USA TODAY articles from November 2003

USA TODAY archives from November 2003

Celebrating your own special way.(Your Life)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... If the holidays give you the blues, it may be time to take stock of what you want from them and act accordingly--and perhaps boldly--to make them your own, recommends clinical psychologist Herb Rappaport, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa.,...

Keeping family pets safe for the holidays.(Your Life)
November 1, 2003... There is more to making sure feline and canine friends are happy this holiday season than just wrapping up a bone or catnip to place with the other presents. "Whether you are leaving your pet at home or traveling with them during the holidays,...

Stuffing more than the Turkey.(Your Life)(healthy eating during the holidays)
November 1, 2003... Before the decorations are unpacked, invest a little thought in your holiday meals to have a tasty, yet healthy, season, suggests a Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., food and nutrition expert. "The winter holidays cover a good six...

Feet over facials for spa-going men.(Your Life)(Hyatt Resorts survey results)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... A massage is still the most popular spa treatment among men and women, but men did reveal in a survey conducted for Hyatt Resorts by Taylor Nelson Sofres Intersearch that after a massage, they would prefer attention to their feet with a...

Battle of the bulge has its own legs.(Your Life)
November 1, 2003... A brisk walk may be the answer to winning the battle of the holiday bulge, advises Cathryn R. Dooly, physical education professor and director of the Adult Physical Fitness Laboratory and Center, Ball State University, Muncie, Ind. Typically,...

Job prospects tight this season.(Your Life)
November 1, 2003... Greater willingness among current staff to put in additional hours, the welcome return of former, experienced employees, and the significant productivity gains that are being achieved throughout the economy are likely to reduce the need for...

Bosses to workers: lose the flip-flops.(Your Life)(workplace dress)
November 1, 2003... Most American employers feel employees should make changes in their workplace wardrobe choices. "No jeans" topped the list of responses when bosses were asked to identify one thing they would change concerning their workers' attire. The...

Amber clarification.(Your Life)(Correction Notice)
November 1, 2003... "Vanishing Youngsters: No Easy Answers"--the second article of a three-part special report, "The Night-mare of Missing Children," in the September 2003 issue--was the victim of some unclear editing concerning the AMBER Alert Network Act. The...

Success is a feeling, not a possession.(Your Life)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... In The Fearless Executive, author Alan Downs examines the nature of personal and professional success. Among his advice is a warning to avoid the "Six Lies that Will Ruin Your Career." They are: 1. Money will satisfy you. Think of the...

Job satisfaction linked to flexible schedules.(Your Life)
November 1, 2003... Giving employees something to smile about at the office may be as simple as offering them more control over their time, suggests a survey developed by OfficeTeam, Menlo Park, Calif., a staffing service specializing in highly skilled...

Technology will have to keep us cool.(Your Life)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Regulations alone will not stabilize climate or curb global warming, reports an international team of climate and technology experts that includes Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, engineer Howard Herzog. What is needed are...

Silver screen smoking is on the rise.(Your Life)(smoking in movies)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Although the number of American smokers has decreased over the past 20 years, the amount of onscreen puffing has increased, report Daniel Longo and Kevin Everett, professors of family and community medicine, University of Missouri-Columbia....

It's tougher for women to give up cigarettes.(Your Life)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Women smokers may face greater challengers than men when they try to quit, reveals the Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource. A review of several studies found that females tend to be less successful in quitting than males, even though they may be...

Popping the questions not taboo for ladies.(Your Life)(2003 Korbel marriage proposal survey )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... True to their larger leadership roles in business, sports, and society, women also are playing an increasing role when it comes to romance, and society seems to be agreeable. The 2003 Korbel marriage proposal survey revealed the following about...

Can the U.S. continue to flex its economic muscles? Are burgeoning budget deficits, national security overruns, burdensome government regulations, Medicare funding woes, and stiff global competition endangering America's powerhouse status?(National Affairs)
November 1, 2003... THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION campaign hits started early. That usually is a bad time for any serious discussion of public policy. Before we get caught in the campaign crossfire, however, let us examine the serious economic questions facing the...

