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Keeping Our Distance
by Linton Weeks, Washington Post
Bad news for the small-world crowd: More than 6 degrees separate us.

That Old Feeling: Remembering Chuck Jones
by Richard Corliss, Time
How lucky we children of the 50s were in our comedy mentors!

Of Crust And Custard
by Sylvia Thompson, Los Angeles Times
From a 1909 women's club cookbook comes a dessert revelation: pies that are exquistiely textured, deeply delicious and easy to make.

DVD Pirates And Hobbits In Southeast Asia
by Jeff Radice, Salon
A backpacking tourist in Laos gets his hands on "The Fellowship of the Ring" just two weeks after its U.S. release.

The Pilgrimage To Ground Zero
by Lynne Duke, Washington Post
Officials and tourists walk a fine line on solemn ground.

Do You Otaku?
by Amy M. Spindler, New York Times
A modest proposal: Tokyo is the real international capital of fashion.

Stolen Restaurant Napkins Are Just A Start
by Donna Paul, New York Times
Restaurants have become temples of design, filled with beautiful objects. And diners are helping themselves to more than just the bread. A lot more.

An Artist's Best Work, Figuratively Speaking
by Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times
Elmer Bischoff began and ended his career as an abstract painter. His strongest images date from the years between.

Robert Philip Hanssen's Dirty Little Secrets
by Benjamin Schwarz, New York Times
Reading these three books on the Robert Hassen espionage case is like viewing pornography.

Sky City Fantasies
by Erik Baard, The Village Voice
For the fallen world of September 12, visions of a vertical future.

The Chrysler Building
by Stephanie Zacharek, Salon
New York's most glorious skyscraper, its art deco eagles poised for flight, is a timeless work of jazz Age poetry in steel.

Rising In The East
by Janine Defao, San Francisco Chronicle
Long a tortoise to San Francisco's hare, downtown Oakland gains momentum despite downturn.

With Pen In Hand
by Lynell George, Los Angeles Times
Put it in writing? Wielding anything but a keyboard makes some people nervous. Make peace — and practice, experts say.

Saluting All The King's Mentors
by jay Parini, New York Times
Writers, perhaps like anyone trying to learn a craft, look anxiously around them for mentors.

Letterman In The Lead
by Rick Kushman, Sacramento Bee
Dave skates circles around the competition as he enters his third decade of late night.

Even The Whales Are Gay Down Mexico Way
by Peter Tachell, The Observer
Seduced by Puerto Vallarta's beaches, plam trees and live and let live attitude.

The Music Isn't Live, Either
by Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times
Cold weather and a global audience require performers to try to match recordings during the opening and closing ceremonies.

So, They're All Gay, Right?
by King Kaufman, Salon
Former U.S. figure skating champion Rudy Galindo talks about the Salt Lake Olympics, the sport's effeminate image and the reactions to his coming out. And no, they're not.

A Woman's Place
by Teresa Wiltz, Washington Post
At a Kabul clinic, childbirth means a cold table and a tireless doctor.

Who's To Judge?
by Laura Miller, New York Times
The questions are fundamentaly unanswerable — which may explain why we just can't stop talking about them, especially when the official judgment conflicts with our own.

Words Of 9/11 Go From Coffee Shops To The Dictionaries
by Janny Scott, New York Times
Every catastrophe begets its own linguistic fallout — words and phrases forged by the awful novelty of the moment or catapulted from obscurity into everyday speech.

After A Star's Death, A Delicate Marketing Task
by Lorenza Munoz, Los Angeles Times
The makers of "Queen of the Damned" try to honor Aaliyah and cope with a backlash among Anne Rice fans.

A Perfectionist's Pupil With A Major In Creepy
by Rick Lyman, New York Times
Watching movies with Nicole Kidman.

Black Mischief
by Christopher Hitchens, The Nation
"How should nigger be defined? Is it part of the American cultural inheritance that warrants preservation?"

Toyland Is Tough, Even For Robots
by Barnaby J. Feder, New York Times
For toy creator, Mark Tilden, simpler is better when it comes to robotic toys. But navigating the road from lab to market, he learned, was anything but simple.

