In this week's edition: putting the noble in Barnes & Noble,
pink-slip parties, smelling for space, and more. If you
like what you read, please feel free to forward this
newsletter to your friends.
---Books & Book Culture---
A piece in The Atlantic Monthly argues that the chain
bookstores -- contrary to criticism from the cultural elite
-- have enormously enriched our cultural life.
http://MagPortal.com/nr/rdir.php?w=66717
similar: http://MagPortal.com/cgi/sim.cgi?w=66717
In Salon, a writer complains of how technological advances
like cellphones are making it impossible for authors to use
traditional plot devices in fiction and still sound
plausible.
http://MagPortal.com/nr/rdir.php?w=66369
similar: http://MagPortal.com/cgi/sim.cgi?w=66369
The Atlantic Monthly reviews "I Watched a Wild Hog Eat My
Baby!", a history of the tabloids and their cultural impact.
http://MagPortal.com/nr/rdir.php?w=66860
Buy this book:
http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1573929026/magportalcom
---Business---
Has the Internet stopped growing? The answer seems to be
"no" for now, but, The Industry Standard reports, the
possibility has many in the telecom industry worried.
http://MagPortal.com/nr/rdir.php?w=66850
similar: http://MagPortal.com/cgi/sim.cgi?w=66850
U.S. News looks at some of the unconventional approaches
companies are taking to make firings a bit sweeter for
downsized workers.
http://MagPortal.com/nr/rdir.php?w=66585
similar: http://MagPortal.com/cgi/sim.cgi?w=66585
With job losses piling up across many industries, Industry
Standard germanely delves into all aspects of severance:
what people are getting and how they are getting it.
http://MagPortal.com/nr/rdir.php?w=66815
similar: http://MagPortal.com/cgi/sim.cgi?w=66815
A Business 2.0 article reports in depth about five proven
new technologies that businesses are benefitting from now.
http://MagPortal.com/nr/rdir.php?w=66127
similar: http://MagPortal.com/cgi/sim.cgi?w=66127
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Free eBooks:
http://www.fictionwise.com/servlet/mw?t=jump&id=21309&u=ebooks/freebooks.htm
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---Hiking---
In Smithsonian, a writer describes the experience of
community at one of the Appalachian Trail's more remote
waypoints.
http://MagPortal.com/nr/rdir.php?w=66710
similar: http://MagPortal.com/cgi/sim.cgi?w=66710
---Science---
New Scientist interviews NASA's top sniffer, George Aldrich,
who is responsible for making sure no nauseating odors end
up burning astronauts' noses.
http://MagPortal.com/nr/rdir.php?w=66512
similar: http://MagPortal.com/cgi/sim.cgi?w=66512
Science News reports on the two new species of dinosaur
fossil unearthed in the southwestern United States.
http://MagPortal.com/nr/rdir.php?w=66435
similar: http://MagPortal.com/cgi/sim.cgi?w=66435
A New Scientist article reports on research that seems to
have found a neural basis for the specific kinds of
hallucinations that psychedelic drugs induce.
http://MagPortal.com/nr/rdir.php?w=66514
similar: http://MagPortal.com/cgi/sim.cgi?w=66514
---Social Issues---
We human beings are far more than the sum of our genetic
parts, argues a New Republic article, so we needn't fear
genetic research.
http://MagPortal.com/nr/rdir.php?w=66278
similar: http://MagPortal.com/cgi/sim.cgi?w=66278
A Salon article reports that controversy over emergency
contraception -- the so-called morning-after pill -- may
take center stage in the abortion debate.
http://MagPortal.com/nr/rdir.php?w=66336
similar: http://MagPortal.com/cgi/sim.cgi?w=66336
A New Republic piece complains that computer-generated women
like Tomb Raider heroine Lara Croft are setting the
body-image bar for real women unnaturally high.
http://MagPortal.com/nr/rdir.php?w=66445
similar: http://MagPortal.com/cgi/sim.cgi?w=66445
---World Politics---
FEER examines the effectiveness of Taiwan's "dollar
diplomacy" that pays Central American countries to recognize
Taipei.
http://MagPortal.com/nr/rdir.php?w=66391
similar: http://MagPortal.com/cgi/sim.cgi?w=66391
An Asiaweek article profiles five prominent philanthropists
who are helping to bridge Asia's digital divide.
http://MagPortal.com/nr/rdir.php?w=66493
similar: http://MagPortal.com/cgi/sim.cgi?w=66493
A Weekly Standard article claims the Middle East conflict
has become polarized not over a question of land, but over a
moral question: is Israel a criminal state?
http://MagPortal.com/nr/rdir.php?w=66711
similar: http://MagPortal.com/cgi/sim.cgi?w=66711
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