Affirmative action: the court muddies the waters.(State Of The Nation)(lawsuit analysis)
November 1, 2003... IN ITS 2002-03 TERM, the Supreme Court opened the door to more contention and confusion over the issues of affirmative action and gay rights. In three landmark decisions, the Court assured the country that our tiresome culture wars will...

Deflating the world's bubble economy: "unless the damaging trends that have been set in motion are reversed quickly, we could see vast numbers of environmental refugees abandoning areas scarred by depleted aquifers and exhausted soils....".(Economics)
November 1, 2003... THROUGHOUT HISTORY, humans have lived on the Earth's sustainable yield--the interest from its natural endowment. Now, however, we are consuming the endowment itself. In ecology, as in economics, we can consume principal along with interest in...

"Misunderestimating" the war against terrorism.(World Watcher)
November 1, 2003... GEORGE BUSH is paying the price for never having studied international politics during his Harvard University MBA academic career. It is evident from his Sept. 7 address to the nation that he still has not gotten a grip on the basic structures...

When the punishment doesn't fit the crime: "... federal penitentiaries are filled with relatively minor offenders ... [who] sit in prison, not because their punishment is morally deserved or achieves some social goal like crime deterrence, but because the guidelines have shifted punishment authority to prosecutors and have converted federal trial judges into rubber-stamp bureaucrats.".(Law & Justice)
November 1, 2003... IN APRIL, CONGRESS passed an amendment to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines embedded within the "AMBER Alert" legislation. Although the larger bill was heralded for its provisions protecting kidnapped children through nationwide warnings, the...

Challenging the prison industrial complex: "as states fail to fund health care, welfare, education, and transportation ... the continued growth in corrections spending is extraordinarily stark.".(Law & Justice)(Critical Resistance South conference)
November 1, 2003... DURING A THREE-DAY SPAN in April, more than 1,500 people converged in the historic Treme section of New Orleans, La.--one of the first neighborhoods built and inhabited by free people of color in the U.S.--to address a crisis in their...

Funding school choice programs: "... vouchers or tax credits ... not only will give children access ti better education, [they] will unleast the power of constructive competition that will lead to dramatically improved outcomes in the future.".(Education)
November 1, 2003... SCHOOL VOUCHERS have garnered increased attention as more states have adopted programs allowing families to have a choice of private or public--rather than just public--schools. The idea of school choice traces its history at least as far back...

Making mothers count: the fiscal value of nurturing.(American Thought)
November 1, 2003... WE ARE A COUNTRY in which paid work is valued above all else, and with women doing the overwhelming majority of uncompensated caregiving, mothers are paying the price. Most women--81% in the U.S.--become mothers during their lifetime. Over the...

Women in the workplace--the unfinished revolution: "society has not focused on the need to provide alternative types of care, particularly for children and the elderly, during the time that caregivers are employed.".(American Thought)
November 1, 2003... AMONG THE MANY remarkable upheavals of the 20th century, the huge increase in women's employment stands out. The shift of women to paid labor has led to a widespread transformation of the traditional rules and practices of daily life, not only...

Is there sex after cancer? Patients must focus on the power of love and understanding, rather than the actual mechanics of lovemaking, to enjoy a life of intimacy once again.(Medicine & Health)
November 1, 2003... Patients must focus on the power of love and understanding, rather than the actual mechanics of lovemaking, to enjoy a life of intimacy once again. WHEN THEN -- NEW YORK City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was diagnosed with prostate cancer at age...

Time to capitalize on the ultimate super shelter.(Economic Observer)(tax free rental income)
November 1, 2003... THIS ONE is going to get me in plenty of trouble! How would you like to take money out of one pocket, deduct it as a business expense, then put it in your other pocket tax free? Even better, how would you like to do it legally?! It really is...

