 | The Truth Hurts Did the CIA help introduce crack into black ghettos during the '80s? Gary Webb, a San Jose Mercury News journalist, certainly thinks so, and he has the facts to back it up. So why did the reporter's investigative series "Dark Alliance" provoke the scorn of the nation's three most elite newspapers? |
 | Over Hill and Dale An interview with Johnny Hardwick, the voice behind King of the Hill's conspiracy nut and one of the show's writers, provides a glimpse into the workings of TV's kookiest satirical cartoon since The Simpsons. |
 | Doom's Day Got a Brady Bunch-inspired craving for "porkchops and applesauce"? How about a "hanker for a hunka cheese"? The Have A Nice Day Café could be for you. This new national chain, conceived in the tradition of Hard Rock Café and Planet Hollywood, wants to turn the '70s into a recipe for delectable theme-based eats. But is the concept too gaudy for its own good? |
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News & Opinion
Find out why journalist Gary Webb's "Dark Alliance" series, about the roots of the crack trade in black ghettos, elicited a firestorm of criticism from the nation's elite newspapers. Also: a writer examines the deep-rooted culture of Southern whiskey stills; a scientist discovers that prairie dogs talk to each other in complex sentences; and a columnist dissects the confounding patterns of love. [13 articles]
Film & TV
Among other burning questions: How Johnny Hardwick helps FOX-TV's King of the Hill series stay on top of the hill; why viewers who see Nothing to Lose have nothing to gain (three reviews); and how Contact loses touch by equating aliens with paterfamilias. Also: reviews of Hollow Reed, Mother Night, and numerous video releases. [14 articles]
Music
What are the dynamics of pop-music revivalism? An article about the oncoming return to '80s-style music maps out the patterns. (Everybody "wang chung" tonight!) And: if you've ever wanted to know exactly what happens when you play The Wizard of Oz and Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" simultaneously, we've got the spooky answers. [14 articles]
Arts & Leisure
From the primitive Venus of Willendorf fertility goddess to the photorealistic nudes of the 19th-century French Academy, artists are constantly reimagining the female form. An exhibit continues that trend, while a new Georgia O'Keeffe museum tells its own flowery tale. Also: Can a restaurant based on '70s bad taste expect to succeed? [9 articles]
Books
Thomas Pynchon's novel Mason & Dixon challenges the reader with prose that's elegant and ambitious -- but not always reader-friendly. Other reviews touch on works by N. Scott Momaday, Roger Gallo, Jennifer Harbury, and Blake Nelson. Plus: an inkwell of short-fiction winners from Austin, Texas. [7 articles]
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Why nibble on Peanuts when you can gorge on Red Meat? [7 comics]
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