| The Faithful Spy: Amerithrax Spoiler Alert
New York Times correspondent Alex Berenson has written a spy thriller called Faithful Spy. The hero, John Wells, has been undercover so long that the CIA is no longer sure where his loyalties lie. Only the mid-level CIA analyst at Langley, Jennifer Exley, believes in him. But as Zawahiri's plan to unleash the most devastating bioterrorist attack in history unfolds, Wells and Exley know they must stop him, with or without the help of the ass-covering bureacrats at Langley. Spoiler alert: our hero gets the girl. .
The Bible as digital theater
Finding the perfect Jesus was no problem for Carl Amari - he just called up Jim Caviezel, who starred in "The Passion of the Christ" - but making a deal with just the right devil has turned out to be harder than hell. "And you need a good Satan," Amari said with a bit of exasperation, "because Satan has some of the best lines in the Bible." Amari is a 43-year-old Chicago entrepreneur who made a fortune in the late 1980s by salvaging old-time radio shows and repackaging them on cassette tapes. Now Amari sees a golden opportunity in giving the family Bible a serious digital upgrade - he's behind "The Word of Promise," a lavishly produced, word-for-word dramatic reading of the Bible by Caviezel and other Hollywood stars that, when it's completed, will fill 70 CDs. The first part of the project, a 20-CD set of the New Testament for $49.95, will arrive in stores in October.
Odds of Three-Way Tie
Karpagam Rajagopal almost made game-show history on July 3, 2000. That's the day "Jeopardy" aired her second appearance, after she won $7,500 on the previous episode. Entering the final round of wagering, the library specialist from Fallon, Nev., known to her friends as "Jeeks," was tied with her opponents at $5,200. The other two bet everything, a typical strategy on the long-running, long-studied TV quiz show. But Ms. Rajagopal feared she might face a pop-culture question in the category "1962," which was 25 years before she emigrated to the U.S. from India. She bet $5,000. All three contestants correctly answered ... .
All Hands on Holodeck
BY BRETT OPPEGAARD Columbian staff writer Something surprisingly like science fiction is being developed in the basement of WSU Vancouver's Classroom Building. The project started quietly but is now causing a commotion, like the smoke that recently oozed from the mysterious lab's corner doorway. The building had to be cleared. The fire department responded. Professor Dene Grigar sheepishly let everyone know that there was nothing to worry about. It was just mist, coming from one of the peripherals of her new virtual reality lab. Grigar is creating a prototype of a place where dream worlds can become elaborate interactive environments, like the holodeck on "Star Trek." At this point, she needs smoke. No mirrors. She will open the lab to the public for the first time Wednesday.
Why we must address both economics and values
From the 1970s through the mid-1990s, poverty policy was among the nastiest battlefields in the national culture war. Left and right slugged it out over why people were poor and how (or whether) to help them. Conservatives generally enjoyed the upper hand in these debates by focusing on individual-level causes of poverty, like family breakdown, drug addiction, and poor work habits -- pathologies said to be enabled by government largesse. This story line struck a chord with the American public, helping ensure the demise of the federal welfare entitlement and the introduction of strict work requirements in 1996. But since then, a structural understanding of poverty has come back in vogue, fueled by more awareness of globalization and dead-end jobs. Popular books like Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed and Beth Shulman's The Betrayal of Work have drawn a fresh picture of the poor -- as mostly hardworking Americans who can't make ends meet through no fault of their own.
Northern student brings Japanese culture to class
Alaine Seyfried is turning a blank panel above a window at Port Huron Northern High School into a portrait of a Japanese rock star. Alaine, 16, of Fort Gratiot brought her interests in Japanese and art together to paint an acrylic image of Miyavi, a guitarist, singer and pop-culture icon in Japan. .
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