"The Greek" invades Italy and Spain: the artist Domenikos Theotokopoulos--El Greco--introduced "such an extravagant style that to this day nothing has been seen to equal it, " noted 17th-century writer Jose Martinez. "Attempting to discuss it would confuse the soundest minds".(Museums Today)
November 1, 2003... THE GREAT 16th-century painter known to posterity as El Greco (1541-1614) was one of the most original artists of his age, celebrated for his highly expressive and visionary religious paintings and psychologically compelling portraits, as well...

The fall of Napoleon and the rise of Romanticism.(Museums Today)("Crossing the Channel: British and French Painting in the Age of Romanticism")
November 1, 2003... WHEREAS TRADITIONAL views tend to stress the impact of early 19th-century French painters on their British counterparts, it also is true that English innovations--notably a new emphasis on pure landscape painting, the experimental,...

Philip Guston: abstract expressionism's provocative pioneer and ultimate critic.(Museum Today)(Biography)
November 1, 2003... BEGINNING with his childhood fascination with popular American comic strips; through mural painting laden with political imagery; to easel painting and a burgeoning interest in, advancement of, and ultimate disenchantment with Abstract...

Winged messengers: does habitat loss signal biodiversity's death knell? Destruction of ecological living spaces is the greatest threat to the survival and preservation of the globe's wide array of animal and plant species.(Ecology)
November 1, 2003... DURING THE 20TH CENTURY, the human population mushroomed from 1,600,000,000 to more than 6,000,000,000. Settlers fanned out along spreading webs of roadway, chiseling settlements into frontier areas. Industries grew, increasing demand for...

Green Cathedrals: the windup.(Sports Scene)(reminiscing about baseball)
November 1, 2003... Another L-O-N-G baseball campaign--early February to late October, at nearly three hours per game, is way too drawn out, at least for my tastes--finally is in the books, the 134th professional season on record. Whew! There was a time--not so...

Celebrating 100 years of flight: a wealth of previously unexhibited aeronautic articrafts is traveling around the country to commemorate the century of technological advances that have unfolded since Orville and Wilbur Wright changed the world of transportation forever.(Science & Technology)(Aerospace Design: The Art of Engineering from NASA's Aeronautical Research)
November 1, 2003... "AEROSPACE DESIGN: The Art of Engineering from NASA's Aeronautical Research" presents a new look at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's wealth of previously unexhibited and unpublished artifacts that not only technological...

It all "adds" up: TV commercials of the future: "with pressure from [digital video recorders], advertisers and ad agencies searching for something to replace the 30-second commercial are utilizing placement with a vengeance, especially in game, reality, ad lifestyle programs.".(Mass Media)
November 1, 2003... "With pressure from [digital video recorders], advertisers and ad agencies searching for something to replace the 30-second commercial are utilizing placement with a vengeance, especially in game, reality, and lifestyle programs." ...

Celebrity journalism and politics.(Words & Images)
November 1, 2003... IT IS A FAMILIAR and disturbing formula. First the media have a field day helping create celebrities for millions to care about and admire. Then, they pass on poorly documented or inconsequential gossip about every aspect of the celebrities'...

Building a DVD library--the Paramount way: almost two dozen Academy Award winners, literary adaptations, comedies, crime films, sports movies, and musicals can provide hours of entertainment during the coming winter months.(Entertainment)
November 1, 2003... HAVING CONSIDERED building a DVD library the Warner Bros. way (USA TODAY, March 2003) and the MGM way (July 2003), let's take a look at what Paramount has to offer. As usual, the choices are idiosyncratic, reflecting the personal tastes of the...

The gears of a clown.(Reel World)(humor and comedy)
November 1, 2003... HAVING WRITTEN 20 BOOKS about comedians and various comedy genres, I frequently am buttonholed about laughter. Yet, no one theory fits all funny situations. Through the years, though, I have managed to collect a menagerie of mirthful...

Go in the snow.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(SnowBoogie sleds)
November 1, 2003... Last winter, our first-grader's teacher told the class that to make it snow, she and her brother wore their pajamas inside out as kids. Our daughter took the advice to heart, convincing her two younger brothers and father to go along and, lo...

