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Story Of My Wife
by Bob Thompson, Washington Post
Calvin Trillin brings his greatest love to life on the printed page.

That Blasted Year
by Dave Barry, Washington Post
It was a momentous year, a year of events that will echo in the annals of history the way a dropped plate of calamari echoes in an Italian restaurant with a tile floor.

Can Google Come Out To Play?
by Deborah Schoeneman, New York Times
You could be forgiven for not knowing that a satellite Google campus is growing in downtown Manhattan. There is no Google sign on the building, and it's hard to catch a glimpse of a Googler, as employees call themselves, on the street because the company gives them every reason to stay within its candy-colored walls.

The Graying Of Naughty
by Sharon Waxman, New York Times
The pornography industry, that multibillion-dollar-a-year symbol of airbrushed American carnality, is aging. The advent of viagra, the maturing of sexually aware baby boomers and overall improved health and beauty are all contributing to the graying of naughty.

Dying Languages
by John McWhorter, New York Sun
The death of languages is typically described in a rueful tone. However, I'm not sure it's the crisis we are taught that it is.

A Test Of Faith In Strangers
by Alan Zarembo, Los Angeles Times
There are a billion people on theinternet, and perhaps someone, somewhere, had a kidney to spare.

The Collector Of Experiences
by Gendy Alimurung, LA Weekly
Mark Allen and his Machine Project.

Clowning Around: McDonald's Takes An Arch Approach To Its Image Makeover
by Tim Carman, Washington City Paper
Welcome to the new McDonald's: Built for your comfort. Just don't get too comfortable.

Japan, Home Of The Cute And Inbred Dog
by Martin Fackler, New York Times
Rare dogs are highly prized in Japan. But the real problem is what often arrives in the same litter: genetically defective sister and brother puppies born with missing paws or faces lacking eyes and a nose.

Food For The People, Whipped Up By The People
by Julia Moskin, New York Times
It was the year the people took back the food.

Repeat After Us: I Will Stop Eating Candy In 2007
by Jessica Jones, Village Voice
She gave up her addiction to strawberry laces and Milk Duds, and lived to tell the tale.

Easing The Inward Journey, With Modern Amenities
by Perry Garfinkel, New York Times
In its many forms, spiritual tourism is the "oldest and now one of the fastest-growing segments in the travel industry."

Running Low On Role Models
by Kate Shindle, Salon
Miss Nevada's out, Tara Conner's wobbly reign continues, and we're left wondering: What are beauty queens for, anyway?

The Pleasure Of The Present
by Richard Seven, Seattle Times
Take a deep breath and unwind.

What's Wrong With Cinderella?
by Peggy Orenstein, New York Times
Diana may be dead and Masako disgraced, but here in America, we are in the midst of a royal moment. To call princesses a "trend" among girls is like calling Harry Potter a book.

Old Typewriter Intrigues A Jaded Web Generation
by Alison Rood, San Francisco Chronicle
It was strange to see my son and his actor friends mesmerized by a machine similar to one I used to use. I still fondly recall the downtown Sacramento shop where I took my Olympia for repairs.

Jewish In A Winter Wonderland
by Cindy Chupack, New York Times
I blame the Pottery Barn holiday catalog for the fact that my husband and I, both Jews, spent last weekend at Home Depot picking out a Christmas tree.

The Man In The Red Suit
by Mary Lisa Gavenas, Salon
An endearing enigma in a scarlet fur-trimmed jacket, Santa has spent the past 150 years spreading joy — and shilling for Macy's, Maxwell House and Dewar's scotch.

Those Inflatable Santas: Eyepoppers To Eyesores
by Paul Vitello, New York Times
Whatever else Christmas in America means, it now also includes these gargantuan, inflatable outdoor decorations, called "Airblowns" by their chief manufacturer.

The Blog Mob
by Joseph Rago, Wall Street Journal
"Written by fools to be read by imbeciles."

The Jewish Problem
by Eli Sanders, The Stranger
My family, my city, my religion.

Sying Yes To Mess
by Penelope Green, New York Times
An anti-anticlutter movement is afoot, one that says yes to mess and urges you to embrace your disorder.

Sick With Excess Of Sweetness
by The Economist
A great poet's brushes with the world's first onsumer boycott.

Post-Modernism Is The New Black
by The Economist
How the shape of modern retailing was both predicted and influenced by some unlikely seers.

The Sovereign Vs. The Idiot
by Joel Waldfogel, Slate
What kind of gift-giver are you?

Fore Shame
by David Farley, Slate
Did the Vatican steal Jesus' foreskin so people would shut up about the savior's penis?

Visiting Asia Without Crossing The Pacific In Portland, Ore
by David Laskin, New York Times
Different as they are, these two Asian gardens both rely on pattern, structure and metaphor instead of the floral can-can of typical American gardens. Rain, especially the mild intermittent rain of the Pacific Northwest winter, is their varnish.

A Struggle To Preserve A Hawaiian Archipelago And Its Varied Wildlife
by Christopher Pala, New York Times
This was the real stake: a vast collection of some of the world's least damaged reefs and the home to the nedangered Hawaiian monk seal.

Nothing But Nog
by Robert Sietsema, Salon
It's got a mysterious history and a texture that's more lubricant than libation. But old-fashioned eggnog is still America's holiday cocktail of choice.