In Lean Times, E-Books Find A Friend: Libraries
by Lisa Guernsey, New York Times
E-book publishing may be on the skids, but digital book collections continue to grow at libraries.

CNN's Tips For Visiting Cuba Cross The Line
by Glenn Garvin, Miami Herald
This is the first time I've ever seen a network provide a detailed blueprint on how to violate the law.

Ceci N'est Pas Surrealism
by Carol Kino, Slate
Even if you don't know Surrealism, it knows you.

Anti-Telemarketers Send Out A Very Busy Signal
by Don Oldenburg, Washington Post
With the explosion in telemarketing, people who were once content to say no and hang up have instead created a cottage industry of activists.

An 'Eat More' Message For A Fattened America
by Mary Duenwald, New York Times
Dr. Marion Nestle is a food scientist distrubed by the ways the food industry encourages Americans to eat large amounts of non-nutritious food.

Where Have You Gone, Jerry, When We Need You?
by Susan Orr Braudy, New York Times
I long to return to the innocent days when scores of unseen "Seinfeld" episodes were part of my future.

Bill Cospy Chuckles His Way Into Old Age
by James Sullivan, San Francisco Chronicle
The comedian still finds life quite ridiculous.

The Chill Is Gone
by Richard Blow, Salon
The once-great Stephen King has been recycling his plots and characters for 20 years now. It's time he made good on his threats to retire.

Continental Divide
by Robin Givhan, Washington Post
Why don't Europeans cotton to American designs? The New York shows offer no satisfying answers.

Chinese Retreat Yields Handiwork Fit For An Emperor
by Elisabeth Rosenthal, New York Times
An emperor's retirement lodge in the Forbidden City in Beijing that survived the Cultural Revolution is being preserved.

The Last Cargo Cult
by Mike Jay, Mighty Organ
Sulphur Bay is one of a handful of villages who live with a god of their own: a spirit messiah known as John Frum.

Surrealism Revisited
by Peter Schjeldahl, New Yorker
A new retrospective at the Met looks back on a once fashionable genre.

White Men Can Bitch
by Joan Ryan, San Francisco Chronicle
Thank goodness for the Winter Olympics.

In The Wonderland Of Libraries Are Cats Like Alis
by Duane Noriyuki, Los Angeles Times
Carrying on feline tradition, the Silverado calico found a home in a reading room.

Matters Of The Heart
by Phil McCombs, Washington Post
The Caring Awards honor those who make compassion their business.

Plot Twists Paid Off For 'Friends'
by Bill Carter, New York Times
Right creative choices, involving some life-changing experience for its characters, paid off again.

At Play With Night And Day In The Desert
by Wade Graham, Los Angeles Times
James Turrell is about to unveil his life's work — a natural crater carved into a celebration of light and space. Try hanging that in a museum.

A Passage To Freedom
by Mary Kay Ricks, Washington Post
During Washington's era of rampant slave trading, two sisters embarked upon a remarkable journey and became a cause celebre for the abolitionist movement.

Into Thin Air
by Roger Lowenstein, New York Times
Airlines have always been a hard business. But a case study of United shows why they have been so extraordinarily successful at making profits disappear.

Family Harmony
by Justino Aquila, San Francisco Chronicle
Music is the tie that binds Mazmanians of Orinda.

The Naughty Boy Of Europe
by Economist
Britain's unruly teenagers are the price of progress.

At NBC, Spring Forward, Fall Back And Winter Up
by Lisa de Moraes, Washington Post
Just because NBC has removed national advertising from those seven half-hours doesn't mean you're in for a full half-hour of ad-free Olympics coverage on any of the remaining nights of competition.

Secrets Confided To The Clergy Are Getting Harder To Keep
by Emily Eakin, New York Times
Thanks, in part, to a spate of sexual abuse scandals involving priests, clergy-penitent privilege is no longer considered inviolable.

In Geneva, Good Eating From Fondue To Foie Gras
by Jacqueline Friedrich, New York Times
A trip to Geneva in December convinved me and my travelling companion that this noble Swiss dish is overdue for a comeback.

Shape Of Things To Come
by Michael Quintanilla, Los Angeles Times
Two newcomers to Fashion Week cause a buzz with bracking contrasts and fierce femininity.

