JANUARY 1995 WHATWOUIP

EXTRATERRESTRIALS m

i#? onnruiVOL. 17 NO. 4 JANUARY 1995

EDITOR IN CHIEF & DESIGN DIRECTOR: BOB GUCCIONE

PRESIDENT & C.O.O.: KATHY KEETON VP/EDITOR: KEITH FERRELL EXECUTIVE V=/G RAP -IICS D RECTO";: FRANK DEVINO MANAGING EDITOR: CAROLINE DARK ART DIRECTOR: CAIHHYN MEZZO 6 31 First Word Continuum By Elizabeth Taylor i What Would You Say to an Alien? Communications jfff JM By Erin Murphy 9 *. * \ Medicine ja Omni asked everyone By Steve Nadis j from top Microrobots politicians to leading scientists, from

4' cartoonists - celebrities to Electronic Universe fl^P* . __LiaMI what they'd say. Their responses may Omni Treasure Hunt surprise you. Preview Page 48 16 Searching for Dollars: Digs Funding Science Today By Karen Fitzgerald By Robert Fleming 18 American researchers are Wheels feeling the By Ginger Pinholster pressure as Congress 22 tightens the Arts cash-flow spigot. By Steve Nadis 56 24 Strange Wonders in a Wings Stranger Land By Janeen Webb and By Sharon McAuliffe Jack Dann Inside Antarctica, 25 an alien land at the bottom Museums of the earth 66 By J. Blake Lambert 28 Fiction: There Mind Are No Dead By Terry Bisson By Evan I. Schwartz Thought evolution 73 29 interview: delegation, Mihaly Law If you found yourself facing an alien would you By Anita Bartholomew know what to say? Would anyone? President Clinton, Csikszentmihalyi Sobel 104 Arthur Miller, and George Carlin are just some of the people By Dava Games from whom Omni sought an answer. Cover art by 79 By Scot Morris Jim Zuckerman. (Additional art and photo credits, page 103) Antimatter

?M FIRST IAJDRD

YOU CAN NEVER SAY NEVER ENOUGH: The first lady of American film fights AIDS and apathy

By Elizabeth Taylor

that ceiving high acclaim. Though the the ten years of the AIDS cri- with HIV/AIDS. I am hopeful lobbying, beginning to realize AIDS-affected community has Insis that I have spent people are fundraising, and persuading that they cannot sit idiy by while been beautifully expressing its its relentless hopes and joys, pains and sor- the population, I have experi- AIDS continues enced such joy and pain. Each course. Many people are getting rows, for years, it is exciting to time we have gained a small vic- involved because they feel a see that these mainstream media help. are willing to portray the realities tory—in science, in education, in compelling responsibility to public policy, or in caring for Tragically, however, more and of AIDS. Projects like these do people with HIV/AIDS—we have more people are getting involved much to educate the public not been set back by the loss of an- because more and more people only about the realities of the dis- other loved one. are being touched in a very per- ease, but also about the realities

are fighting it. In the face of seemingly over- sonal way through the illness of of those who media have done both a whelming despair, it would be their friends and loved ones. The. easy to give up hope and to give Even after 12 years of the lousy and a great job on AIDS. the of this crisis, up action; to say that it's all too AIDS epidemic, the greatest bar- Since beginning sen- hard to bear. But we are at war rier in the fight against AIDS con- there have been stories that with AIDS! And each time we tinues to be the stigma associated sationalize the issue and play on re- lose in one battle, some friend, with the disease. The stigma of people's fears. While some old or new, steps forward to fight the association of AIDS with ho- port inaccurate information potential to try again to change the wortd. mosexuality and injection sub- which unfairly hypes So we continue to fight this stance abuse continues to make treatments, others continue to enemy that recognizes no social, the battle against AIDS formida- promote old stereotypes—AIDS racial, economic, religious, or na- ble. This is the same stigma that as a disease affecting only gay tional boundaries; at war with an breeds contempt, instead of men or substanceabusers. also pre- enemy whose target is not par- compassion, for those who are The media have touch- ticular groups of "high-risk" indi- affected and infected by HIV, sented very sensitive and realities of viduals but the high-risk behavior It is encouraging to see films ing portraits of the of any individual. such as Philadelphia and plays living with HIV/AIDS. They have In order to win this war, we such as Angels in A'merica re- presented programs that have need tenacious courage and covered the topic in depth with information. They have "Nat until every boldness in educating ourselves accurate public-service programs and man, woman, and our loved ones. In my travels run announcements. and child knows around the world on behalf of the far-reaching capa- the facts about American Foundation for AIDS Given the AIDS can we hope Research (AmFAR) and the Eliz- bilities of the news and entertain- are an incredi- to decelerate abeth Taylor AIDS Foundation ment media, they bly valuable tool for disseminat- the spread ol this (ETAF), I am constantly stressing

information. I implore insidious dis- the need for education. HIV/AIDS ing HIV/AIDS to increase their participa- ease. There Is no education, however cannot be them educa- subject mare just the business of agencies tion through more AIDS campaigns. can do important to tulure and individuals who are working tion They more. generations." the front lines trying to save lives. more. They must do and AIDS are It is everyone's business to know Complacency compatible. cannot stop how AIDS is spread and how we not We our activism, our advocacy, our can protect ourselves. It is the responsibility of every individual pleas for more resources. Most to protect him- or herself and importantly, we must never stop others from infection. caring and giving all the support compassion we can to those I and I am hopeful today as observe the developments in community with HIV/AIDS. With education support and activism against and activism, we may some day terrible AIDS. The American community is render this disease a

slowly becoming more support- memory. I pray that such a day ive and understanding of people may come very soonlCQ connnnuruiCATorus

READERS' WRITES: What matters most—birth, death, or the life that flows

^MSINlER'V'iTIO- between the two? ORPORATtON

Just A Hunch ing between religion and science is [IQ2, healthy, normal, and should be contin- I was disappointed thai Dr. Cappon theologian September 1994] didn't mention the ued. It's obvious to me this most important application of intuition [Robert Russell] is attempting to use through the ages, the real everyday use the good reputation of science to add that determines the outcome of the credibility to religion [Science and Reli- human aptitude—child rearing. Intuition gion], In the future I hope to see the plays an extremely viable role in raising overwhelming weight of scientific fact a child to his or her potential. He speaks crush religion completely, pushing it of hard (yang) applications of intu- back to the Stone Age where it be- Russell would like to keep ition—making money, inventions, and longs. Mr. scientific theory. But what about the theology relevant to the times. Why not relevant soft (yin) uses— mothering, counseling, just admit it has never been and teaching? These don't make a lot of be done with it? Religion has caused money or fame, but they do have far- more harm in every era of human his- reaching effects on the human condition. tory than any other single idea. Polly LaGrave, M.Ed. William McNulty Elberta, AL Seattle, WA

Science versus Religion Enjoy It While You Can ability to argue both "The Other Side of the Bloch" [October I consider the sides of an issue one of the most desir- 1994] was a refreshing admission of being able and rare evidences of true intelli- humanity. I'm tired of people gence. Your October 1994 issue comfortable with death. I've heard all reaffirmed Omni as being at the fore- the pacifiers—the universe is a safe front of intelligent journalism. First, the place, you'll go to heaven, you'll be- UFO Update may seem ridiculous, but come one with the great spirit, you'll nothingness. My the concepi isn't unfounded. Consider disappear into benign what Satan might undertake to explain favorite is the jaded, 'Who cares, the sudden disappearance of thou- what's so great about life anyway?' The sands of people as foretold in the Bible fact is, life is wonderful, and it scares as the Rapture. Alien abduction would the hell out of me that I have limited

I I younger be a viable and [now] acceptable alter- time to enjoy it, When was

I I be- native to a confirmation of Biblical knew I could not die. As aged lieved science would break the mortal- prophecy. Second, I read Hancock's

book [Continuum Lead] last year, and ity barrier. Now I realize that even I am

I that can the first thing any Christian would no- going to die. don't know how

I'll not about tice is that Hancock isn't. The real rea- be, but tell you, I'm happy terrifying, and I'm son no one tried to find the ark in this it. Death is downright so. manner before is because most Chris- with Robert Bloch in saying Smith tians don't dare doubt the Bible. Third, Jane Irvine, CA it seems silly that one would stumble on the lack of a DNA explanation in the AOL: Dakhma Bible [Science and Religion], Evolution doesn't adequately explain the origins Editor's note: Robert Bloch died Sep- His work lives. of DNA either. It's still the old chicken tember 23, 1994. and egg argument: You can't have life without DNA and vice versa. As we Got something to say but no time to move toward the year 2000, with Bible write? Call (900) 285-5483. Your com- prophecies unfolding daily, the melding ments will be recorded and may appear

of science and religion is a subject one in an upcoming issue of Omni. The cost cannot afford to ignore. for the call is 95 cents per minute. You Jeffrey M. Cook must be age 18 or older. Touch-tone Lynnwood, WA phones only. Sponsored by Pure Enter- tainment, 505 South Beverly Drive, October issue, was Beverly Hills, CA 90212. I just read the and Suite 977, somewhat alarmed. The chasm exist- ruiEDiciruE

FANTASTIC VOYAGE:

Traveling the body in microrobotic style'

By Steve Nadis

Researchers at MIT's Arti- surgeon Richard Satava. tract in the presence of an elec- ficial Intelligence Lab The technology allows the mi- tric field. If their efforts prove

have plans to go where crorobot to work in conjunction successful, McLurkin believes it no man, woman, or "mobot" has with light and a camera; if some- will soon be possible to build a ever gone before —into a dark, thing unusual is spotted, the one-cubic centimeter robot'that slimy, and winding tunnel known controlling physician might take is small enough to enter the as the large intestine, or colon. a sample (a biopsy), or possibly small intestine and other realms The microrobot—named Cleo snip off little growths or polyps of the body. and little more than an inch in and stop intestinal bleeding with Cubic millimeter-sized "gnat" width, breadth, and height—was lasers or electricity. "We can do robots, the ultimate goal, could devised by 22-year-old MIT se- all these things today in a proce- wander about anywhere in the nior James McLurkin, who ad- dure called colonoscopy, but that digestive tract, plus the ears, mits to having "always liked involves pushing a long tube into bronchial tubes, and blood- small things." Cleo is about the a person which is extremely un- stream. Robots might be swal- smallest thing on two treads going comfortable," Satava says, "A lowed in pill form, inserted in the these days and it's also among small instrument like a microro- bronchial tubes with a tongue the smartest. It can find a path bot has the potential to be much depressor, injected into blood between obstacles, move toward less painful and much less dan- vessels, or simply march into the or away from light, avoid hills, gerous." He predicts that robotic and grasp objects with a small colon surgery could be possible claw. All these actions can be within five to ten years. initiated by a person operating a Robotic surgery is not alto- joystick. Cleo can also function gether new. "Robodoc," for in- on its own, untethered, making stance, Is used during hip re- its way through a plastic colon placement surgery to bore a pre- maze, for instance, by bumping cision hole in the hip bone for an into a wall, backing up, and shift- artificial replacement part. Ro- ing its direction ever so slightly. bots have also helped neurosur- Cleo is the fourth so-called geons determine the exact "ant" created by McLurkin—and position of brain tumors. But Cleo the product of an effort certainly is among the first to be designed disproportionate to its modest to go inside the human body. Be- size, To gather all its miniature fore that happens, though, sev- parts, McLurkin pored through eral problems Uave to be solved. "catalog after catalog, making a Locomotion is the most press- ears, Though some may be million phone calls, always ask- ing challenge. The large intestine frightened by the notion of au- ing the same question: 'Do you is wet, slippery, and elastic, with tonomous robots moving through have anything smaller?'" sharp curves and loops—factors the body on their own, Satava

The project is funded by the which make it "a difficult environ- counters that concern: "It's not

Advanced Research Projects ment to move around in. It's like any more worrisome than major Agency (ARPA) in the Department driving on a Jell-0 mold," ex- surgery, where you're put com- of Defense which is looking to re- plains Art Shectman, an MIT se- pletely to sleep and operated on mote surgery as a long-term goal. nior who is working on the when you're completely open,"

