2004 January

If Hokey Pokey Elmo turns out to be not what it's all about, if Swan Lake Barbie sings a swan song, if the kids' excitement engendered by the tide of Christmas plastic has already dwindled to apathy, one trip to take in...

If you were a Russian who died before 1917, chances were you expected to go to heaven or hell or maybe someplace in between, because most Russians were Christians. But if you were a Russian who died between about 1920 and 1990,...

"Hot-toe-mitty" is an obscure Appalachian expression of surprise and also the name of a new acoustic band, one of many inventive ensembles that have flowered lately in mid-Michigan's chilly soils. You might let out...

It's night one of Koke McKesson's two-day CD release extravaganza at the Firefly — a beautiful October night — and the place is packed with people who all appear to be her very closest friends. Whooping and...

PR hype has eviscerated many words of their meaning, among them the currently ubiquitous diva. Three of these — of the jazz kind — are coming to town this month. This time, don't resist the hype. The University...

In 2001 Tom Bissell, who describes himself as an "adventure journalist," was sent to Uzbekistan by Harper's to cover what has been described as the "greatest environmental disaster in the world": the...