By Scott Rosenberg
The most insidious thing about the latest e-mail virus is how it preys on users' hunger for affection. (05/04/2000)

Way to go By Rahsaan Maxwell
My Japanese cooking teacher drills "the way" into my head. But on the night of a "chef battle," I surrender it to some pathetic pickles. (05/04/2000)

Italian protesters vote in undies By J.A. Getzlaff
Upset about noise pollution at the nearby airport, voters in Agrate Conturbia make a scene in their skivvies. (05/04/2000)

Land ho! By Donald D. Groff
Our expert weighs in: Ships from over 60 nations tour the Eastern Seaboard; lighthouses offer beds to travelers; plus he's got the goods on Mount Rushmore. (05/04/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for Wednesday, May 3, 2000 (05/03/2000)

Curse of the "Incubus" By Cara Jepsen
In the obscure '60s art-horror film, William Shatner is terrorized by murderous sea creatures. What happened off-screen was worse. (05/03/2000)

Sharps & Flats By Michael Ullman
Three kings -- Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderly -- rip through six CDs of the most ravishing jazz ever played. (05/03/2000)

Not big in Japan By Jennifer Hanawald
Arthur Golden's American bestseller, "Memoirs of a Geisha," gets a thumbs down from the country where it's set. (05/03/2000)

"Hunts in Dreams" by Tom Drury By Craig Seligman
A gorgeous, inexplicably sad and funny novel about screwups trying to do better. (05/03/2000)

The K Chronicles By Keith Knight
Keith Knight (05/03/2000)

Talking dirty By Susan McCarthy
Bring on the germs. Too much cleanliness may be making some people sick. First of two parts. (05/03/2000)

Suckling monkeys By Jack Boulware
The women of a tribe in the Amazon jungle breast-feed small primates and other animals. (05/03/2000)

Letters to the editor
Are bad reviews part of the anti-Horowitz conspiracy? Plus: Woe is Microsoft; bodybuilders are a stereotype of masculinity. (05/03/2000)

My spawn arrives! By Hank Pellissier
In the third installment of his lesbian sperm donor saga, Hank Pellissier describes the arrivals of his two babies -- born 21 days apart. (05/03/2000)

Elian and Elio By Arianna Huffington
When will Gloria Estefan and Diane Sawyer stand on their heads for the thousands of children who live with poverty and neglect -- here in the U.S.? (05/03/2000)

Our Nazi allies By Ken Silverstein
A German amateur investigator finds information on the U.S. government's friendly dealings with war criminals. Meanwhile, the FBI and CIA guard their records. (05/03/2000)

Bidding for the boat By Daryl Lindsey
EBay has a mess on its hands after a rogue auctioneer tries to sell Elian's "genuine" raft. (05/03/2000)

Perils of fame By Amy Reiter
Mariah Carey's family denies sister Alison's tell-all book about Mariah and spills all about Alison. Plus: Real-life Ed Masry slapped with a lawsuit; Hilary Swank won't bare all for Playboy; and Harry Potter keeps it in the family. (05/03/2000)

The Whitney Houston rules By Carina Chocano
The hypocrisy of America's marijuana laws is highlighted by the glamorous singer's non-arrest after she's found with a half-ounce of pot in an airport. (05/03/2000)

Betting on Hillary By Suzi Parker
A Web site lets you actually invest in -- and profit off -- the candidates of your choice. (05/03/2000)

Is Gore gouging taxpayers? By Alicia Montgomery
Vice president uses White House staffers in campaign and tries to rob Republicans of crime issue. Bush boosts budget with new numbers, and veep hopefuls creep forward. (05/03/2000)

Silicon Valley's pinup boys By Katharine Mieszkowski
Venture capitalists and start-up founders slip into something comfortable for GQ. (05/03/2000)

Fumble.com By Katharine Mieszkowski
Internet companies threw millions into the air at the Super Bowl. They're still pretending they scored a touchdown. (05/03/2000)