According to this vision, someday problem. Size, too, is a factor. It may be quite a few years remote manipulators (robot arms) Cleo's motors—which at 7 mm in before anything as futuristic as might perform surgery on U.S. diameter and 17 mm in length this high-tech version of the 1966 soldiers around the world, guided are among the smallest that can classic, Fantastic Voyage, is in by physicians back home. For be bought today—were taken common use, but McLurkin is the nearer term, the agency re- from vibrating beeper devices. optimistic about the future. "This gards colon examinations and MIT graduate student Anita Flynn is not pie-in-the-sky," he insists. surgery as the most immediate and undergraduate Dean Franck "Sooner or later, one way or an-' applications. "A diagnostic task are trying to build much smaller other, robotic surgery is gonna such as looking for cancer is the motors made out of piezoelectric happen." Now that really will be main motivation," explains ARPA materials which expand or con- a fantastic voyage.DO ELECTRONIC UNIVERSE

ELECTRONIC EVOLUTION: Computer entertainment enjoys another renaissance

By Gregg Keizer

ka-bang, ka- sooner rather than later. even sharpens the video on Ka-bing, SegaCD titles. A small set of boom. In case you're Can I see your I.D., kid? software, including potential hits wondering what all that Game violence made headlines such as Virtua Racing Deluxe noise is about, just listen care- during 1994 when Congress ratings and the already-mentioned fully: It's electronic entertainment pushed publishers to put biggest bottleneck. flexing at the joints, trying to ac- on boxes or face senatorial Doom, is its Nostalgia 1995. If they can re- commodate changes in digital music, Everyone jumped to fall Woodstock, they can recy- temperature. Some things are into line, but the result—at least cycle classic videogames. As the cooling off quicker than a Mon- two different ratings systems by cle generation of videogamers tana winter, while others are the end of the year, each sup- first turning 30 heating up faster than a middle- ported by a different industry as- starts to worry about we'll see a crowd of aged gamer's hot flashes. sociation— is unnecessarily (or even 40), of yesteryear Bring out your dead! That muddy. Still, ratings will quiet the face-lifted games appear. Activision's Return to 386SX PC tucked into a corner of critics and provide conscientious guid- Zork and Microsoft's Arcade your house just won't cut it any- parents with at least some the blast-from-the- more. Nothing pushes the hard- ance on what's appropriate for jump-started Ninten- ware envelope harder than their kids. Ratings won't quell the past genre. Next up are entertainment—you can only violence within games, though; do's Donkey Kong Country and Activision's Pitfall: The Mayan type so fast in a word processor, star witnesses are Acclaim's Adventure. This is just the begin- but animation had better fly if .it's Mortal Kombat II, which is even of the videogame version of going to be persuasive— a fact bloodier than last year's model ning Classic. Rock radio. of computer life that translates and Doom, the gutshooting festi- in action. Interactive into an insatiable appetite for fast val on the PC (and on other plat- Missing hot news in 1994, but processors and lots of memory. forms, including the new kid- TV was don't expect to see it in the In fad, with Intel dropping prices ready Genesis 32X). headlines this year. And don't ex- of its top-flight Pentium micro- Play Myst for me. The phe- the TV processor and computer makers nomenal success of Myst, pect to be playing with soon. Test sites of new doing the same for their Pentium- Broderbund's adventure/puzzle anytime including the based PCs, these fast machines game, proves there's a major cable offerings, (videogames are fast becoming the home market for CD-ROM titles aimed Sega Channel downloaded to your Genesis), user's dream machine. If you're at adults who want to think, not joystick. got off to a slower-than-expected The phenomenal upgrading the PC this year, it twitch their thumbs on a 1994 and don't seem to success of makes sense to skip past a 486 Anything that's been on the best- start in is to be getting anywhere fast. CD-ROM lilies like and head straight to a Pentium. seller lists this long sure they're young. Such advice may be contrary to spawn a slew of look-and-act- Get 'em when Make multimedia PCs and Macs flfytfmay Insane a my midyear prediction, but if alikes, good news for anyone affordable to the average family, new crop ol Windows 4.0 is as game-friendly who enjoys nonviolent computer people will swamp super- nonviolent com- as some early tests seem to indi- games, And since Myst is less a and it and warehouse clubs, puter games. cate, you'll want the extra power "guy thing" than most games, stores may even spur publishers into eager to buy a machine for the making more titles tantalizing to home. That trend, which cranked both men and women. up in late 1993, continues. The Sixteen bits on a dead man's result is a glut of good kids' soft- chest. Although existing 16-bit ware on CD, from Broderbund's videogame machines are far Math Workshop (one of the best call math titles I've seen in years) to from dead— I stand by my that they'll keep you entertained Microsoft's Creative Writer, a writ- through the end of 1995—Sega's ing tool that's also moved to CD- trying to shove us up to 32-bit. Its ROM. Even videogames are Genesis 32X add-on should going after tots and tykes: Sega serve as a bridge between past has launched Kid Club, which Genesis and future, since it's affordable features several games ($149), beefs up the Genesis' aimed right at pre-schoolers and color count (to over 32,000), and early elementary-aged kids.DQ ti —

BEFORE THE DELUGE: Dam construction in Turkey threatens invaluable archaeological sites

By Karen Fitzgerald

fifth-largest rock- Samsat, near the Euphrates, artifacts found so far reflect a Theand-earth dam in the was one of the first victims of the culture distinct from the Sumeri- world, the Ataturk is the dam project. A bustling city of ans. The great size of the site third of 21 dams the Turkish gov- 50,000 during the Roman Em- 100 hectares—suggests it was a ernment intends to build on the pire, Samsat goes as far back as city of a population unheard of Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Sup- the Neolithic Period. A rich site before the development of agri- plying irrigation water and hydro- like this would normally take culture and civilization. Watten- eleciricity, the dam promises to decades to excavate, but ar- maker believes the prehistoric transform the vast dust bowl of chaeologist Nimet Ozguc of the city was an independent seed of southeast Turkey into a bread- Turkish Historical Society and her civilization, perhaps one of many basket that could feed all of the team had only 11 years to work independent city-states through- Middle East and Europe, too, ac- before the water came rushing in out the Middle East that nurtured cording to Vassar College geolo- in the late 1980s. cultural advances at about the gist Yildirim Dilek, who has Archaeologists from Ankara same point in history. University, working under the di- Her team has excavated rection of Olus Arik, have begun Kazane Hoyuk for only two sum- Dam construction ~' ' r ~". ' ™ :":--. another emergency excavation at mers, and only five to seven more imperils sites 1 i such as Kazane a town called Hasankeyf, due to years remain before irrigation be submerged upon the comple- construction concludes there. Hoyuk, which y r boasts pottery tion of the Tigris's llisu Dam in Then the land will be devoted to

(right) dating hack about six years, Many archaeolo- agriculture year round, making to 5000 B.c. gists consider Hasankeyf the most archaeological excavation too and Harran, home wrenching loss because of its expensive to continue. Ironically, of ancient striking buildings. "Hasankeyf is archaeologists would probably Harran University filled with masterpieces of Is- never have discovered the (below). lamic architecture," says archae- Kazane Hoyuk site if not for the ologist Guillermo Algaze of the large irrigation channel that now University of California, San Diego, cuts through the modern town. The dam region, holds the During its construction, bulldoz- only clues to the intersection of ers kicked up prehistoric pottery the Mesopotamian cultures to that tipped off Wattenmaker to the south and the Anatolian cul- the importance of the site. tures of ancient Turkey to the Although she knows her days north, Algaze explains. Only four at Kazane Hoyuk are numbered, known sites record the incursion Wattenmaker has only praise for of the Sumerian culture of Meso- the Turkish government's efforts potamia into Anatolia, he says. to excavate the sites before flood- The Carchemish Dam, planned ing. She and other archaeologists for the Euphrates River, will put point out that other countries, in- three of them under water. cluding the United States, do studied the dam's impact. Yet another threatened site, much less when technology en- But to make way for the fu- Kazane Hoyuk, may contain arti- croaches upon archaeological ture, pieces of the past must be facts that overturn conventional material, a not-uncommon occur- sacrificed. The dam project has notions of how and where civi- rence. "It happens literally every already flooded hundreds of ar- lization began. A tablet found there day, everywhere in the world," Al- chaeologically significant sites recently is written in cuneiform, gaze says. along the Euphrates and will af- the first system of writing, de- Regardless, the massive scale fect hundreds more before com- vised by the Sumerians. Some of the dam projects in a country pletion; The clock is ticking for archaeologists consider it an- so rich in antiquities makes the archaeologists scrambling to other example of Sumerian cul- Turkey's case particularly poign- excavate Ihese potentially invalu- ture spreading into Turkey, but ant. Turkey boasts more than able sites before the water rises. University of Virginia archaeolo- 40,000 recorded archaeological Much of the region is virgin terri- gist Patricia Wattenmaker, a di- sites, and half the country hasn't tory to archaeologists. rector of the excavation, says the even been explored.DQ IAJHEEL5

AMAZING AMPHIBIAN: Traveling around the world in the Surface Orbiter

By Ginger Pinhoister

all started with a trip to Aus- when Karen captured Rick's im- other way, which was kind of ag- Ittralia, where show-car crafts- promptu boxing match with a gravating," he says mildly. "The man Rick Dobbertin got kangaroo on videotape. By par- compass would show 35 de- 310." decked by a kangaroo. Dob- laying the tape to television's To- grees, then it would show bertin, 41, and his wife, Karen, tally Hidden Videos, they won Since its hull was originally were touring Down Under to pro- $10,000 worth of seed money for designed to haul 32,000 pounds mote his 1985 Pontiac J2000, their amphibious car. of milk, however, the Orbiter re- Hot Rod magazine's "Hot Rod of At press time, they were mained watertight, "it's a double- the Year" for 1986. chugging slowly through the walled stainless steel tank, That's when Dobbertin— Caribbean in their Dobbertin insulated, and obviously if it held bored with muscle cars:—de- Surface Orbiter, an amphibious milk in, it could hold water out," cided to build an amphibious converted 1959 Heil milk tanker Benedict notes. vehicle suitable for circling the known on the water as Persever- The 32.5-foot stainless steel globe. "Someone said, 'Hey ance. After island-hopping to monstrosity created quite a stir in mate, how'd you get [the J2000] South America and past the the Bahamas, where local police

here, drive it?' Then it dawned on equator, they'll steer north for a insisted on "escorting" the cou- him to create a machine you ac- pit-stop in California, using a ple, and witnesses kept asking: tually could drive across conti- large compass and global posi- "Are you crazy?" In Nassau, Rick nents," explains Loren Benedict, tioning system to navigate. From says, "a guy said he wanted to project manager for the trek. there, it's on to the Aleutian Is- watch us launch because we The Dobbertins weren't sure lands, Japan, the Philippines, would sink." at first how to bankroll their Australia, India, Africa, and Eu- Powered by a 6.5-liter GM dream, but Lady Luck intervened rope. They hope to complete the turbo-diesel engine with a Penin- trip by September 1996. sular marine conversion, the Or- The Dobbertin The Dobbertins began their biter also includes a Hydra-Matic Surface Orbiter incredible journey on December 4L80E automatic transmission a $175,000 19, 1993, after signing new wills and Borg-Warner transfer case. and chipping through ice for a It relies on standard amphibious test ride around Lake Cazenovia. technology: When moving from Capable of 70 miles per hour on land to water, the Dobbertins the highway and "sailboat simply slip a collar from one speeds" (6 knots) in the water, drive shaft to another, switching the Orbiter's gray cockpit was from four-wheel drive to propeller comfortable enough as Rick and mode. To climb back onto land, Karen zigzagged south toward they engage two front tires. "It's a Florida, traveling about 12 miles 'push-me, pull-me' operation," on each gallon of diesel fuel, Benedict explains. But the going got tough at Design modifications may 2:00 a.m. on March 5, 1994 help the Dobbertins avoid a se- when they launched from Key quel to their spin-cycle experi- Largo, Florida, and plunged into ence in the Gulf Stream, Rick the Gulf Stream for a stomach- tried attaching the severed bow churning, 17-hour crossing to the of a shipwrecked power boat to

Bahamas. "I was seasick," re- the Orbiter. "We looked like the calls Karen, a 35-year-old interior Beverly Hillbillies," he says, decorator. "Rick had to man the adding that steel fairings might

helm the whole time." Though help, too. Because it rides low in they had encountered five-foot the water, however, Rick claims waves during practice runs on the vehicle isn't likely to sink. "I Lake Ontario, Rick was surprised don't think it's a life-or-death ve- by swells topping 10 feet in the hicle," he says. "If the engine

ocean, "In one second, we would blew up and we were set adrift, it be turned one way, and the next would just bob around like a second, we would be turned the cork—a vomit-filled cork." Dd a ARTS

THE RECLAMATION PROCLAMATION: A band of artists unites to reinvent urban planning