Getting Under Your Skin
by Eve Zibart, Washington Post
Modern day spas are to beauty salons as Dean & Deluca stores are to convenience marts.

The Quest For Fire
by Roy Rivenburg, Los Angeles Times
What does a guy have to do to get a girlfriend before Feb. 14? You have no idea.

Loving A Ghost
by A.R. Torres, Salon
I believed that if I could get through the trifecta of holidays after Sept. 11 without Eddie, I could get to the finish line of my grief. But I'd forgotten about Valentine's Day.

A Television Valentine For Charlie Brown Fans
by Suzanne C. Ryan, Boston Globe
"Peanuts' was one of the nicer things about the 20th century. It's nice to see it come into the 21st century."

Strike Up The Brand
by Hank Stuever, Washington Post
From athletes' jackets to shuttle vans, Salt Lake is awash in corporate logos.

Voices From The Fringe
by Dorothy Rabinowitz, Wall Street Journal
Who's nuttier, director Robert Altman or the head of the NRA?

Interior By Curbside Unlimited
by Carol Lloyd, San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco residents recycle their lives.

Giving It Up For Lent: The Cuisine Of Denial
by Mary Rourke, Los Angeles Times
Most of the 2 billion Christians in the world live in countries where Lent and special foods go together.

Daddies' Girls
by Beverly Beyette, Los Angeles Times
At a magical Valentine's gathering, fathers and daughters make memories on the dance floor.

What Makes Johnny Write?
by Dahlia Lithwick, Slate
For one thing, Grisham proved with A Painted House that he could write serious fiction. For another, The SUmmons is not the same old legal thriller.

Why Is Jennifer Connelly A Supporting Actress?
by Chris Suellentrop, Slate
How does the Academy decide who is in a "leading role" for the Oscars and who is a "supporting role"?

Big Brother Is Watching You Read
by Christopher Dreher, Salon
Increasingly, the government is demanding that bookstores reveal what books their customers have purchased. Bookstore owners and privacy advocates say that's scarier than a Stephen King novel.

A Restaurant Called 'The Last Meal'
by Bob Levey, Washington Post
The menu would consist of the final food that famous people consumed.

Zooted And Booted
by Duncan Campbell, Guardian
Much has changed for Latinos in LA since the zoot suit riots of 1943, when young Mexicans were attacked in a clash of race and style.

Who Gets 10,000 Valentines Too Many?
by Moira Redmond, Slate
The travesty of elementary-school valentines.

New Year's Not The Same In New York's Chinatown
by Josh Getlin, Los Angeles Times
Despite a slight economic rebound, some observers fear that growing pressure to convert failing businesses into upscale offices and condominiums may eventually turn New York's Chinatown into an ethnic theme park.

Michael Kinsley Is Logging Off As Editor Of Online Slate
by Howard Kurtz, Washington Post
Two months after telling the world that he's battling Parkinson's disease, Michael Kinsley said yesterday that he was stepping down as editor of Slate.

Making Toys For Children Too Mature For Most Toys
by Jennifer 8. Lee, New York Times
In a world where Barbies have become oh, so first grade, toymakers are struggling to deliver items that appeal to rapidly maturing 8-year-old girls.

Oh, The Heartache! They Want Cupid Banished
by Somini Sengupta, New York Times
The Shiv Sena, the radical Hindu political party that is a powerful force in the city and state governments, sees in Cupid the very avatar of Western culture, a symbol of its corrupting influence over traditional Indian society.

Blog Ad Nauseam
by The New Standard
A parody.

An Unhealthy Addiction To Work
by Torri Minton, San Francisco Chronicle
U.S. workers have fewest vacation days, but have trouble even taking those.

A Little Risky And Wry
by Michael J. Ybarra, Los Angeles Times
Calvin Trillin's latest novel reflects the author's characteristic blend of New York attitude and Midwestern sensibility.

Rethinking Breast Cancer
by Chrstine Gorman, Time
New detection techniques and treatments are exciting — and confusing.

'War And Peace' With A Cast Of 346 And A Horse
by Ralph Blumenthal, New York Times
Deep under Lincoln Center the Russian army was learning how to march.

