New York Times Magazine, July 12

(posted Thursday, July 9, 1998)

The cover story profiles Bernard Arnault, the French magnate in charge of Christian Dior, Givenchy, Luis Vuitton, and other fashion houses. French critics hate Arnault's "American" business style (profits over politesse) and disregard for fashion history (he puts brash young designers in charge of hallowed clothing lines). Arnault uses the media buzz of couture shows to sell his real moneymakers: perfume and cosmetics. ... A story profiles Betsey McCaughey Ross, the New York lieutenant governor under George Pataki, who is now running as a Democrat against Pataki. She's eccentric and demanding (she regularly fires staff), but she's expected to win the Democratic nomination. No one questions McCaughey Ross' intellect and wonkish understanding of policy. ... An essay claims that baby boomers are ushering in a new buzzword in the funeral industry: choice. Well-made caskets were once the standard of perfection. Now, boomers demand custom coffins, designer funerals, and crematory ashes FedExed to relatives across the globe.

Time and Newsweek, July 13

(posted Tuesday, July 7, 1998)

For the second time in four issues, Newsweek puts a Big Summer Movie on the cover--Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. While Vietnam has always received realistic treatment on film, World War II is only now being portrayed as complex, gory, and miserable. Spielberg's opening, a 30-minute depiction of D-Day, features exploding limbs, shocking head wounds, and bowels that "ooze" from a ripped-apart stomach.

Time's cover story claims we're fed up with HMOs (despite printing a Time/CNN poll showing that 88 percent of us find our current insurance coverage "good" or "very good"). HMOs' decision not to cover Viagra has alerted Americans to all the things their plans don't provide. The story urges us to "speak up, not just to the nurses and doctors but to our employers as well."

Newsweek says self-esteem therapy may be bad for teens. High self-esteem not justified by achievement can lead to higher aggression levels when that inflated self-opinion gets challenged.

U.S. News & World Report, July 13

(posted Tuesday, July 7, 1998)