By Steve Nadis

was a museum like no other: do, which ensures diverse mes- undeveloped riverfront property Ittwo dozen art installations sages and points of view," ex- in Boston, in the face of current scattered amidst an industrial plains MIT sculptor Joan plans to turn it into a generic wasteland, creating some un- Brigham, the group's current co- hotel and condo park. "We attention to what likely juxtapositions—wind-driven ordinator. It also gives members, should pay mobiles sharing space with from world-renowned artists to makes places unique so that burnt-out vehicles; headless, flat- students, equal opportunities to everything doesn't look the tened human figures pressed exhibit their work. "For too long, same. The repetition of the same against a chainlink fence; and curators have completely con- old formulas is killing America," stone benches situated near dis- trolled what the public can see. Brigham notes, suggesting carded chunks of concrete. The This is about artists taking back there's got to be another way for site at North Point, an obscure their rights." public spaces to be. developed. parcel of land straddling the It's also about getting the One problem, she adds, is that Boston-Cambridge, Massachu- public involved in decisions the design of our cities goes on input setts, line, is cut off from general about how land in their region is with little or no public — use by highways, a rail bridge, used. The first step is to set-up fact that RA desperately hopes and the Charles River. The ex- exhibitions that lure people to ne- to change. parallels the efforts hibit opened on April 30, 1994, glected urban enclaves—partic- This effort stuck around for a month, and ularly land threatened by the of other artists "trying to promote then quietly vanished—another Central Artery Tunnel project, the the idea of democracy as a par- hit-and-run job by the Reclama- largest highway building project ticipatory process," explains tion Artists (RA), in the country. "We use art as a New York art critic Eleanor Heart- The group of more than 100 catalyst to get people to look at ney, co-curator of a show on Boston-area artists and land- things," says Cambridge artist "Public Interventions" which was scape architects formed in 1989 Laura Baring-Gould, At North held at the Institute of Contem- with the goal of "reclaiming" land Point, she installed three sculp- porary Art (ICA) in Boston from 1994. ex- intervention, a apparently bypassed by devel- tural pieces—copper benches, April 27 to July 17, The artwork feather labyrinth opment plans and producing which she calls "bleacher seats hibit focused on public for so- by Marty Cain, outdoor exhibitions thai present on the heart of the city. You can that "agitates in some way

it cial change," featuring the works is one ol many alternative visions for urban sit here and see all the things site-specific planning. The April show was the takes to make a city function- of RA, other art collectives, and "Art is Installations de- sixth of seven exhibitions so far, trucks moving in and out, com- individual artists. starting galleries," signed lo with more planned- for 1995 and muter trains on the bridge, and to move, out of the this direct the pub- beyond. By design, all RA shows boat traffic on the river." H.eartney says. "And through are not just attempt.- lic's attention are uncurated. "People are free RA is drawing attention to work, artists to neglected land. to do exactly what they want to North Point, the last half-mile of uuiruGS

LAWRENCE HARGRAVE: Unheralded aeroplane pioneer By Janeen Webb and Jack Dann

November 12, 1894, tions. Instead, he scrupu- Gabriel Voisin built the first OnLawrence Hargrave, lously published the results of commercially available aircraft, the Australian inventor nis exper ments. based on the stable lifting sur- of the box kite, linked four of his The first successful aircraft in- faces of Hargrave's box kites, he kites together, added a sling corporated three crucial aero- called them "Hargraves." seat, and flew 16 feet. By dem- nautical concepts developed by In 1889 Hargrave revolution- onstrating to a skeptical public Hargrave: the cellular box-kite ized engine technology by in- engine, that it was possible to build a wing, the curved wing surface, venting the radial rotary safe and stable flying machine, and the thick leading wing edge which reappeared (unacknowl- Hargrave opened the door to (aerofoil), The Wright brothers edged) in modified form in 1908 other inventors- and pioneers. had access to Hargrave's work as the French Gnome engine. Al- The Hargrave-designed box kite, through the aviation annuals though as early as 1892 Har- with its improved lift-to-drag published by James Means, and grave had voiced his opposition ratio, was to provide the theoreti- Octave Chanute's Progress in to the idea of the "connection of cal wing model that allowed the Flying Machines. Chanute, who the flying machine with dynamite development of the first genera- corresponded with the Wright missiles," the rotating radial en- tion of European airplanes. brothers, devoted a section of gine was extensively used in mil- In the 1890s a small number his book to Hargrave's experi- itary aircraft until it was super- of inventive technologists were ments. Bui the Wright brothers, seded by new engine technolo- working to translate infant avia- constrained by politics and gies many years later. tion theory into airplanes, Lead- patent problems of their time,' Hargrave's concern for the ing the race was Hargrave, a admitted no influences. peaceful promulgation of knowl- quintessential nineteenth-cen- The direct line of Hargrave's edge was evidenced in his con- tury gentleman scientist of inde- influence on the evolution of fly- cern for the safe placement of Lawrence pendent means. A gifted ex- ing is more discernible in Eu- his working models in an envi- Margrave's flying plorer, astronomer, amateur histo- rope. The French (who thought ronment open to the public. The machines, rian, and practical inventor, that France was the cradle of only museum thai would meet his based on the box Hargrave devoted most of his life aviation) freely acknowledged terms was the Deutsches Tech- kite, provided to constructing a machine that Hargrave's influence:'Alberto nological Museum in Munich. It is

Inspiration for would fly, He believed passion- Santos-Dumont was the first Eu- ironic that most of Hargrave's many of ately in open communication ropean to fly a heavier-than-air 176 working models were de- aviation's pioneer within the scientific community machine constructed of Har- stroyed in the Allied aerial bom- designers. and would not patent his inven- grave box kites in 1906. When bardment of Germany during

World War II. The 25 surviving models were restored in the 1960s to Sydney, Australia's Pow- erhouse Museum, which is stag- ing an exhibition to mark the cen- tennial of Hargrave's first flight. Octave Chanute wrote in

1894 that "If there be one man more than another who deserves to succeed in flying, that man is Mister Lawrence Hargrave of Sydney." But Hargrave never did solve the power-to-weight ratio problem. His 1902 design was put to the test in 1992 when stu- dents at the University of Sydney rebuilt his aircraft from the origi- nal blueprint, replacing Har- grave's power plant with a modern one.

It fiew.DQ —a nnusEunns

VIRTUAL GALLERIES: Museums weave a web of online exhibits

By J. Blake Lambert

Having seen enough of award in 1994. In addition to fa- Rowing Museum, the Singapore the art on display at the mous paintings (there's an espe- Art and History Museum, Louvre for the moment, cially good selection of Impres- Jerusalem Mosaic, and London's you pop over to the London Trans- sionist art), there's also French Natural History Museum. port Museum for a look at some medieval art, as well as an excel- Online museums reach a historical hardware. Then it's off lent text and image tour of Paris. global audience. As Robert Gu- to Berkeley to check out the Uni- The University of California at ralnick, museum Internet special- versity of California's paleontol- Berkeley Museum of Paleontol- ist at the University of California ogy exhibit. No, you haven't ogy Public Exhibit is a virtual mu- Museum of Paleontology, ex- leased a Concorde for the day seum arranged by animal plains, "In August we have had you're touring the museums of groups. (The Mammal Hall splits visitors from 41 different coun- the world via the Internet's World off into placental, marsupial, and tries—including the former Soviet Wide Web, sitting comfortably in monotreme mammal rooms, for Union—view our World Wide front of your home computer. exampfe.) While traveling from Web server." The museum sends Museum discussions, art col- room to room, a virtual guide ex- more than 6,000 files to online lections, virtual exhibits, and plains what's being displayed. visitors each day. more await the online visitor. In- Kevin J. Comerford, visual re- stead of walking through exhibit- source librarian and manager of Museums filled hallways, you view works on information technology at the accessible on Die a display that looks much like a Dallas Museum of Art, stresses internet turn color newspaper page, Just point the- benefits of being able to your computer's and click on any topic of interest reach "literally millions of people screen Into to retrieve text, pictures, or sounds. worldwide, at an amazingly low a virtual gallery of You can climb on the World cost." Even visitors to the actual some ot Wide Web from a home page— museum benefit, since they are the world's great listing of Internet locations that fit able to "take home part of the artworks. a particular interest. There's no museum (in the form of digital better place to start museum images)," Comerford explains, browsing than the Virtual Library and to "keep in touch with mu- Museums page, created by seum events and exhibitions."

Jonathan Bowen. To start brows- Even if you don't have Internet ing, connect to http://www.com- access, you'll find that many on- lab.ox.ac.uk/archive/other/mus- line services have their own ex- eums.html using Mosaic or Lynx. cellent museum resources. A good first stop is the EXPO, America Online hosts the Smith- which takes Internet visitors sonian Institution, with great pho- through four exhibits based on tos of exhibits, as well as the Library of Congress material: The San Francisco Explorato- National Museum of American Rome Reborn (20D images from rium presents information and Art, which has over 260 images the Vatican Library); the Soviet schedules about the actual phys- of American paintings and folk Archive Exhibit (previously secret ical museum, along with a series art. America Online's Library of documents); 1492, An Ongoing of images related to the museum Congress section contains Voyage (focusing on the years and its exhibits. These include mostly text, but offers photos in 1492 to 1600); and Scrolls from some interesting artworks by the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. the Dead Sea. artists-in-residence. Museums around the world Next, you might jump over to There's far too much accessi- are opening the doors wide for Fiat Lux, an online exhibit of ble from the Museums home virtual visitors. Guy Hermann, in- Ansel Adams photographs com- page to completely list here, but formation systems manager for missioned by the University of other exhibits include the Smith- Mystic Seaport Museum, says California. Some of the images of sonian, Bodleian Library manu- that, as Internet access be- UC campuses and research fa- scripts at Oxford, the Museum of comes easier, "the 'great' muse- cilities are spectacular. New Zealand, the Institute of ums are going to be the ones LeWebLouvre is an awesome Physics in Naples, the London which provide the best access to site which won a Best of the Web Transport Museum, the River and the most information" online.00 nniruD

THE CHANGING MINDS OF CHILDREN: Growing up in a context-free reality

By Evan I. Schwartz

J^% college basketball coach tention to videogames and elec- mation," he notes. "When you're m^^L recalls the players he tronic media than they do when able to context-switch effectively, m % led a generation ago they read or listen to a lecture. it allows you to be more tolerant reading books on the bus to pass Changing environments means of other viewpoints." the time. Today, they don their changing neural wiring, The "Some people would say the Walkman headphones and break human has perhaps the most new technology puts us another out their Nintendo Gameboys. malleable brain of all creatures; notch away from rhoughtfulness," For years, the coach diagrammed young brains are the most plas- Pribram adds. "Will we use our plays on a blackboard, repre- tic of all, developing neural con- brains less thoughtfully? With senting opposing players with Xs nections up to age 14. Today's massive computer storage, we and Os. More recently, however, youth seem better able to process are less dependent on memory, he began noticing the athletes many different contexts at once, everything is momentary. We'll do not understand the plays un- says neuroscientist Karl Pribram, have to find new ways to alert less he shows them videos of the director of the Center for Brain people to the past. Hypertext is click teams in action, "The kids have Research and Information Sci- one technique—just on changed over the years," he ences at Radford University in something, and it will trigger a says. "They seem to have lost Virginia. Minds nurtured on elec- reference from the past. We'll their abstract thinking skills." tronics become adept at context only have to remember the trig- Such stories are rather typical switching, going back and forth gers. We'll have to develop bet- these days. And they are send- between two or more different ter triggers to the past." ing childhood psychologists and scenes or entire programs. Does this mean the brain is neuroscientists down a new path People can handle massive changing in an evolutionary of Inquiry: Are new technologies amounts of information, Pribram sense? Not that obviously. The altering the structure and abili- explains, provided it's in a con- genetic blueprint takes thou- ties of the human brain? text—a narrative story or docu- sands of years to vary signifi- Biopsychologist Sherry Ding- mentary news format, for instance. cantly. But for all practical pur- man, assistant professor of psy- Context overload comes when poses, "our culture has changed chology at Marist College, you don't have time to make the the way the brain develops," Pri- suggests that children today are information a part of yourself. bram concludes. Says Dingman: developing awesome capabili- "When you're multitasking on TV "We have invented technology ties in their right cerebral hemi- or a computer, you're processing that is changing us, and we have spheres "at the expense of a tremendous amount of infor- to pay more attention to it."DQ left-hemisphere skills.'' The left What will be cerebral cortex, she says, is the effect on our specialized to process language cognitive and abstract functions such as and perceptual translating a narrative from a systems book into a visual image in the as ttiey conlranl mind. The right cerebral cortex an em- is specialized to process visual Increasing and imagery, such as video. The quickening faster and more intense the vis- electronic oul- ual information, the more work and practice the right brain gets. The result, Dingman says, is a generation ot "children who may be deficit in left-hemisphere skills," and who can become ad- dicted to the fast-action elec- tronic visual feast. By contrast, the "camera angle" in a class- room or book never changes. This helps explain, she thinks, why children seem to pay more at- —