The Price Of Freedom
by Alasdair Palmer, The Spectator
What Nozick did in it was to deliver a series of fatal blows to the concept of social justice that had been more or less taken for granted, not just by me and most of my contemporaries, but also by practically the whole liberal intelligentsia in the universitites, the civil service and the BBC.

The Predator In The Plastic Cigar
by Paul D. Kretkowski, San Francisco Chronicle
Sure, it looks tranquil now. But what happens when birds, seals, otters and jellyfish are confronted by a human in a precariously balanced, glacially slow-moving piece of plastic shaped like a cigar?

In The Bedrooms
by Kevin Roderick, Los Angeles Times
Are your sleeping quarters just that? Or are they places for multi-tasking or entertaining or making a statement? Explore the art of the private domain.

Salt Lake's New Glimmer Of Hip
by Susan Spano, Los Angeles Times
Long preceived as Dullsville, Utah's capital is a little sexier, a tad more sophisticated. But when the Olympics clear out, will it be worth a visit?

In Love And War
by Chuck Staresinic, Washington Post
They found each other, then his country started bombing her, and things got complicated.

The His-And-Hers Bibile
by Emily Nussbaum, New York Times
To translate the Bible this way is understandably tempting, but it's also a lie.

Rebel Who Realised The Irrelevance Of Royalty
by Mary Riddell, Observer
Margaret was the first Windsor to realise there wasn't much for a minor royal to do. Her life was devoted to reckless hedonism.

Something Sinister In The Air Over Manhattan
by Oliver Burkeman, Guardian
There have been isolated threats of litigation over a cough blamed by Manhattanites on substances leaking from Gound Zero, but it is unclear what will happen next.

Fast Food Notion
by Jeremy Rosenberg, Los Angeles Times
A visit by the author of "Fast Food Nation" inspires a 72-mile road trip of repentance past a whopping 141 fast-food joints.

NBC's Opening Night Coverage Is More Limp Than Olympic
by Tom Shales, Washington Post
More and more, NBC is becoming a living monument to execrably bad taste.

The Sex And The City Betting Pool
by Emily Nussbaum, Slate
Will Carrie marry Big? Will Miranda marry Charlotte?

Hot Tubs Among The Blooms
by Hatsy Shields, New York Times
IN the Anzo-Borrego desert, a vactionaing family stays at two inns that blend with the desert landscape and a sprawling, verdant resort that all but ignores it.

Blow Up Your Schwarzenegger
by Mark Morford, San Francisco Chronicle
All hail the return of ultraviolent Hollywood schlock, because apparently you asked for it.

Single-Minded Encounters
by Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
Personal ads, volunteer work, six-minute dates and other unusual ways people hook up.

Showcase For Muppets
by Peter Marks, New York Times
Puppets from the Jim Henson Company join Broadway stars in a production of "Carnival," part of the Encores! series at City Center.

'Tron' Showed The Way
by Charles Solomon, Los Angeles Times
The movie, just released on DVD for its 20th anniversary, was a pioneer of computer-generated imagery.

Where Cash And Culture Go Hand In Hand
by Roxanne Roberts, washington Post
Art and money are like two bickering lowers: It's always something.

French Study Pooh-Poohs Expert Tasters' Palates
by Gerald D. Boyd, San Francisco Chroncile
A group of French researchers have really got me steamed.

Move To The Rhythm Of Your Heartbeat
by Hilary E. MacGregor, Los Angeles Times
Salsa dancing — along with being fun — can elevat pulse and burn calries. It's a great way to get an aerobic workout.

Now Showing: The Flag
by Sharon Waxman, Washington Post
Hollywood is storming out of its 9-11 foxhole with a barrage of patriotic flicks.

One Film To Rule Them All
by Scott Rosenberg, Salon
Pter jackson's "Fellowship of the Ring" pleases both Tolkien nuts and "Lord of the Rings" virgins. How did he pull off such an unlikely feat?

A Curator Defends His Show Exploring Nazi Imagery
by Sarah Boxer, New York Times
The problem is that at this point "the works are shown only in reproduction" in the catalog. And that is the worst way to see installation art and sculpture.

