November-December 2004
Contents
Nominees for the 16th Annual Utne Independent Press Awards
Betrayed by the Angel
What happens when violence knocks and politeness answers?
by Debra Anne Davis, from Harvard Review
Modern Lives, Sacred Hills
A modern family makes an ancient pilgrimage
by Anand Ramayya, from Ascent
The New Intimacy
Soul-Mate Mania
It’s new, but is it better? Say hello to “the superrelationship.”
by Craig Cox
I Heart Fake Dating
When the only route to real intimacy is a fake one
by Tim Gihring, from Before the Mortgage
The ABCs of Intimacy
A toolkit for getting closer
by Nina Utne
Interview with Carolyn Hax
The Washington Post advice columnist on intimacy today
by Anjula Razdan
The Architecture of Intimacy
What if the best way to come together is to live apart?
by Nor Hall
Seven Essential Questions for Getting Closer
How to have the most intimate date imaginable
by Kevin Leman, from The Birth Order Connection
Beyond Romance
Nine types of everyday intimacy
by Anjula Razdan
A Cosmic Connection
How one woman channeled her sexual desire into a higher love
by Eliza Thomas
My Imaginary Boyfriend
Most people only dream of a love this real
interview with Amy Sedaris by Laine Bergeson
Singing Truth to Power
Remembering Fela Kuti, Nigeria’s rebel troubadour of political dissent
by Esiaba Irobi, from Black Renaissance
In Fela’s Footsteps
From Lagos to Brooklyn, the Afrobeat goes on
by Keith Goetzman
Beyond Activistism
Action will be taken (though only with careful thought, of course)!
by Liza Featherstone, Doug Henwood, and Christian Parenti, from LiP
We Are Thinking–In New Ways
A response from the front lines of protest
by David Solnit
We’ll Always Have Paris
French theory is dead. Long may it live!
by Jon Spayde
Gaming for Dollars
How a virtual reality turned into real money
by Clive Thompson, from The Walrus
View
Talk to U.S.
The world goes online and talks back to America
by Jacob Wheeler
The Great Open Ocean Sell-Off
Offshore factory fish farms and the push to privatize the high seas
by Craig Cox
“Red Music” Rocks Out
In Vietnam, trendy teens get into old war songs
by Richard Siklos, from COLORS
The Other Guantánamos
Terrorist prisons around the world
from New Internationalist
Networking for the Earth
The Bioneers organization spontaneously becomes a nationwide movement
by Leif Utne
History at the Cellular Level
DNA helps African Americans trace their ancestry
by Julia C. Keller, from Science & Spirit
The Ms. of Baghdad
The first post-Saddam women’s magazine debuts in Iraq
by Lauren Sandler, from Ms.
Tales of Toronto
Cell phones tell the hidden stories of the city
by Anna Bowness, from Broken Pencil
Building as if Life Mattered
Christopher Alexander’s program for a humane architecture
by Eric Utne
Focus: Education
Earth-Based Education
Heading back to the land? Go back to school first.
by Andi McDaniel
Human-Scale Education
Inventing a school that meets real needs
by Satish Kumar, from Green Teacher
The Personal Goes Political
Holistic education centers aim to change the world
by Leif Utne
Meet Professor Seduction
Online lessons in how to find a “totally awesome” date
by Chuck Terhark
Gleanings
John Waters’ Golden Rules of Filmmaking
“Never make a film about your grandmother, unless she’s a serial killer.”
by John Waters, from Moviemaker
Walk Like the Buddha
Strolling slowly in search of Nirvana and, possibly, jail time
by Mike Hudema
Back to the Wild
Why one woman toppled a mansion
by Jim Stiles, from Canyon Country Zephyr
The Omens
How to win a Pulitzer Prize
by Jeffrey Eugenides, from Brick
Elvin & Me
The Doors’ drummer remembers his hero, Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
by John Densmore