LAIAJ

WHEN COMPUTERS COPY STYLE: The case against Hal and the future of-copyright

By Anita Bartholomew

was a landmark event in the could emulate. By the time he sann estate gets about 50 per- Itevolution of computer intelli- was finished, he came up with cent of the profits. Looking back, gence when Just This Once over 20,000 rules which Hal then French says copying Jacqueline was published by Carol Publish- transformed into Just This Once. Susann's style may not have ing in 1993. The first novel au- But getting it published was been the best choice. He's think- thored by a computer— Hal, a almost as difficult as getting it ing of switching genres. Yet, the Macintosh IICX to be precise written. As French recalls, "I had case raises some interesting the book may end up as a land- publishers and editors who read questions about the viability of mark in legal circles as well. it, who knew Jacqueline Susann current copyright practices in to- Scott French, who gets "as and said, 'This is my project, this day's increasingly electronic told to" credit on the book's is great.'" Then the Susann es- market. It also suggests the need cover, decided it might be possi- tate threatened a lawsuit, and for some hard thinking about the ble to program an artificial intelli- enthusiasm in the publishing integration of artificial and gence system to "learn" style. community withered. For a while, human intelligence. While these His goal: to produce the novel no one would touch the book. Fi- are not issues easily resolved, Jacqueline Susann would have nally, French connected with the case against Hal does high- written next, had she lived. Steven Schragis. who heads light the shifting ground that has French fed Hal two earlier nov- Carol Publishing. Schragis, a many publishing industry insid- els, with instructions on ers worrying about text the formula that made online, electronic rights, Imitation, as Susann the top-selling multimedia expansion, the saying goes, novelist of all time, Just and the application of may be the This Once is not a copy legal constraints not only slneeresl form ol of Susann's books; it's an on the men and women flattery, but original, but based on who program comput- as Scott French her style and formula. ers, but also on the in- discovered, French's dream of creasing ability of com- II may just land playing midwife (mid- puters to generate their you In a husband?) to a com- own dialogue. court ol law. puter-generated novel Undeterred by the came true when he dis- lawsuit, French recently covered an expert sys- called a best-selling au- tem shell (the framework thor of spy novels and for an artificial intelli- asked if the author gence program) that did would object if Hal were everything the $100,000 programmed to emulate shells did for $94,000 less. French lawyer himself, figured the odds his style. The author was non- then spent the next eight years and decided to risk it. "Can a committal but, two weeks later, and another $50,000—trying to computer violate someone's French got a certified letter from produce the great American copyright?" asks Schragis. "Are the author's lawyer; Try it, and we'll computer-generated pulp novel. we saying that computers may see you in court. But for French, When he wasn't coaxing Hal to get so good at imitating style that there are always other authors. churn out passages filled with human beings are allowed to As for publisher Schragis, he says, sex, drugs, intrigue, and betrayal copy style, but computers can't "Part of me wants to do it again,

(each chapter required about because they'll end up virtually but it would never be as much two hundred passes through the replicating? These were the is- fun the second time around." system), he was taking courses sues that were fascinating to me, It just may be, though, that in computational linguistics, nat- and I was frankly anxious to be where the publisher's fun ends, ural language programming, and part of some sort of test of them." the lawyer's begins. When it artificial intelligence. In the end, the suit was set- comes to intellectual property, Using stringent "if-then" rules tled out of court. French and the law, and computers, there for content and syntax, French Schragis are prohibited from are volumes yet to be written. tried to break down Susann's commenting on the terms, but Who knows, maybe even Hal style Into something that Hal credible sources claim the Su- could lend a hand. DO CDQJTIRJUUfin MR. HACKER GOES TO WASHINGTON: An old debate takes a new form. Plus, eating fat for endurance, and taking power plants on the road

Twenty years ago it must have which wou.d nave handed the seemed improbable that the feds a set of keys to anyone's Internet, the obscure domain networked conversations. And of researchers, academics, he tries vainly to recall a story and gray pinstripes, would anywhere near as shocking one day inspire front-page as those 1990 too-frequent debate over the freedom of illegal seizures of computer the Republic. But then again, equipment by feds who didn't

it seems just as unlikely that a know DOS from DRAM. far-fetched physics experi- The developments of the ment in a remote town called past four years are tribute to Los Alamos could foster a the EFF's adroit play of the global security environment game Berman has called that would last until the dawn "belt way technopolitics." of a new millennium. Yet histo- Newly relocated from airy ry shows us time and again Camon'oge to the dirty trench- how arcane high-tech pur- es oi Washington, DC, the suits can have deafening EFF is wielding its clout with political repercussions. vigor. Still, a little-discussed As the leaders of the Washington-based Electronic challenge remains; to transfer its genuine concern for Frontier Foundation well know, the complex package of Jetfersonian ideals to a constituency which is either stu- technical issues surrounding the regulations of the data diously indifferent to politics or too polarized ideologies' y superhighway represent a serious political problem. But to engage constructively in the legislative process. it's another issue altogether whether the hackers, Jon Lebkowsky, co-editor of the Austin-based Fringe gamers, and other digital devotees actually grasp the Ware Review, and a member of EFF-Austin seems to be

import of what's at stake in this high-stakes poker game an exception to the apolitical rule, calling the Clipper that only a lobbyist could love. Chip battle "one of the most exciting debates I've

: "Our constituency is rising to a level of a pc:ilica oi jccad into in years." But while heavywegh: pjnets i ke force, whether they are aware of it or not," says EFF poli- William Satire and The New Republic's Robert Wright cy director Jerry Berman. And even though the members have jumped eagerly into the debate supporting the of this constituency might be ignorant of the particulars of inalienable rights of the cybercitizen, Lebkowsky doubts the political debate, the debate itself is strangely familiar, that many hackers share this passion for politics, resembling nothing so much as a showdown between Perpetually preoccupied with the technochallenge of the the ideas of Thomas Jefferson and his constitutional minute, many hackers seem to have little time or inclina- nemesis, Alexander Hamilton. Representing the tion for advocacy. Meanwhile, groups that might have

Jeffersonians are the EFF and its allies, advocating open complemented the EFF, such as EFF-Austin and This!, network architecture accessible to all, while certain have lost their initiative, direction, and leadership,

precincts of government, worried about unregulated Lebkowsky says. It is, perhaps, a problem inherent in an power in the hands of the masses, play the neo- organization which champions a group leery of champi- Hamiltonian Federalists. ons, as badly as they might need one.

Recently the Jeffersonians, with a modern libertarian If hackers were the radicals bent upon subversion that streak, have begun to turn the tide. Berman speaks of some would like to claim, then they might indeed be a congressmen who, persuaded by the EFF's arguments potent political force—for better or for worse. But at least and doubtless vaguely fearful of the nascent electoral Jerry Berman wouldn't have to speak so longingly of their power of the growing digital crowd, voted to restrict the "tremendous unmarshaled power." And we might see the government's carte blanche privileges under the new silent silicon majority hearken, finally, to the strident voic- digital telephony bili. He speaks of a vice president who es of Jefferson and Hamilton echoing out from behind accommodated the EFF's and others' request to redraft computer screens accustomed to so many rapt, blank the government's Clipper Chip encryption proposal, stares.—JAMES D. HORNFISCHER "

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LASTING LONGER ing proportions of fat, carbo- ance set vk'tis tsssiJes run- WITH FAT hydrates, and protein for ning? "Most definitely," he one week. The athletes then responds. "Your body does-

Dietary fat has acquired a took a treadmill test in n't care if you're running, bad reputation lately amongst which they ran until exhaust- oicyclng, swi—minc,, or even the health conscious—it's ed. The runners on the shoveling snow. What often blamed for extra weight, highest-fat diet (38 percent matters is the intensity and high cholesterol, and of total calories from fat) duration of the exercise." even heart disease. But if In fact, he suspects, "fat may you're involved in physical have an important role activities that demand endur- THE INNER LINING OF THE even in short-burst activities ance, dietary fat may not like footbal' and tennis." ENTIRE STOMACH AND actually be such a villain. In So if you're fueling up for INTESTINE IS REPLACED fact, says physiologist a marathon—or even for David Pendergast, trendy low- EVERY THREE DAYS. a club racquetball tourna- fat, high-carbohydrate ment—you may want to diets "may be detrimental increase your fat intake in- to endurance performance." ran the longest— an average stead of lowering it. The Pendergast and his of about 91 minutes, com- day before a bout of endur- colleagues in ihe Nutrition pared to only about 78 min- ance activity, Pendergast. "To teach men how to live Program and Sports Med- utes for those on the low- recommends, "you should without certainty and yet icine Institute at the State Uni- est-fat (but highest carbohy- plan to increase your fat without being paralyzed by- versity of New York at Buf- drate) diet. intake to about BO percent of hesitation, is perhaps the falo put six trained distance Would Pendergast's find- your total calories." chief thing philosophy can runners on diets with vary- ings apply to other endur- —Bill Lawren still do. —Bertrand Russell

vices—a vaginal contra- can occur, so this is when ceptive that releas-- JSt a spermicide is most need- the right amount rf ed," Miller says. V^K -\j3 micide at just the TIO- So Miller and his col- ment to keep the league Lourens Zaneveld at sperm from fertiiiz S9-. Chicago's Rush-Presby- ^^^H [HHiyj'"^'* The secret, e. terian St. Luke's Medical

' JH chemical enginee , Mil- Center are designing a that uses a PMVE/ lerof the Univer: , c diaphragm

' p^jMkCV ; gh- MA coating to release ~*m Illinois at Chicag' j w tech polymer ca spermicide only at the right

'-.:, ' '•'I"' ,-i'^H PMVE/MA (polyn nyl moment—even if the '"'' is put in . diaphragm place .''Jtj^ ^-^U ether/maleic anfy _.

PMVE/MA is very _ Mve as much as a day be-

to acidity; it holds tc.. n- fore intercourse. They'll test er in a low-acid enviror ment, the device for safety on a small group of women later '' :&'.'.' but dissolves when th Anxious sperm swarm around ar sao : :'3o:r:a! contra- this year. If all goes well captive may work as welt as the piilin holdinp them back. local pH reaches 7. Therein lies the key with this and subsequent BETTER BIRTH has nasty side effects, as do The normal pH of a woman's testing, Miller says, CONTROL diaphragms and spermi- vagina is a sperm-killing 4, "we'll have a vaginal contra-

cides if used too liberally. But but in the presence ol semi- ceptive that works as effectively as the pill. That Every woman knows that hold on; A group of scien- nal fluid, it rises within a

birth control is often an tists has come up with what few seconds to a much more should make a lot of unhappy trade-off. The birth- may become the state of sperm-friendly 7. women—and men—happy."

