New York Times Upfront articles from April 2000

New York Times Upfront archives from April 2000

Letters.
April 10, 2000... Pretty Wins, We Lose Ever since people began forming civilizations, girls have been taught that they must be pretty to get a husband ("Cut to Fit," 2/14/00). And now, if you're a guy and you aren't buff, then according to society you...

Next Time, Carry More Kraut.(attempt to walk across the Pacific Ocean is not successful)(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... Remy Bricka had his way-cool pontoon skis for buoyancy, his 22 pounds of sauerkraut (from a sponsor) for sustenance and a dream of walking across the Pacific Ocean in six months. Unfortunately, a storm ended the Alsatian's quest after one day...

Take That, Lara Croft!(virtual music performance becomes a hit)(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... These days, pop stars are so carefully packaged that critics constantly complain about artificiality. But what will they make of E-Cyas, the newest German hit maker? E-Cyas stands for Electronic Cybernetic Artificial Superstar. Last month...

And Then There Were Two.(presidential candidates pledge to work hard through the summer)(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... Time was when a political candidate could relax a bit between the hard-fought primary season and the party's nominating convention. Those days are over. Strategists for Democratic Vice President Al Gore and Republican Texas Governor...

From Zzzzzzzs to Zits.(brief health information on sleep, teenage pregnancy and acne cures)(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... DON'T SKIMP ON SNOOZING: A new study shows that people learn a new skill much better after more than six and preferably eight hours of sleep. Otherwise, skills and factual information may not get properly encoded into the brain's memory...

Rough Stuff.(violence in sports)(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... When does violence in sports cross the line into criminal behavior? That's the question being asked in two communities where high school sports violations have drawn the attention of local prosecutors. In San Antonio, 18-year-old Tony Limon...

COLUMBINE.(Littleton, Colorado, high school one year after shootings)(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... A YEAR OF TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH The students of Columbine High School know more about comebacks than anyone would ever care to learn. Since April 20, 1999, they have been trying to recover from one of the worst incidents of school violence...

"It Still Hurts".(students' opinions one year after shootings at Columbine High School)
April 10, 2000... FOR COLUMBINE STUDENTS, THE STRUGGLE ISN'T OVER Everyone in the world knows what happened at Columbine High School last April 20, but no one outside the school really knows what it has been like to go through the experience--to survive the...

UNDER the GUN.(gun control debate)(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... A FIRST-GRADER KILLS ANOTHER FIRST-GRADER IN THE LATEST SCHOOL SHOOTING, WHILE CONGRESS DEBATES TOUGHER GUN LAWS It was your average Tuesday morning at Theo J. Buell Elementary School, just north of Flint, Michigan. Six-year-old Kayla Renee...

WANTED! FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.(dictators)
April 10, 2000... DICTATORS USED TO BE ABLE TO KILL AND TORTURE THEIR OWN PEOPLE WITHOUT FEAR OF PROSECUTION. NOT ANYMORE. After Antonio Ozimica was arrested in the fall of 1973, he was hung from his wrists and left that way for hours at a time. His captors,...

Digital Hits and Misses.(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... Thanks to an online service called Napster, downloading free music is easier than ever, but that doesn't make it any more legal When the local alternative rock station in Eugene, Oregon, listed the 300 top songs of the millennium last...

Breaking Up An Oil Giant.(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... A 1911 case may hint at Microsoft's future On a May afternoon, spectators crowded into the chamber of the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a long-awaited verdict in a case that would shatter the business world. For years, one company had...

To Save the Next Kayla.(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... Should Congress pass new gun-control laws? YES Every day, gunfire takes the lives of a dozen children in America.... For the past eight months, the leaders in Congress have simply failed to get together to complete a final...

letters.
April 24, 2000... A Red Flag on Race It was with great irritation that I noted the negative light in which you portrayed South Carolina in your stories on the Confederate flag controversy and on lynching ("Flag Furor" and "Mob Justice," 2/28/00). Lynchings...

A Cinematic Smackdown.(World Wrestling Federation refuses to advertise new documentary)(Brief Article)
April 24, 2000... Documentary filmmaking and pro wrestling do not often mix, but now that they have, there's-what else?-a fight. Despite a signed contract, the World Wrestling Federation has refused to run ads for Beyond the Mat, a new documentary about pro...

Spy, Pilot, President.(Brief Article)
April 24, 2000... Russia's newly elected President, Vladimir V. Putin, credits a spy movie with getting him into government. Putin, 47, says that when he was in the ninth grade, the movie The Sword and the Shield inspired him to walk into the headquarters of the...

World's Coolest High School.(Brief Article)
April 24, 2000... No, they're not obelisks from outer space. For students in Diamond Bar, California, this space-age Stonehenge is school. The newly opened Diamond Ranch High sits on a hilltop 40 miles east of Los Angeles, making Disney's Tomorrowland look...

The Agony of Victory.(winner of Intel Science Talent Search)(Brief Article)
April 24, 2000... When Viviana Risca, 17, took top honors in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search last month, she wasn't exactly overjoyed. Instead, she says, she felt "pressure from all over the place." The Port Washington, New York, senior won with an...

GW's Makeover.(marketing of new dollar coin with images of updated George Washington)(Brief Article)
April 24, 2000... The dude cannot tell a lie. In a $40 million advertising blitz by the U.S. Mint, a wry, sly, and totally fly George Washington is selling the government's new golden dollar coin while eating Chinese food, riding the subway, and surfing....

The Day The Software Died.(Brief Article)
April 24, 2000... One day, the free music-swapping software called Gnutella was there for the taking. A few hours and several thousand downloads later, it was not. What happened? It seems Justin Frankel, the 21-year-old programming wizard who sold his...

Violet RITES.(high school hazing)
April 24, 2000... HIGH SCHOOL HAZING IS TAKING MORE EXTREME FORMS, BRINGING CALLS FOR THE ABUSE TO STOP At a suburban Baltimore high school, 14 boys' varsity soccer players drag several freshmen across a muddy field and force them to stand against a wall,...

DIVIDED We Stand.
April 24, 2000... FIFTY YEARS AFTER THE WAR, NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA HAVE BECOME VASTLY DIFFERENT COUNTRIES As Byung Joo Min, 52, reaches the summit of Mount Kumgang in North Korea, she lets out a scream. "Wow, it's more beautiful than I ever imagined," she...

New Doubt.(Brief Article)(Review)
April 24, 2000... Once platinum, now pink, Gwen Stefani & Co. are rocking again Gwen Stefani has gone pink. The No Doubt singer's previously platinum-blonde locks have been dyed and braided, turning her head into a field of bubble-gum-colored cornrows. They...

The War America Lost.(Vietnamese War)(Brief Article)
April 24, 2000... Twenty-five years ago this week, the long, bloody Vietnam conflict ended. But its lessons endure. Desperate men and women clung to the helicopter until the instant of takeoff, begging to climb aboard. But there wasn't room. The Americans...

Should Sports Teams Haze?(Brief Article)
April 24, 2000... Initiation rituals can create lasting bonds--or trauma UPFRONT asked two students at New Canaan High School in New Canaan, Connecticut, for their views on initiation rites for sports teams, which their school bans. YES When I joined...

FROM A TO Z ON THE NET The Purple Pages.(Web sites for teenagers)
April 24, 2000... This is not the Yellow Pages. This is your guide to the most fun, useful, and thought-provoking Web sites for teens. HERE'S THE THING ABOUT THE INTERNET: For every cool site you click to, there's another slow-loading dud that will...