Wrap it up!(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(Wrapsacks Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... With the holidays fast--approaching and your purchases piling up, it's time to tackle the dreaded chore of wrapping your gifts. After all the time and energy spent picking out the perfect presents, spend a little time deciding on the gift wrap...

Home shopping bliss.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(Home Shopping Network Inc.)
November 1, 2003... Some people absolutely, positively dread shopping during the holidays. We've never understood that mindset. Gift--buying is an art, a skill, a sport, and a challenge--especially the latter at this time of year. Thus, it is with great...

Elegance prevails.(What's News? Holiday Gifts Galore)(high end Christmas decorations)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Last Christmas, we grudgingly gave up our kitschy decorating style in order to--putting it bluntly--"class up the joint." This holiday season--thanks to our 2002 encounter with Nambe, Orrefors, and Kosta Boda--our lowbrow ways of the past are...

Toy heaven.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(Fisher-Price Inc.)
November 1, 2003... The ultimate gaming experience? Las Vegas? Atlantic City? No, not those types of games--after all, it's the holidays. We're talking about Fisher-Price, Inc., East Aurora, N.Y. When it comes to Christmas and Hanukkah shopping, it's hard to know...

V-Riffic.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(Slimline Notebook)(Girl Fun PC)(Write & Learn Desk)(Product/Service Evaluation)
November 1, 2003... We're endlessly amused when we hear the marketing gurus talk shop, at least when it comes to brand loyalty. They use a lot of fancy terms and champion a number of complicated concepts. Trouble is, they seem to forget the simplest and most...

Mattel magic.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)
November 1, 2003... Certain brand names just scream Christmas presents--Mattel being one of them. This holiday season is no exception as the company has a slew of "how-can-we-resist" items released under the Mattel Brands Consumer Products umbrella, including: ...

All dolled up.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(Magic Attic Club)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Alison; Heather, Keisha, Megan, and Rosa all belong to the Magic Attic Club, the newest doll collection for young girls. These five ethnically diverse best friends find a key to an attic where they discover a wardrobe full of fabulous costumes,...

Dino-mite.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... For some reason, there is an ever--abiding fascination among kids with all things dinosaur. From an early age, they love to look at picture books about these long--extinct creatures, graduating to reading about them, building models, watching...

Christmas clean.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(Caldrea has every cleanser in every scent)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Who can wait until spring to clean up, especially when winter seems so much dirtier? Certainly not the fresh and tidy folks at Caldrea, who must have every cleanser--in every scent--known to man at their Minneapolis, Minn., headquarters. When...

Small patches.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)
November 1, 2003... Bigger isn't always better. While we've nothing against video, computer, or even those real fancy board games that suddenly are in vogue, sometimes, we just like it simple. So it is that we arrive at the store each year looking for merchandise...

Use your head.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(bicycle helmets)(Product/Service Evaluation)
November 1, 2003... Sometimes, even world leaders need a reminder to use their head. Earlier this year when George Bush fell off a scooter, Bell Sports, Santa Cruz, Calif., sent the President and the First Family a set of safety helmets for biking, skating,...

We got the beat.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)
November 1, 2003... Kids simply love to bang and blow on things. Anything to make noise--or in the case of Woodstock Percussion, Inc., Shokan, N.Y., beautiful music. For the bangers are a pair of fun thumpers, Rock Beat Rhythm Sticks ($19.95) and Chimalong Jr....

Glue and go.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... We really don't know how women do it. Honestly! They run around with errands, chores, the kids, their jobs... handling every unexpected crisis with ease and aplomb. Then come the holidays and the workload seems to double while the pace becomes...

Weighing in.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... These days, it's not enough just to know what you weigh; now it's necessary to be aware of your body-fat percentage--just in time for the holidays, no less. Well, if we're going to endure this sort of bad news, we figured we might as well go to...

Go to the hoop.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Back when we were kids, in order to play "driveway" basketball, our fathers would have to get a post digger, cement a 12'-long 4 x 4 into the ground, cut out a wooden backboard, buy a metal rim and nylon net--and spend hours nailing and...