1 control pill sometimes the art in birth control de- "This is when fertil ation —Bill Lawren — a

VIRTUAL REALITY ON A THIMBLE

Today's virtual reality pro- grams allow users to see, hear, and even move about in totally imaginary worlds with a striking sense of real- originate the concept— ism. Until now, though, it's Norwegian plant oper- been hard to get your hands ating from 1905 to 1940 made on that virtual world. But use of the same basic J. Kenneth Salisbury, Jr. and technology—he did find a Thomas Massie of the way to boost the process's Massachusetts Institute of efficiency and nitric oxide con- Technology have come centration by factors of up with a thimblelike device three and five, respectively. that can enhance the vir- A second version of tual reality experience with the mobile plant would pro- an authentic and even duce hydrogen from water delicate sense of touch. Manufactured by the OPERATING ON by electrolysis. Hydrogen of- Present force-reflecting VR Vanceburg, Kentucky, firm STANDBY fers promise as a clean systems, explains Massie, SensAble Devices, Phantom transportation fuel, since the rely on straps or motorized sells for about S19,500. At To Moshe Alamaro's way only exhaust emission gloves, which are not only that price, its early uses will of thinking, excess elecrica from hydrogen power is expensive—one such system probably be educational generating capacity is a water vapor. sells for a whopping training surgeons, for exam- wasted resource, ripe for ex- The mobile factories would ploitation. And he's got a consist of interconnect- novel idea for tapping into able, modular units that could these idle megawatts: no- be transported on trucks SOME MICE IN THE SAHARA PILE HEAPS OF madic industries that can rove or rail cars. Assembly and STONES IN FRONT OF THEIR BURROWS TO OBTAIN from region to region, and start-up might take a mat- DRINKING WATER FROM THE MOISTURE WHICH even from country to country, ter of days or weeks, rather CONDENSES ON THEM OVERNIGHT FROM THE AIR. taking advantage of cheap, than the years typically surplus power wherever and required to install permanent

whenever it can be found. chemical plants. $250,000—but clumsy. "By pie, or instructing subma- These mobile plants could The electricity-intensive the time you strap these rine pilots. But within the next manufacture nitrogen fer- hydrogen and nitric-oxide devices on," Massie says, several years, Massie tilizer, suggests Alamaro, an processes become econom- "you're more encumbered hopes to bring the cost down Israeli immigrant based in ical, however; only when than you are enabled." But substantially, to about Newton, Massachusetts, who excess electricity is priced Salisbury and Massie's §400. "About the price," he holds patents on a tech- below 1.5 cents per kilo- device, dubbed Phantom, is says, "of a good radio-con- nique for making fertilizer watt-hour, about one-fifth the simply a set of aluminum trolled car." using the simplest ingre- U.S. average. A utility in thimbles connected to the And what about what may dients—air and water. The Washington State has offered

VR computer by motors, be the most obvious appli- system relies on an arti- to provide its temporary levers, and cables. Phantom cation: virtual sex? "I've made ficial lightning bolt, an electric surplus power for about a allows users not only to a personal decision not to arc, to create nitric oxide penny per kilowatt-hour. touch objects in the virtual go for that market," Massie out of nitrogen and oxygen in After a year or two, when the world, but also to perform responds, "but if someone the air. Mixing the nitric ox- surplus vanishes, Alamora procedures that demand dex- develops that kind of software ide with water and then com- can move the plants to other terity. They can paint pic- for my device, there's bining it with minerals regions that have excess

tures, for or nothing I it." nitrate fertilizer. electrical capacity. example, even can do about produces a . play handball. —Bill Lawren Although Alamaro didn't —Steve Nadis " "

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WE'LL BE BACK your programs, you instead AFTER THIS BRAKE see a blue screen as the volume is turned off for

According to its manu- three to ten seconds. facturer; a relatively inex- The Brake is automatically pensive electronic fast-forwarding the tape gadget can let you watch to the point where the your videotaped ball show resumes. games, soap operas, or Star What about the fades to Trek episodes without black that occur in many being assaulted by pitches programs? "It's damn close for hot dogs and per- to 1 00 percent accurate sonal hygiene products. in eliminating false fades The $199 Commer- that come from out in cial Brake builds a sort of left field," says Leifer proudly. video map of the pro- Arista's device, be- grams you're recording. The lieved to be the first of its .'.' yC"j)e tired of "this won'' Hurt a bit" beiro followed hv a nesdis device, which attaches kind, is simplicity itself. jab, an anesthetic patch may be just what the dentist ordered. to your VCR, monitors the To set it up, all you have to incoming television sig- do is connect the remote "THIS WON'T HURT ting the patch to stick firmly nal and stores the locations control-sized unit to the A BIT—REALLY" inside the mouth. Noven of advertisements on VCR, television, and mixes the karaya gum with the tape. wall outlet, turn on the Anyone who's ever gotten dental anesthetics and a Richard Leifer, president VCR, and insert a tape. a Novocaine shot Will attest polyhydric alcohol solvent of Arista Technologies in The Brake does the rest, that the dental industry and then coats the back Hauppauge,' New York, says automatically identi- could really use a painless of the patch with it. the Brake isolates the fying your VCR's control way to administer pain- Unlike swabs and gels that clusters of fades to black codes and performing killers.' Noven Pharmaceu- some dentists have tried that invariably precede a self-diagnosis. It won't, ticals of Miami, Florida, on needle-shy patients, the commercials, methodi- however, stop your patch won't slide all may have found one: a nee- Noven "12:00," cally hunting those that clock from blinking dle-free dental patch like or slip, and the anesthetic are spaced closely togeth- —George Nobbe those used to deliver every- won't smear, either. Thus er. It notes when the thing from nitroglycerin it can be fixed to a specific commercials start and end "The optimist proclaims to estrogen. It could do away spot, allowing dentists to and encodes those loca- we live in the best of at! pos- with the gum-numbing apply concentrated doses of tions on the tape. sible worlds, and the pain of Novocaine injections, painkillers precisely where When you'd normally en- pessimist fears this is true. a chief cause of dental they want to drill. counter commercials in —James Branch Cabel anxiety, as it's coyly called in Currently undergoing the profession. Phase III human efficacy "The biggest challenge trials for Food and Drug Ad- was adapting adhesive ministration approval, the techniques for contact with patch will probably see initial oral mucosa, as opposed use as a pre-injection anes- to skin," says Juan Mantelle, thetic or for relief of mouth the company's director of sores and lesions. development and new tech- —George Nobbe nologies. Gum from the karaya tree, an acacia-fami- "The philosophers have only ly plant with a remarkable interpreted the.world; the capacity to absorb water; pro- thing, however, is to change vided the solution to get- it —Kafl Marx 34 OMNI CDruTiruuunn

"This is the first time mela- a:tacneo a device called tonin has been found to an actigraph to the wrists of ccrr6i£:s with insomnia," says the subjects and com- Dr. Peretz Lavie, dean ol pared the movements ot the medicine at the Technion- hand against a predeter- Israel Institute of Technol- mined set of normal sleep ogy in Haifa, whose findings movements to determine were reported at an an- how effective melatonin would nual meeting of the American be in reducing sleep on- Sleep Disorders Associa- set difficulties. tion. The substance is pro- The experiments now in- duced in rhythmical cy- volve over 100 patients. cles by the brain's pineal In a companion study, Lavie gland, telling us when to sleep by producing large amounts of the natural BACTERIA-INFESTED hormone at night and very WATER DROPLETS FROM A little during the day. SNEEZE CAN FLOAT IN The clock goes awry in THE AIR FOR 40 MINUTES. many elderly people who suffer from insomnia because brain making Having trouble getting a good night's sleep? Your brain may n the stops making enougn ofine harrone melatonin. proper amounts of melatonin. has begun giving syntheti- In an initial test group of cally produced melatonin to RESETTING sleep. Giving patients insomniacs, melatonin pills patients .with Alzheimer's INTERNAL CLOCKS two milligrams of the hormone markedly improved the disease who also have re- melatonin about two quality of their sleep. duced melatonin levels.

An Israeli scientist has hours before bedtime resets "There's no doubt it has The hormone works for them, found a way to give elderly the internal clock that hypnol. c properties," says too, according to prelimi- insomniacs a restful night's iping. Lavie, whose research group nary results.—George Nobbe

motion mechanics for SHRIMP ROLL States for laboratory study. cent, it is unable to maneu- Full says the creatures, ver around obstacles tiny robots. "By studying the Some critters walk, while whose Latin name is and can- only move in a mechanisms of loco- straight line. It's in motion and learning how the others swim, fly, creep, or Nannosquilla decemspin- a free crawl to get around. Not the osa, normally live in roll less than half of thetime, muscles and skeleton stomatopod, though. This underwater burrows so according to Full's obser- work—looking at exceptions tiny shrimplike marine animal cramped that they may vations. The rest of the crus- to rules like this—we from the Pacific beaches have gradually learned- to tacean's time is spent could get some biological inspiration for robotics." of Panama rolls. And it's the roll because evolution generating power by push- only known species in the taught them that was the ing off with its head and — George Nobbe animal kingdom that does. only way to turn around. tail, the same way we use So says Robert Full, Periodically waves or tides our legs. an associate professor of wash them ashore, and "The results of 350 million integrative biology at it is there, when surprised, years of evolution tell us the University of California that they arc their bodies that wheellike movement is in Berkeley, who has tail-over-head into a ring and a possible but improb- videotaped the strange cart- roll back to the safety of able method of locomotion wheeling crustaceans' the water at a glacial 3.5 cen- on land," says Full, noting which were discovered by timeters per second. that the curious rolling facil- a colleague who brought While the stomatopod can ity Gould have some several back to the United handle grades of 10 per- practical applications in loco-

36 OMNI .

ARTICLE BY ERIN MURPHY

ASKED INFLUENTIAL INDIVIDUALS, FROM PRESIDENT GUNTON TO DAVE BARRY, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

OF OOR TIME . .

VlilillViHUIil' SAY TO AN ALIEN- ^^H

find us peaceful, too. What took you so long what you're get- We always ting into. believed — Prolonged con- tact with our £.: ii. M species can only degrade your present an irresistible idea: standards, Couldyou pos- whatever they sibly stay around long enough

WHAT WOULD SOME OF THESE PEOPLE SAY TO A 1SITING ALIEN? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

with the The alien spacecraft settles noiselessly era when more peop e than ever before sent js though-iul responses, Actually, some of the rotes from our Jo~Bph Duffey "Every oay. radio te'escooes around ground. Having been alerted by believe that we are not alone in the wily governor of Puerto Rico con- survey subjects telling us why they Director. U.S. information Agency to the the wond lister for signals ema- for radio signals several weeks oefore of universe? Or, for the conspiracy-minded, cocting a :ruly stellar ad campaign couldn't answer our letter were even I would be torn, as many mignt oe. nating from cv iizations outsioe our : industry. the extraterrestrials' peacefu, diplomatic do they nave something to h de? his island's tourism more entertaining, James Earl Jones. between the impulse to be oh so solar system,' read the letter Omni mission to Earth, world leacers stand We posed our question to every We heard from three Pulitzer who gave voice to the most mposhg serious and the impulse to oe ve-y. sem pjt .ast summer. "What would

Arthur Miller I ready to welcome the visitors. As me member of Congress, too, and we're Prize-winners: Playwright fictional alien around, Darth Vader, very silly. In any case. submit to you happen if they picked up those Clinton glad to repor: tnat one intrepid senator delivered a cautiora'y m.essage to told us via his publicist that he's "rot two greetings, ore for each impulse: aliens emerge. President steps lorg-awaited signals? What wouid forward on behelf of his peers to gree: i'cm Tennessee sent us a delightful would-be visitors, humorist Dave Ba"y comfortable with this k'nd of article "At ast! An impartal jury for the 0. happen if. when translated, thpse pressing question of his own, and not feel he has aryth ng to J. Simpson -r al," extends his hano says . . . and 'nsightful answer, welcoming our has a does them. He and signals said, 'We are peaceful, and : of and Outiand in this Well, your guess is as gooc as ours fictional vis tors as only a denizen and Bloom County say contex:." Maryland governor "We. come, strange's, Were you we're dropping by fo r a visit'? that count. Capitol Hiil couic. We canvassec cartoonist Berkeiey Breathed relayed William Donald Schaefer 'orefe's not lonely, too?" on "What would you say to those Clinton recently what Staffers in virtually every branc.n of the his versior of Opus the Penguin's close to comment on possib e extraterrestrial Omni asked visitors when they landed?" federal government as well, and the encounter of the third kind. beings visiting Eartn." Dav.d Letter~an. Jane Alexander he would say to such an unprece- Send your greeting, along with -'.:- ;-? dented delegation. never responded. three responses p'ove that while Cosmopolitan editor Helen Guney according to his executive assistant, is Chairman. National Endowment He your name, city, and state, to: First Hiliary Rodham humor may oe rare indeed in the Brown reminded us In her response "currently cutting all of his energ.es Ads Neither did Lady Readers' First Contact, Omni, 324 light-years '=. President Al Gore, White government, it's not altogether extinct. that trave.ing hundreds of into making the show a complete suc- l woulc say, "Let me show you Clinton, Vice West Wendover Avenue. Suite 205.