Tea In Tokyo Salons: A Blend Of Japan And Paris
by Elizabeth Andoh, New York Times
Despite the recent advent of Starbucks and other, domestically spawned chains of inexpensive coffee shops in Tokyo, there still exists a genteel tea parlor culture where utterly divine cakes are consumed with leisure in classy salons.

Sex And The Scandal
by Art Buchwald, Washington Post
"The trouble with Enron," said Baldwin, an investigative reporter, "is that there is no sex."

A New Lease On Life For An Old Hotel
by Bettijane Levine, Los Angeles Times
A developer throws himself into creating a new kind of high-class, low-income housing — and finds it's a bumpy ride.

Was Presidnet Bush Abducted By Aliens?
by Chris Colin, Salon
When Dubya had his close encounter of the pretzel kind, did he in fact take a trip far, far away?

Lost Boys
by Amy Benfer, Salon
While girls surge ahead in all subjects at school, boys are lagging behind. Is "girl power" to blame? Do boys need their own dose of "empowerment"?

Never Mind The High Praise. How About A Little Ink?
by David Ferrel, Los Angeles Times
His work is priced as high as $150,000. He's been commissioned to paint by the U.N. But there's no place in the world of fine art for Yuroz and others like him.

Plagiarism, Or A Case Of Something Less Duplicitous?
by Ken Ringle, Washington Post
Could plagiarism be contagious?

After 2-Year Detour, Grishma Returns To Legal Thrillers
by David D. Kirkpatrick, New York Times
"The Summons" is a shorter, leaner and less descriptive than his early ones. "I am getting lazy."

Risque Business
by Joan Ryan, San Francisco Chronicle
Misguided skating officials are cracking down on pelvis-pumping and lap-dancing - as though people actually want to watch Olympians skate.

Booksellers Are Wise To The Value Of A Little Dust On The Jacket
by Beverly Beyette, Los Angeles Times
Dealers know age and public whim often dictate what is collectible — Tolkien's in; Huxley's out.

'We Behaved As Badly As Anybody'
by Lynn Smith, Los Angeles Times
An exhibit details Hollywood's reaction to the 'Red Scare' of 50 years ago.

Belle Of The 'Ball'
by Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
She is a star who before "Monster's Ball" was not always taken seriously as an actress. It was clear she had great talent, but it was obscured by her beauty.

The Patriots Bowl
by Michael Davis, Washington Post
United we sit, watching a football game that's become an American ritual.

Enron Was, In Layman's Terms, A Nest Of Dirtballs
by Dave barry, Miami Herald
Today we're going to explain the Enron story in the Q&A format, using simple financial terms that you can understand, such as "dirtballs."

What Price Success For A Newly Popular BBC?
by Alan Riding, New York Times
BBC1 had beaten its main commercial rival for the first time since privately owned television was introduced in 1954. But just as BBC executives were congratulating themselves, the sniping began.

Weird Science
by Amy Barrett, New York Times
Questions for James D. Watson.

John Ashcroft's Perilous Nipples
by Mark Morford, San Francisco Chronicle
It's entirely appropriate that the statues symbolizing Justice and Law be hidden in his presence.

Greta? Is That You? Analyst Moves From CNN To, Uh, Fox
by Lisa de Moraes, Washington Post
Wake up and smell the stench.

Seven Days Along The Mexican Riviera
by Susan G. Hauser, New York Times
The encouraging thing is that the Sea Princess, built in 1998 in Italy with London registry, is as big as a warehouse.

Big Names, Little News — This Is CNN?
by Howard Rosenberg, Los Angeles Times
Have you checked out the new personality-obsessed, format-fixated, talk-driven, graphics-screaming, self-adoring, dumbed-down, less-news-is-good-news CNN? You know, the cable channel you can tune in around the clock and hear chat and opinion responding to chat and opinion?

Irving Penn's Nudes
by David Bowman, Salon
Two New York shows highlight the photographer's brief sojourn into the world of women with lush, fleshy bodies.

A Shuttle Between Chinatowns
by Alice DuBois, New York Times
What could possibly be important enough to persuade me to take this trip? A wedding or a family reunion, perhaps? No, the reason was a flour tortilla filled with chicken, rice and beans.