Belgian delights By Burt Wolf
Brussels is great, but Antwerp has its own giant-killing hero. (05/03/2000)

Ryans fly free By J.A. Getzlaff
Virgin Express and Ryanair are giving free flights to people named Ryan. (05/03/2000)

Of babyfaces and heels By Andrew O'Hehir
From crimson masks to electrifying sports entertainers, two bestselling wrestling books chronicle the blood, sweat and touching humanism of America's most popular redneck soap opera. (05/02/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for Tuesday, May 2, 2000 (05/02/2000)

Sharps & Flats By Seth Mnookin
The brothers Ween might be living in the shadow of Frank Zappa, but they still sound like they're shocked by their own shtick. (05/02/2000)

"The Guilt of Nations" by Elazar Barkan By Jonathan Groner
Are reparations the best way to address slavery, genocide and other past evils? (05/02/2000)

Just friends By Garrison Keillor
After the romance fizzled, we became closer than ever, but I miss the sex and he doesn't seem to. Is there any hope for generating sparks betweeen us? (05/02/2000)

Story Minute By Carol Lay
Carol Lay (05/02/2000)

Snacking By Dylan Edwards
If only women would trust men's genuine desire to give oral sex, instead of presuming it's all about intercourse. (05/02/2000)

A royal trap By Jack Boulware
The former Miss Topless Belgium and others are sentenced for setting up Princess Stephanie's hubby with a tryst that ended their marriage. (05/02/2000)

Letters to the editor
Readers reflect on the legacy of Vietnam Plus: Can Ritalin be lethal? Darva Conger should keep her clothes on. (05/02/2000)

Hash browns By Gayle Brandeis
Plain or absurd, they are always a hot item. (05/02/2000)

Contemplating hash browns By Gayle Brandeis
A primordial nest of shredded spuds from which fond memories -- and life itself! -- have sprung. (05/02/2000)

Which grinch stole Aladdin? By Sean Elder
Synergies collide as Time Warner pulls Disney's ABC from its cable system. (05/02/2000)

Benetton says ciao to Toscani By Craig Offman
The Italian fashion company outgrows its longtime creative genius. (05/02/2000)

Globalization and its discontents
Salon's coverage of world trade talks, the rising protests and their political legacy. (05/02/2000)

The tug-of-war over Elian
Salon's coverage of the international custody battle over a 6-year-old Cuban refugee. (05/02/2000)

The war on drugs
Prisons, profiling and propaganda: Salon's coverage of the U.S. government crackdown on illegal-substance abuse and the drug trade. (05/02/2000)

Silencing Joseph Stiglitz By David Moberg
The World Bank cuts its ties to the economist who became an unlikely hero to world trade protesters. (05/02/2000)

When cops become combat troops By Bonnie Bucqueroux
The controversial use of force to seize Elian Gonzalez is just business as usual in the war on drugs. (05/02/2000)

A play date with Congress? By Daryl Lindsey
"Bill Gates is not Elian Gonzalez," says Robert Bork. (05/02/2000)

'N Tact By Amy Reiter
Baby one more time: Teen pop stars don't put out. Plus! Playboy courts Swank; Jackson disses Singleton; Hewitt trashes Di. Oh my. (05/02/2000)

R. Crumb By Steve Burgess
Is the bull-goose legend of underground comix the Brueghel of our time or the purveyor of an arrested juvenile vision? (05/02/2000)

Penelope Fitzgerald dies at 83
The award-winning author of "The Blue Flower" published her first book in 1975. (05/02/2000)

Giuliani's wife quits "Vagina" By Alicia Montgomery
New York polls stagnate as Hillary picks a new fight. Gore's base shakes and Bush's backyard grumbles. Union ponders Nader nod. (05/02/2000)

It's a bubble, all right! By Thomas Scoville
In "Irrational Exuberance," Robert Shiller credits investors' folly with keeping the bull market on its feet. (05/02/2000)