: Stepnan- didn't restrict our survey to the must be terribly draining. Not to worry, cess." We were hoping that Dave would it means to be numan," And men I House senior adv ser Geo-ge We Greensboro, North Carolira 27408. opoulos, or the members of the cabins'. U.S. government. We asked world Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous nost deliver one of his trademark Top Ten would take tnem to the theater me Or you may E-mail your response to Eltispn reform, the crime bill, and headers, governors of all 50 states and Robin Leach and author Harlan lists, out since ne didn't come through, symphony hall, the opera house, :he Health-care [email protected], All responses perfect refresh- invading Haiti for a busy the U.S. territories, mayors of major have -Mgired out tne we went ahead and made up our own. movies, the museums. I would shpw not do make must be received by February 28. schedule, but couldn't they have found U.S. cities, and influential figures in the ments to o'ier peckish extra:e-"estria s. Now we'd like to hear from Omni% them our great architecture and We' print the cest in an upcoming fasci- r just a couple of minutes ;o ponoer such arts, scence. the media, and other Those are just a few of the readers. What would you say to a design. ead poem.s, tell stories to an intriguing scenario, particularly in an fieids. Four governors and ore mayor nating responses we received. peaceful alien delegation to Earth? tnem, take them to see the paintings of m QMNi da Vinci, Georgia O'Keeffe, and oossibly s:ay around long enough to Picasso, to a Greek iragecy or a do a couple of xurism-promoton comedy by Shakespeare, to hear Louis commerc ais for us?"

i: Armstrong, Mozart, and Oklahoma! What an opportunity! I can see new: would show them the grace of dancers, the elegarco of a cow passec across the violin's strings, and the profundity of a child drawing a picture of her mother. And then, after a crash course in our culture, when they gair insight ir:o our

i~-agha: : ve Ire, our :ruest expressions

of our humarity. I woulc ask tnem: "What

/ :: ei-god I I co'-r : -e-:-chal he as is art where you live?" Anc would ; hope to be swept up by their story. Angeles Times would have to be could on informed of :nese terms and :nei' And I would hope that we go telling each other our stories long after style::.::- ^cop: atcly cnarged.

they had iniended to fly away. A: :-:?.: ooir: wo couid move fo'warc --j to r.j. ccwr a me-c^andis ng dca. Leonard Nimoy Anytning else would be small talk. Actor and director r Due to language barriers and oiher Peo o Rosseiio men: spots. Sure enough.

socioloc cal cc 'l sic caters, it s highly Governor. Puerto Rico Site One because :he first unlikely tha: we will have any success Friendly star-travelers arn've. How as Larding Exrra-erres-'ial IrteUgence I Search for with verbal communications. I nave do greet tnem? therefore handec tne a=sign-ent to my All right- Let's see. jSETI) signals they -ece veo were :he wcr d-famous I than 're- fn'eno, Speck, who is highly s

since Is ac~.ssicn as Americas Berkeley Breathed the Cariboean Sea . . . and— tne v/haP our

Cartoonist Bloom County. Outlanc ronor seems to nave fallen to me—en 5"st s:ate a c nch c whaP Am I as or wftaf? Prior ties would nave to be decided, behah of all God's creatures on this gooc as re-elected Alas, the a;arm of course. Naturally, official victim pane:, welcome :o Earth.' What, what, wnai?

i: sure I Bu; status would need to be established, a Assumiing tney understood that clock rang ard wo^e uo.

I w->ile grievance group founded, and. letter- much in either Scan sh c Engl sh was fur : astec.

heads designed, A suitable temn for might tnen be inspired to add , , . their minority would reed to be "Dent :a

' sure ihat ! Personally, I'd ke to make reached the ground from tne r craft, you- magnificent venicle—have giver For instance, "alien of coior" or "non- me an irresis: b'e idea: Could you both sioes goi a lot of preparatory

TOP TEN THINGS OMNI THINKS DAVID LETTERMAN WOULD SAY IF AN ALIEN DELEGATION VISITED EARTH

10. Want tickets to Sirajul, have we 5. So how's Eivis 2. The world leaders aliens Miss Saigon? got a great trip for doing these days? gave the all kinds of fabulous,

expensive gifts, 9. And now, anew Exotic locations, 4. Is it true that segment on interesting, the face on Mars is and it turns out all ft ' "^M really they really wanted . . an the show: "Stupid urn, life-forms . uncanny likeness of Michael were some T-shirts

6. Those aliens Jackson? thai said, "My friends visited Earth, 8. From our new have only been here . jH

I all I was home office on the- two days, and 3. You know, saw and got already they've signed E.T.. and you this lousy T-shirt!" planet . . . a movie deal and guys are much taller 1. Bu::sfuoco! 7. Hey Ivlujibur and dated Madonna. in person. ;«»»«— World P r

i i\ Y WEIRD STUFF.

. GIANTS OF EASTER ISLAND For 250 years, these huge stone k -- - - C statues have baffled explorers. , ;j^i * Who are these giants? Where did they come from? fc 1 - JANUARY 12 PF Bp, MYSTERIOUS INDIA What has preserved the body '".'.; 8 of St. Francis Xavier from .-'.-•' § decay for over 400 years? Do cobras really dance to their masters' tunes? M:U!lll:MtllJ:IN=U.-F |: JANUARY 19 MYSTERIES FROM HEAVEN

i ^ '1 : Can the hand of a martyred HiMv^tprinnv!II fi\lil/IUWL/l M\fIIIIIl\ saint work miracles? Does the y UkJ blood of St. Januarius predict eruptions of Vesuvius? immjjmmi^^^mmssmME / , the

: H ' ^ ^ 11 JANUARY 26 F SPONTANEOUS HUMAN COMBUSTION * Human bodies burn — leaving fS; v ^mJ the surroundings undamaged. ' Jfl Explore the theories behind

.> ' i«

- 1 ,.

Discovery

EXPLORE YOUR WORLD"

THURSDAYS 8 PM ET/PT —

mate-al befce the folks .n cuc-stion ac- to what we hear The most important What we hear from inside oj'se ves—

: tually set flipper on the Earth, Given single factor would be overcoming our our own fears s of far greater mo- r'ea-s. evolu- than what they near from us (and. their evident technological superiority, Human nature developed ment tionary in a situation that made it wise without that interpreter, wouldn't under- we would probably have to take their for us to distrust strangers. First con- stand n any case). Only then can we peaceful intentions at face value and tact between Columbus and the talk to them! help them get as much data about us Caribbean natives began on a friendly Hopefully, as they woulc care to have. note— out both were soon overcome Bruce Campbell insight to that would give them enough by fear; the shuatior deteriorated fast Actor. The Adventures of Brisco avoid triggering a social calamity when and Columbus kidnapped several of County, Jr., Evil Dead ore of tnem gets or a talk show, or them. The Pilgrims were greeted in If friendly aliens happened upon our meets an overly ambitious politician. Eng sh when tney landed—a local In- planet, rr.y message to them wouid be slave very simple: took you so iong^i" Assuming then, that I could leave dian had spent twenty years as a "What such pract'cal cares asioe, i'd tell them in England, recogrized them, and about our attempts to find the meaning could talk to them. Unfortunately we Kirk Fordice of life. Like us, they probably know have no record of what either of them Governor, Mississippi more than they can prove. Perhaps we said, Cortes had a clumsy system of in- "Welcome to the State of Missis- can find some common ground in our lo'p'-ctatcr (fro— Aztec :c Mayan via sippi one of fifty United States of contemplation of the universe we both his Indian mistress and from Mayan to America, on a planet itrcwn as Earth, inhabit. I'd sure like to find out. Spanish via a Spaniard he had "'res- third planet from the sun, located in th s cued" after some years among the beautiful outer fringe of the Milky Way Dave Barry Maya, including a Mayan wife), We greet you in peace. you in the ad- Humorist We welcome same " be ihe interpreter? Do we trust the inter- venturous spi-it that led you to break "Do you guys have csole9 preter'- Hew co we dsa. win our own ter- away from your home planets — if in- ror that tnese extratc-csha s have come deed you come from planets—for we Paul Bonannan to dest-ov uS? Hm do we keep from have a history of courageous adven- An'hropoiogis: and writer mobbing vr killing or ens aving them? ture al our own. Ou^ country was Dis-

What would I say to an "extra- The o'oo em s w til oirse ves at covered by a man who bravely went terrestrial delegation" visiting Earth? east as much as with tne aliens, no against conventional w.sdom that the flat in order to found a It seems to me thai it makes little dif- matte' wnat orob-o-ns hey p'esert. We world was New ference what we say. Far n-ore impor- lc what, r World—Amerca. Brave souls fro— all tant is that we listen and pay attention t present. continents of Earth left the only hemes

G E A T MOMENTS N

tf$ty ll%i-Pinkit'Folk, Missouri: fiylthouih thtfhM sfo/ten in years, it u/csnt until years alleged It 2 after his suddenly dawned on chief clonics technician abduction aliens that suspected fry Chcrlene P/< P. that the Jane Doe in HI uas in portions [bet other husbands brain hud actuality his first wife, f:mice Marie. indeed been removed by the ettratemdtials.

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Fine Pewter. 24 Karat Gold. Blazing Crystal Cabochons. -£13~-355-i::C- might be mistaken for they had ever known to come to this hope to learn. We invite you tc sa~oe traterrestrials newly arriving senators and congress- New World in search of freedom from the great literature, artwork of all kinds, reli- of already are sus- oppression of all kinds: pinnacles of philosophical and men—many whom from another planet. We hold these truths to be self-evi- gious thought, and marvelous botany pected of being Of course, the extraterrestrials proba- dent, that all men are created equal, and wildlife comprising our planet and get here, and they ar- that they are endowed by their Creator history. We are a world and a species bly spent less to rivc-ci spacesnip, whereas pol^cians with certain unalienable Rights, that of enormous potential. If you come to oy reach Washington by telling among these are Life, Liberty, and the evaluate us, judge us on our suc- usually awful place it is. pursuit of Happiness.—Declaration of cesses as well as our failures. While we voters what an independence. have not always made the best use of Most of all, I would welcome our new friends with a particular hope; that We welcome you also in the names our potential, we are a species of much the of our worlds not the gov- of the brave men and women of Earth's courage, capable of great understand- people — but the space programs, who gave enor- ing, conviction, and achievement." ernments or ambassadors constitute the life of mously of their talents and lives to everyday folks who will wondrous oossib li- reach the moon and beyond. As you Harlan Mathews worlds— share are not I assure them pass our only natural satellite, please U.S. Senator, Tennessee ties. would we

: exKats-restria visi- perfect nor is our Earth ideal. But I also note the American flag symbolizing the I would we come there is sometning in hu- "giant leap" of faith, resources, and de- tors to Washington, DC, by telling them would say different manity that tries to rise above our termination we made in achieving this I thought I'd landed on a For that, we are worth I here two shortcomings. victory over the cold void of space. I planet myself when came that the I hope ago. If they'd arrived knowing. would add my deeply regret to say that it has been al- and a half years our worlds will make us most a quarter of a century since we during some days of the 103rd Con- meeting of better than we are aione. nave ventured so far out again, This is gress, I'd have asked for a lift back to both attributable to the shortsightedness of Tennessee. They'd probably be drop- Rushkoff many of our past and present elected ping Elvis at Graceland, anyhow, and Douglas of Nashville is the Author. Cyberia: Life in the Trenches leaders. It is my sincere hope that this, my native on way. Hyperspace too, will pass and that, once again, we My first words would be directed to flip at I'd say that If ex- My response may come off as will take to the stars in quest of knowl- my fellow senators. it really does encapsulate edge and excellence—and the many traterrestrials can traverse a galaxy to first, but I'd if came: "Please par- benefits that obtaining such knowledge reach Capitol Hill, Republicans and what say they our appearance while we remodel." bestows on all humankind. Democrats should be able to cross a don We commend your obvious techno- carpet to reach a compromise-. Servo logical achievements from which we 1994 was an election year, so ex- Tom Urbane robot co-host of Mystery Science Theater 3000 Okay, first off, let's not make the classic and erroneous assumption that anybody who's able to hurl a can a few dozen light-years is automatically

it's smarter than us. I mean, sure, a mo- mentous occasion anc all, but we don't have to fall all over ourselves to show them how friggin' great they are, do we? this. I think you snould let me handle First, I'd open with a joke. Let's assume

that if they're so damn smart to come here in the first place, they'd know a lit-

tle of the local tongue. If the aliens had

classic, I butts, I might try the "Can touch your butt?" That'd catch 'em off

guard; it always does. If they under- sxoc this ris-cy yet sensi: ve greeiinc. they might immediately sense our strength and vulnerability, t'ne essen- jri.iy oualistic nature of the earthbound, eternally struggling for balance and equanimity, grasping for the serene su-

pernal, yet mired in the physical plane, the poignant, ironic, fragile state of the world community. Then perchance they might offer us their butts to touch, and SAflU a new age for humankind would open, Vs^ -Mi 'f~p> the childhood endeth, the future made manifest, a communion transcending, •'-?> beyond time and space. Then again they might hit me and go right back where they came from,