All-star return.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)
November 1, 2003... For more than half a century, fathers and sons controlled the fates of Major League Baseball All-Stars in the palms of their hands--with disks, a spinner, and a few key statistics. In 1993, though, with the video game revolution in full swing...

If the shoe fits.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)
November 1, 2003... Companies, at least the successful ones, listen to their customers. So, when men's footwear and accessories manufacturer Johnston & Murphy, Nashville, Tenn., began getting calls to its consumer service department from business travelers...

Think fun.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(board games from ThinkFun)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Eager to play a mind-challenging game? Then, ThinkFun, Alexandria, Va., has just the game for you: River Crossing--The Perilous Plank Puzzle ($14.99). The object of this innovative brainteaser is to help a hiker cross the river by strategically...

Leap of faith.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(new educational toys from LeapFrog Enterprises Inc.)
November 1, 2003... Leap Frog, Emeryville, Calif., which a few years back revolutionized educational toys with its LeapPad line of computerized notebooks, is at it again. This season's groundbreaking innovations include the "Quantum Leap Line," ushering in an...

Squash blox builders.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(from Mongo Toys L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Gone are the days of searching the neighborhood for a new (and, hopefully, not soggy) refrigerator box, or avoiding Mom's wrath after stealing the sofa cushions to build a fort, because now there are Squash Blox, Mongo Toys, LLC, Hoboken,...

Active stories.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(electronic toy reads stories to children)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... When it comes to storytelling, you'd be hard pressed to top the folks at Disney. And when it comes to having a great Disney tale read to your kids, you'd be even harder pressed to top Story Reader ($30) from Publications International, Ltd.,...

Cuddle up.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(fleece blankets from the Cuddle Shop, Montreal, Quebec)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... So you're all comfy and cozy, nestled in your favorite chair or on your cushy couch, wrapped in a warm, soft blanket, watching TV, listening to the stereo, or perhaps reading a favorite novel. Trouble is, there's an updraft running right up...

Soft toss.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(throws from Textillery Weavers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Comfort is a constant quest for us, whether it be lazing on a couch, trying on a new pair of shoes, or looking for a seat in a movie theater. So, it was with great delight that we discovered the products of Textillery Weavers, Bloomington, Ind....

Tilt!(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(pinball machine from Regent Sports Corp.)
November 1, 2003... Back in our high school and college days, a pinball machine was considered the devil's plaything by parents, teachers, and other adults convinced that hours spent hunched over these games, flipping metal balls around the tilted playing surface...

Lets get creative.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(craft supplies, toys for children)
November 1, 2003... If there's one thing we know about kids, it's that they love to create things. From arts and crafts to growing gardens, youngsters will take every opportunity to express themselves--their final masterpieces becoming endless sources of pride....

Radica rates.(What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore)(two video games from Radica USa)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Radica USA, Dallas, Tex., always has something really cool in its holiday lineup. Our vote this year is for the Play TV Rescue Heroes ($49.99), a homage to those "cool guys who are good guys." Kids can pretend to be their favorite hero and save...

Open Heart: A Patient's Story of Life-Saving Medicine and Life-Giving Friendship.(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... BY JAY NEUGEBOREN HOUGHTON MIFFLIN 2003, 384 PAGES, $24.00 Sixty-year-old novelist Jay Neugeboren seemed to enjoy robust health. He Swam a mile every day, regularly played basketball and tennis against men half his age, and neither smoked...

Museum memo.(museum exhibitions on view)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... What's new in museums around the country? Among the more interesting exhibitions on view are: The Red Rose Girls: An Uncommon Story of Art and Love, Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Mass., Nov. 8-May 31, 2004. Picasso: The Cubist...

Excessive awareness is driving us nuts.(Parting Thoughts)(news coverage and information overload)(Editorial)
November 1, 2003... I CAN'T RECALL WHO, but in a fit of frustration, one of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's characters blurts out, "Too much consciousness is a disease--a thorough-going disease." Although we recognize this as a redundancy, it was meant to point to something...