Snoring in Paradise By Elliott Neal Hester
Murderous thoughts are generally discouraged at Club Med. Leave it to the Canadians to send you to the brink. (05/02/2000)

L.A. to serve toilet water By J.A. Getzlaff
Endorsed by environmentalists, the proposed solution to Southern California's chronic water shortage has some residents feeling queasy. (05/02/2000)

Sharps & Flats By David Cantwell
Endorsed by Steve Earle, compared to Springsteen, Marah map out the streets of South Philly with an out-of-breath rock 'n' roll rush. (05/01/2000)

Blue Glow By Joyce Millman
Salon's TV picks for Monday, May 1, 2000 (05/01/2000)

Real Life Rock Top Ten By Greil Marcus
Why Patrick Bateman killed, the meeting of Sleater-Kinney and more. (05/01/2000)

The sensitive Bond By Emily Jenkins
Even as a preteen girl, I knew that Ian Fleming's James Bond was a vulnerable guy -- and his creator, an equal-opportunity voyeur. (05/01/2000)

Best of Bond By Emily Jenkins
Ian Fleming's 007 is often most memorable when he's most offensive. (05/01/2000)

Bondage and rumination By Maria Russo
James Bond expert James Chapman talks about the enduring allure of Agent 007 and the sexual ambiguity of Ian Fleming's creation. (05/01/2000)

"The Binding Chair" by Kathryn Harrison By Laura Morgan Green
Is the author's latest abused-woman fantasy -- this one set in China and France in the early decades of the 20th century -- revelatory or pornographic? (05/01/2000)

This Modern World By Tom Tomorrow
Tom Tomorrow (05/01/2000)

Listening to DNA By Arthur Allen
The genome project is getting the buzz. But the real breakthroughs may come from labs out of the limelight, like Gene Logic. (05/01/2000)

Spain's happy hour for sex By Jack Boulware
Local beaches to test a lights-out period every night. (05/01/2000)

Letters to the editor
Spouses who switch teams Plus: Is the media ignoring racism in Zimbabwe? James Woods' puppy love. (05/01/2000)

The number that will outlive my grandfather By Alexandra J. Wall
During World War II, this number was meant to track whether or not he was still alive. Now, he wants it to follow him to his grave. (05/01/2000)

Where cowards have no names By David Horowitz
On Amazon.com, reader reviewers can share their thoughts about books like mine, but don't expect the hardcore leftists to identify themselves. (05/01/2000)

Land war in Zimbabwe By Vivienne Walt
Angry and impoverished blacks say they're taking back the farms whites stole in the first place. But are they fighting the wrong enemy? (05/01/2000)

Mr. Misery, he's not By Jessica Hundley
Elliott Smith talks about sincerity, happiness and the pitfalls of trying to be a perpetual winner. (05/01/2000)

Letting it all leak out By Amy Reiter
Betsey Johnson's left breast disappears under veil of secrecy, NP leaks the story. Plus: Real-life Erin Brockovich extorted by scumbag exes; and Amy Irving ponders significance of oyster predilection (05/01/2000)

"The West Wing" could only be left wing By Jonathan V. Last
Why liberals can make good drama and conservatives wind up with "Red Dawn." (05/01/2000)

Gore beats Bush to McCain By Alicia Montgomery
Bush should still get McCain's nod despite doubts. Gore scorns rival's record and Republicans wring their hands over Rudy. (05/01/2000)

On the record By Janelle Brown
RIAA chief Hilary Rosen defends the music industry's recent litigation against Napster and MP3.com. (05/01/2000)

Sayings of Chairman Bill By Scott Rosenberg
Gates' Microsoft defense is full of holes, but so is the government's breakup plan. (05/01/2000)

Save your soul! By J.A. Getzlaff
For just a few bucks, an Italian housewife will do your praying for you. (05/01/2000)