I so ; probably wouldn't open with, "Can

GO\".NUEQ ON PAGE si EARCHING FOR DOLLARS: FUNDING SCIENCE TODAY

$$$ CANDIDATE BILL CLINTON PLEDGED TO TAKE 'A MOM

AGGMSSIVE ROLE IN NURTUPJNG AMERICAN RESEARCH

AND TECHNOLOGY DESPITE A MANDATE TO CUT THE

DEFICIT, PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON, FACED WITH A

NUMBER OF, HIGH-PRIORITY AND' HIGH-BUDGET

CONCERNS SUCH AS HEALTH CAM AND CRIME, FOUND

THE PENNY-PINCHING ZEAL ON CAPITOL HILL A MAJOR

OBSTACLE TO OFFERING A HELPING HAND TO THE

SLUMPING HOMEGROWN SCIENCE COMMUNITY. FISCAL

CONSERVATIVES IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

QUICKLY SENT A MESSAGE TO THE NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE

ABOUT THEIR WILLINGNESS TO BACK BIG-TICKET SCIENCE projects by voting down the contnjed months later temporarily depriving of ence to soc etal goals Each vea/ funding of the mammoth supercon- needed capital :;evera (ooera'iy ass sted since the heady days of John F, ducting supercollider, the multibillion- sms -scale orojec:s funded oy :he Na- Kennedy's New Fronter and tne glow- dollar proton smasher in Texas. tional Science Foundation (NSF). ing successes of the Apollo miss ens. Nevertheless, Clinton and Vice Pres- Cosily resos'cn proects a'e getting the Americans have become less and less ident Al Gore, in a joint White House cold shoulder—even p-es:iglous items enthusiastic for basic science re- memorandum released in August of such as the ambitious space station search, particularly when the amount of 1994, reiterated tneir support for major Freedom. Fortunately, a last-minute ava laivs 'ederal cap ta has smink. funding of science and technology surge of support permitted the expen- We are no longer comoeting with the projects stating that "This Administra- sive project to squeak by congres- Soviets for soace supremacy, and our tion is committed to making today's sional opposition by one vote in the national pride is no longer at stake. tv e slm sir in science a :oo priority for spring of 1993, and by a more comfort- 'Science has never oeen poo-jlar with building the America of tomorrow." able margin in 1994. The problem, of cera n segments of the pepuiaton. es- Clinton has thus far managed to con- course, is the oscaiai re costs a::achec pecially those who are opposed to vince a reluctant Congress to give him to long-term projects. Eleven years technology," says Alben Teich, direstc a sizable portion of his science budge: ago, for instance, ns estmated cost of cf sc ence ana policy urograms for the By the end of September 1994, he had Freedom was about $8 billion, but by American Association for the Advance- signed thirteen general appropriations 1993, the price had soared to more ment cf Science (AAAS). 'You will lor sci- bills, including funds earmarked for than $30 billion, That size of investment neve.' have total puclic suppo't science research and technology, be- worries an American public eager to ence, A president, nowever can se: coming the first president since Truman put bad fiscal times behind them. the tone—as Clinton is doing now—by to get such a sizable amount of fund- "We have noted a trend in the pub- seeking to Involve the government in ing past the lawmakers on Capitol Hill in lic and phvate sectors to give less promoting technology." Teich worry that the so i rnely a manner. According to the Of- funding to long-range projects, espe- Experts such as fice of Science and Technology Policy, cia y resea'cn and ceveloo merit" sayn proposed 1995 federal research bud- the 1993 Research and Technology Representative George 3'cwn (D-Cali- get may not be sufficient after the oulk pri- budget hit $69.9 billion, with a of the funcs goes into drop in 1994 funding to $68.3 ority defense p-oects Of the federal research bil- billion, However, a modest 4 "THIS ADMINISTRATION IS COMMITTED TO percent increase has been lions, $39.5 billion, or proposed for the 1995 budget MAKING TODAY'S INVESTMENT about 55 percent, is slated fora.totalof$71 billion. for the Defense Depart- Even so, many sc,en:ists IN SCIENCE A TOP PRIORITY FOR BUILDING THE ment for further develop- are beginning to wonder if ment of weapons. The American research can sur- AMERICA OF TOMORROW." remainder of the funds is vive dwindling federal funding split among other agencies and closer public scrutiny. —PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT such as the National Insti- With the conclusion of the tutes of Health (NIH) and Cold War. a fundamental re- AL GORE, AUGUST 1 994 the NSF, which backs assessment of federal funding much of the independent for American research was research around the coun- J demanded by a bipartisan bloc of con- fornia). charman o the House Science try. A mac concern at many sc entis:s - cress onal budget-watchers. Most of Committee. "A lot of people feel such is that the reduced penon cf funds a these sceptics, in the name of fiscal re- projects can be canceled or post- located for the type of basic researcn sponse Nty, called for an immediate poned. This is no! surprising in ha-c benefiting the average American "s shift of resources from military to civil- times." According to Brown, congres- very small —much too small, ian projects. The glory days for local sional subcommittees have been cut- American scientist- anc researcners research and development came to a ting about S1 billion annually from however, are an enterprising lot Al screeching halt under the pressure of a research funds in recent years to put NASA, agency officia s sn f:ed gears sluggish economy and a growing fed- into social programs. "This scaling- after facing growing opposition to their eral deficit, According to 1991 science back is likely to continue until there is expanding space program :o stress and engineering data released by the an economic turnaround and an easing technological advances. At their aero- National Science Board (NSB), the av- of the federal deficit," he adds. nautics research wing at the Langley Vrg'nis. erage yearly increase in total American If the funding for research and tech- Research Center at Hampton, researci and development spendng nology continues to dwindle, America's a host of long-term projects are under- improved serse-s Ic dc jumped 1 .2 percent between 1 985 and technological prowess will decline. way, includng 1991, compared to a vibrant growth rate Nevertheless, current NSB statistics in- iec: wine shear high-speed transport of 6.9 percent between 1980 and 1985. dicate that total U.S. outlays for re- jets capable of traveling at suoerscnic Despite Clinton's pledge to reverse search continue to surpass those of its speeds with advanced nose-recuctior re- this funding slide, Congress has tight- four nearest industrial competitors, al- technology, and new equipment to from rvgh- perfor- ened its purse strings. American scien- though Japan and Germany spend duce fuel emissions

; aircraft. : sla watched intently as the pres den: s more of their gross national product on mance Ill-fated economic stimulus package the development of new Technology "Some of our projects will orocuce containing a $445 million supplement Congressman Brown says one ob- incredible technological acvances. es- to the 1993 iederal research budget stacle to higher spending levels for oecially our work in the aeronautics ? was savaged by lawmakers from both U.S. research is a growing anise once field," says aul Hc-loway, director or -.':: political parties. These funds were not bias among the American public that NASA's _angley Roses -ch Genie- added to a smaller budget that passed .no longer sees the relevance of sci- -resident Gee ca ea aeionautcs ri-= 50 OMNI Big screen TV. Now available on a slightly smaller scale. Thanks to Active Matrix Technology, and some small thinking on our part, you can enjoy the sharp, brilliant picture of a big TV on a little screen. The Casio Crystal Vision crystal

Pocket Color TV. Just under 2 inches. Just under S2DC. HBBBPN] CASIO crown ewel of American nclus:ry. and drugs icrme'iy c scalded by onaT'-..; daily serious side effects he's right." Without :ne space stauon ceutical com oar es fcr new ourpcse: But all of this cutting-edge i-esear:;l

: and manned space f gnt. Holloway in- arc s snow ng some premiss. For e> deoeros or an -.inin-e-'jpood casn I cs from Congress and that so go: has

1 "; boon cosine- b : by bi: n 'ecer: yea

1 keep the Uri:ed Stales eoero~ oa ly used in co""b.";alior wi ; t no eL-rca'd

1 ' compsiilvc I Ire -ra-kotoaoc he say:,. drugs o'escribed ic :hese conditions. Funding in the oio^edica -esearco Experiment are also progressing on field has flattened out and even creamg new cc"-QCunds designee to slipped in related areas such as phar- -oo fy behavior s:ates such as de-

maceuticals and b ogenetics, accord- i by various brain

ino ".c Dr. Frcderc-. Gooowir. c 'oc:o' /, with starting of the National Institute of Menia Health (NIMH). Started in 1946 as one of the four foundation agencies of the Narional Institutes 07 Health, the NIMH losi aooui 35 oercsn: cr its research manipulati :n. Researches such as Dr. funds in the 1970s after it sol t avvav William Potter, the heac of tne NIViH's from NIH— a move associated with a ohar~aco ogy section, say this futuris- broaden ng of its mission to include ch to treating mental illness on projects, and to sasn oos;s. Cen-

seiNrg up mens nea.;-h centers across ing on a genetic level may ters for :h s coiooi w-i ; oe stadeneo the country. Goodwin adds that it re- not oe ava laoie for at least another 30 throughout tne country. Data wil be cently returned to the fold, after enjoy- years, eve n with the use of advanced provded :o other countries wtn some ig several years of "catch-up" funding technique gleaned from molecular bi- provisions for privacy. for its research mission. Researoners eloay 'ao . When [his mode ot feat- L ke biomedca: resea'cn. wok n

supported by the NIMH are currently men coos pub c. mental disorders will other major rcsea'cn areas incluo ; ng working to target drugs to specnc oe trea;ec wth genetically altered eel's env 'ci""e"ita b-'oogy. oes::cide meni- o'air sues ic featment of vai ous dis- toring. and :he Human Genc~e Pro ec: orders incuding cepress en ard schiz- ane alsc feeling the squeeze from a ophrenia. Tne effort includes screening —

onacrs IN A STRANGER LAND

For me, Antarctica begins Tnen came the early south- in the midd'e of the night oolar explorers: heroic ™en Ike Shack eton, Scott, as I am eluctarr.iy orawn from a heavy sieep. The and Amundsen who only : managed to se: oot on the ship I am traveling on has begun to roll bac* ano icebound continent in the forth, oack and fortn—with last 100 years. Now many a long cre-e-e-aking sound o- the scientists who come in eacn direction that :o study this land— and makes it fee as though the ihe visitors, like us, who ve;"y "bones" of the vessel follow— take this same have bee*- disturbed. With perilous -oute. each successive move, my Ventur'ng to Antarctica body Is thrust o'own the s like journeying to another : sheets to re end o the olanet right here on our bunk, then oack uo agair own. It is a foreboding until my head is =mmed in:o a caoin wall. destination, where ice, often more than a mile of of surface and 200- I am cross ng re D'ake Passage, one thick, covers much the the roughest sea; n the world, with a group of mile-an-hour winds can relentlessly blow for 80-odd tourists ''z~ Ene American Museum of days on end. During the winter months,

Natural History in New York City. Here, In the temoeratures of minus 75 degress Fahrenheit Southern Ocean, rs wind whips around Ant- are common at the interior. 0' arctica unimpeosc z_. any larc mass to break Antarctica is not a country, province, of up the storms, as if w guard the ccntirent from ternary, but a nuge icecap (about the size

;hose who may see< access. It is no wonder the United States ano Mexico combined) :het sailors nickna~e^ these latitudes the governed by an 'nternational treaty and set 'Roaring Forties" ano "Furious Fifties," aside exclusively for peaceiui, scientific

: : The Drake is, in essence, a rite o oassage research, Technically, 'i s owned 'ov no one to :ne bottom of the earth that Antarctic there are no native nhabitants—and anyone travelers must still endure In the '800s. who comes is truly an "alien" who could not sealers and whalers first .c.agec this way. survive without special Slothing and shelter to ARTICLE BY SHARON McAULIFFE wield off the tern AST ergerce— an invisible biological mapS: the contin! :r :hat separates the Amarctic from the mysterious and WR SEAS OF weld, it appcarcc Incognito" or unknn Over the next ' TRUMPETING, cover more than < separate landing WHISTLING,

lave :: sijMinaci THREE-FOOT BIRDS

GATHER ON - siaple

i- white A BROAD, MUDDY ;rat rg exoec-on unfold ir a STRETCH

KNOWN AS THE

SALISBURY PLAIN.

air temc oopj aiio vercast, We have crossed :h —

one that nas jus: "oa ved or" from the ly evassed ice ciiffs of a glacier. There is no sign of man anywhere; ho o:hc ooa:s, no powe' nes, ro jet cen- trals. And the a:r seems almost too "all crouos o" oas- clean :o breathe. Tnis is tne wildest,

loneliest place I have ever been, More and more c aciai icebergs ao- pear, or.en Phgh: blue in color. This is not a reflection eff tne water or sky. but eonkcv ;he sign of old, very compressed ce n as cc L.pc-i ; ~e:h n t ap- where a I the ?> "nr ree" squeezed pears mo'e ike a floa: ng slant! than fhen I r anu- out. And over time, tne wine ano waier anything else; a huge. ™y;h:cal-loc-.ing .:;;:" ca'ied :ne -enrsjla' wr ci ob- eat away a: these nczen nu us, some- object some 4,000 feet in length, with trudes up and north toward South :.mes sculpting them .n:o fantastic "ice'' smooth, straight sides that rise up an- America— it is more vast and desolate snapes: wnaJes, ducks, a Sohinx- r othe' 100 ~eet above :ne wate 's sur- than anything my mind had ever con- shaped lion, face. "It's a signt,' says