Walt Disney: Man Or Mouse?
by Neal Gabler, Los Angeles Times
Those who pigeonhole him s everyman or kitschmeister are missing the big picture.

Please Let It Be Whale Vomit, Not Just Sea Junk
by Corey Kilgannon, New York Times
In this season of strange presents from relatives, Dorothy Ferrelra got a doozy the other day from her 82-year-old sister in Waterloo, Iowa. It was ugly. It weighed four pounds. There was no receipt int he box.

The High C And The Low Rumble
by Daniel J. Wakin, New York Times
Among the dedicated, much of the debate revolved around whether these performances justified the boos, not whether booing in general is acceptable.

At $300 A Bottle, Do You Have To Tip?
by Alexei Barrionuevo, New York Times
The liquor industry looks alot like the perfume business these days, with dramatic packaging and rich price tags that often have little direct connection to the liquid inside.

Men Who Do Breakfast
by Fuchsia Dunlop, Financial Times
If the old-fashioned Hong Kong teahouse is on the wane, the dim sum tradition itself is flourishing.

The Genius Collector
by Vanessa Grigoriadis, New York Magazine
Louise MacBain uses her classified-ad fortune, her string of art magazines, and her stunning appearance to bring some of the world's most talented people into her orbit. To what purpose? Even she doesn't seem to know.

Blood, Sweat And Type O: Japan's Weird Science
by David Picker, New York Times
In Japan, using blood type to predict a person's character is as common as going to McDonald's and ordering a teriyaki burger.

Some Pig
by Sara Dickerman, Slate
The development of the piggy confessional.

The Ups And Downs Of Flying 'Lateral Class'
by Roger Collis, International Herald Tribune
Why pay an arm and a leg for the latest business-class "sleeper" seat when you can buy three or four adjoining seats int he back cabin for about one quarter of the price, and sretch out and sleep?

The Old-Fashioned Secret Of Holiday Treats?
by Julia Moskin and Kim Severson, New York Times
For bakers everywhere, especially during the season of fruitcake and gingerbread, the distinct spicy, earthy flavor of unrefined cane is irreplaceable.

Beware The Skyscraper Curse
by William Pesek, Bloomberg News
A bizarre suggestion, perhaps, and certainly an unscientific one. Yet history shows an uncanny correlation between tallest building projects and financial crises.

How Dickens Did Me In
by Simon Gray, The Guardian
I've written lots and lots of films for television, and some have even won awards. But when I tried to write a film about Dickens and Ellen Ternan, it was as if I'd had no previous experience.

Higher Education In Asia: Really Old School
by Jeffrey E. Garten, International Herald Tribune
The West has a long tradition of rediscovering its ancient Greek and Roman roots, and is much stronger for that. Asia could and should do the same.

In Praise Of Chain Stores
by Virginia Postrel, The Atlantic
They aren't destroying local flavor — they're providing variety and comfort.

If You Lived Here, You'd Be Cool By Now
by Adam Sternbergh, New York Magazine
Ever get the feeling that the New York of your dreams is happening elsewhere? These days, the half-life of a hot neighborhood can be measured in mere weeks. To find the optimal balance of commodious bistros, tasteful urban decline, and cheap(ish) rent before it disappears, run like hell to... Jersey City?

What's Wrong With Our Food?
by Alex Koppelman, Salon
E. coli at Taco Bell, Listeria in our Thanksgiving turkey, a report of unprecedented contamination in our chicken. Michael Pollan, author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma," explains why.

Seat-Of-The-Pants Tourism Without Belt Or Suspenders
by Amir D. Aczel, New York Times
I often take my wife, Debra, on business trips with me. She believes in something she calls "travel by serendipity" — no reservations, and let's see what wonderful things we find. But every year I get more worried that our luck will run out and we'll be stuck somewhere with no place to sleep.

When Science Sniffs Around The Kitchen
by Harold McGee, New York Times
I'm confident that never before in history have so many peole in so many corners of the world used so many powerful instruments to peer into food — and into people as they consume food.

The Wall Street Journal Gets Small
by Jack Shafer, Slate
Making sense of the publisher's preview of the redesigned paper.

Wonderful World
by Anthony Lane, New Yorker
What Walt Disney made.

Dining Room Diplomacy
by Andy Isaaeson, Salon
As bombs fel on the Middle East, I cooked a gourmet meal for a group of Arab artists — and between bites of roasted tomatoes and bay lettuce, the world seemed at peace.

Oh, Go Ahead And Insult Us
by Amy Wilentz, Los Angeles Times
What is it about Los Angeles that annoys people so much? Let's face it — everyone needs some place to despise. And we're it.

Pitfalls For Tourists
by Seth Kugel, New York Times
Here is a guide to spending an utterly hideous weekend as a tourist in Manhanttan, taking full advantage of absolutely nothing that the city has to coffer, and getting entangled in as many of its provocations and vexations as possible.

The Apartment Atop The Garage Is Back In Vogue
by Janny Scott, New York Times
The granny falt is back — and not just for grannies.

Bonfire Of The Puggle
by Jonathan Hayes, New York Magazine
Two forensic pathologists, an ex-con, and the hunt for one irresistable designer dog.

The U.K. In L.A.
by David Ehrenstein, LA Weekly
Or, How to be Cary Grant.