But nothing, not even the sgnt o~ s ally, aloud cracK or muffled, ihu.nderlke couic; s:a.ncl he's a day " says passen- tabular icePcg. quke prepares one fc no se can oe heard off in the o. stance. ger Ethe Chiang, a young emergency the stark, onysical grandeur of the cor- Th-s is the birth cry of a small iceoerc, department physic : sn from the Mid- =-3 s: 'east sixteen VVher;.-. ..r "oc : y glee's 10 opening in the pack ce nuge exoloc- aw^ay. "here m ing straight dat r mg bodies are popping out. up and up anc . in. And n an hoir o so. tne sun

- : i': ' :he starts all .: . i ::i -o\ i: ieeneci s orce more, and day over the bow, spraying even the top heaven. And foi decks with water. And ens ge:s a -eal attemp: H-<; in indings s:ep up. We use ~- appreciation for what the early expo:"- end ess-s - .-. " "... ers—the voyagers who made across -ic re- in-;-: i and the toucn bu: in the so-cal ed e-a of wooden shies ice turns ye' ow and iron -nen—must nave srot-e

Later on in the tr p. we w II meet fa great cathedrals

amateur English sa c-s wno have : t i and ice-over, A to repeat a famous Antarctic expedite i -he off-duty Rjs; ied by Ernest Shack e:cr bac< If B nbermsds—come early ai oo; There is no smoking n; no eating on shore; rules to stand fror- Ino wile f

(Dcwr tee. tne larer event s sucn a raritv that the -ecUaiion can be summed up in, us: one line. "If fs

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j -ed ackels come

ing Amarct ca car. oe al limes, There a"e some serious te-ritcal oisputes between dffe-ent counties in Antarctica— especially among Ar- gentina. Britain, and Chile— but you

wculc never Know i: down on the conti- nent i-self. "The science communities and politicians in Buenos Aires arc' _ondcn anc Washington— tney twist their hankies and agonize dai'y o\;e' the conflicts between science and poli- tics" explains Schornak. "But all that ~el:s away once you get down here. All these peop.e know they are very boated a;"d dependent on sacn otner should something happen. And every-

Ai one ="oo. the base staff has set

up a little souvenir iabe with T-shirts,

patches, and pins for sale, it has the look and feel of a kid's lemonade stanc. orly tne gooes are a lide "-ore eabcate a-d 'he crises slight y higher, for A: anctner s:a:ion, I am invitee :n coffee, cock es and orange soda—this

r : time, f ee of charge. There s a loose camarace'e in Antarctica: Everywhere we gc. peooe seem geruiney happy to see us. As ore nomesick -orioarche'

tolo me "Th s s still a par: of tie wond

: where a row face s a we come sigh. Al Alrmrante Brown, a '-odesl lr. e 64 OMNI Jbtction by>y leJLerry, jpisson **> Illustration by. Uaniel J%del

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"Ailrepeat after me," Pig "Rockr. - a few-early lights Gnat said. "Oh Secret "First the reck and gleamed. Among them, and Awesome Lost Wil- then some teayes," Mrs. Pignatelii's.

derness Shrined "We'll never findjt "I see a light," said Billy "Oh Secret and Awe- again!" Joe. "Doesn't that

gome Lost Wilderness "When we need to, we mean your mother's -home?

Shrine." wilt. 1 made a map. See? Maybe we should

'The Key to Oz and But hurry, i think ifs late." cut across the fieid." Always be Thine." Itwastate. While "You know better "Trie-Key (oOz and Nation arranged the rocks than that," Pig Gnat said. Always be 'Thine." and leaves, and Pig "He who comes by "Bee-Wen. Now cover Gnat carefully folded the the trail must leave by map-, Bifly Joe thetrail." scrambled to the top of the culvert- Across

the corn stubble, in the subdivision on the other side of the highway, Jpilly Hoe led the way. I ig (jrnat was in the middle.

fixation, who owned and there/ore carried the gun (a Daisy pump),

brought up the rear, alert ior game, lor danger.

Billy Joe and Nation both grumbled, law-man (as he liked to say) but an but agreed. They were at the fabled attorney instead of a cop. "Of course. I head of the Tibetan Nile. The trail made a map," said Pignatelli, He had T' 'owed the muddy stream away from returned to the reunion from New York, the highway and the houses on the where his first play was about to be other side, down the culvert, along the produced off- off-off- Broad way, and he steep side of what became (if you was hurt that no one had asked about squinted; and they squinted) a it. "What're you two talking about?" thousand-foot-deep gorge, Where the Nation asked, He and Ruth Ann had gorge was narrowed by a junked car just sat down. Pig Gnat whispered, fa Ford), the trail crossed the Niie on a "Come with me." They left the girls at perilous high bridge of side-by-side the table and slipped out the side door two-by-fours. It then left the stream of the gym, Across the practice field, {which only ran after a rain) and across the highway, where the corn- crossco :ho o'comsage-ccvered Gobi- field used to be, shopping center lights J Serengeti toward the distant treeline. her job as IV cldle:owVs lib'ariar, ixinc gleamed under a cold moon; beyond

Billy Joe led the way. Pig Gnat, who supper and expecting him to keep her were endless coils of night, The door had moved to Middletown from company. Billy Joe hurried home but to clicked shut behind them, and with the Columbus only a year ago, was in the no avail, his iatner was already drunk, his music gone, they imagined the narrow middle. Nation, who owned and mother was already crying, and the twins traij, the dark between the trees, the therefore carried the gun (a Daisy were already screaking. Na:ion took his high passes to .the secret Shrine, and pump), brought up the rear, alert for time. Each identical house on his street they shivered. "We're supposed to game, for danger. "Hold!" he said. was lighted, He often felt he could stick to high school memories," Nation

The three boys froze in the dying choose one at random and find his said, Billy Joe tried the door but it was light. A giant grasshopper stood dinner on the table, his family hurrying locked. He was suddenly sober, The poised on top of a fence pest. Nation to finish in time to watch "Hit Parade." Homecoming Queen leaned on the took aim and fired. The great beast fell, They grew apart as they grew up. bar, opening the door from the inside. cut almost in half along its abdomen, Billy Joe started running with a fast "What are you guys doing?" its legs kicking in dumb agony. crowd in high school, and would have "BJ, it's time to go home," said Billy

Nation recocked the Daisy, while spent a night or two in jail if his father Joe's wife, a Louisville girl.

Billy Joe. put the beast out of its misery, hadn't been a cop. Nation became a Two years later Pignatelli gave up J Like rogue tigers, these magn iceri football star, got the Homecoming playwriting (or set it aside) and took a man-killers had to die. "Good Queen pregnant, and married her a job at Creative Talent Management's snooi ng," Billy Joe said. month after graduation. Pignatelli got New York office on 57th Street. That

"Luck," said Nation. into Antioch where his ex-father (as he October he came back to Mido : e:cwn

The desert ended; the trail tunneled called him) had been a professor, and for his mother's sixtieth birthday. He through a narrow tangle of brush and lasted two years before the antiwar stopped by Nation Ford and was old tires, then looped through the Arden movement and LSD arrived on campus surprised to find his friend already Forest, a dark wood of scrub locust the same semester, going bald. He was under a car, an and sassafras, then switchbacked The Sixties ran through America like unusual position for Assistant Manager down a steep Clay bank to the gravel a stream too broad to jump and too deep of a dealership, "Dad and Ruth Ann run

road that led back to the highway. to wade, and it wasn't until their tenth the business end," Nation explained, "Tell me the name of the cliff again," high school reunion, in 1976, that all he washed up and they found Billy Joe said Billy Joe as they started down. ih'oo were in Middletown at the same at the courthouse, and drove to "Annapurna," said Pig Gnat. time (that they knew of), Nation's wife, Lexington where Pignatelli's ponytail

They single-filed it in silence. One Ruth Ann, had organized the reunion, didn't raise so many eyebrows. Billy slip meant "death," She was still the Homecoming Queen. Joe had hired a friend to handle his

It was dark when they said their "Remember the trail to the Lost divorce. "It's like a doctor never goodbyes at the highway's edge. Pig Wilderness Shrine?" Billy Joe asked. operating on himself," he said, "We Gnat ran to find his mother, home from He wa'j d';.,rk. Like r ^is lathe', he was a should go camping sometime," Nation 68 OMNI Meet Rjak. He wants to rule the. World. Only you can stop him. Introducing MASTER OF MAGIC the first PCgame to combine strategic

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Mmo PROSE Anything is possible. 1-80O879-PLAY. For IBM-PC & Compatibles. 1 said. "The original three: tains; small, but deep. At night the soon, BJ did :ne paperwork on nis sec- Two years later, they did. CTM was s'a's were like ice crystals, "and just as ond divorce himself. The year Pig- sending Pignatelli io LA twice a year, permanent," Pig Gnat pointed out. natelli's mother died, he found a and he arranged an overnight stop in They stayed two nights, Billy Joe's hand-colored map in a drawer when he Louisville. Billy Joe met him at the air- 'awyer had marriec his ex, moved into cleaned out the house. He knew what w port with two borrows c sleepirc sags the house she had won in the settle- was without unfolding it. he look il bcc< and a tent, and they met Nat on helfway ment, and was raising his son. to California with him in a plastic bag. between Louisville and Middletown, They met every October after that. Some Octobers they tried other and hiked back into the low steep hills BJ would pick up Pignatelli at the mountains, but they always came bar- along Otter Creek. It was October. Billy Louisville airport, and Nation would home. The Adirondacks seemed Joe gathered wood while Pig Gnat built meet them in the mountains. They ex- ren compared to the close, dark tan- a fire, "Did you ever think we'd be plored up and down the Big South gles of the Cumberlands. The Reekie;, thirty?" Nation asked. In fact they were Fork, through Billy Joe's second mar- were spectacular but the scale was all thirty-two, but still felt (at least when riage, Pignatelli's move to LA, and Na- wrong. We're too old to want to see that they were together) like boys; that is, tion's divorce. The Homecoming far, Pig Gnat said. He was only half kid- immortal. Pig Gnat stirred the fire, Queen kept the house on Coffee Tree ding. He was forty-six, There are no sending sparks to join the stars in Lane. They settled into a routine, just long views in ihe Cumberlands, There heaven. They agreed to never get old. like the old days, with Nation picking are high cliffs overlooking deep Two years later, again in October, out the site, Billy Joe gathering the gorges, each gorge as like the criers they met at the airport in Lexington and wood, Pig Gnat building the fire. They as trees or years are alike. The stars drove east, into the low-tangled folds of skipped their twentieth high school re- wheel through ihe sky like slow spars. the Cumberland Mountains, and built union; their friendship had skipped Sometimes it felt that in all the universe their fire under a cliff in the Red River high school anyway. only the three of them were still; every-

Gorge. Nation's twin daughters had just The year they turned forty It rained, thing else was spinning apart. "This is ceietra:ed their "Swse; S'xteen," Pig- and they camped at the mouth of a reality," Pig Gnat explained, poking the natelli was dating a starlet whose face shallow, dry cave where they could fire, "The rest of the year just rises up was often in ihe super~a'ket tabs, be- look up at a sky half stone, half stars, from it like smoke." ginning to wonder if he was supposed "How old do you want to get?" Nation When Nation's father died he found to have kids. asked. Fifty seemed as old to them as the Daisy, filmed with rust and missing

The next October, they backpacked forty once had seemed. Funny how ts -"sgazine, in the attic. He cleanse I into the gorges of the Great South Fork time stretched out, long in front, short up and left it in Ruth Ann's garage.. She of the Cumberland River, almost on the behind. Nation's girls were both mar- had come back to run Nation Ford: she Tennessee iine. These were real moun- ried, and he would be a grandfather owned half oi it anyway. "Still ihe Homecoming Queen." Nation latgned. they were better as friends than as- man and wife. How Pignatelli envied them. They were camped that year among the sycamores in a nameless GOSPEL bend of No Business Creek. "How old do you guys want to get?" Billy Joe as'.en. li was becom.'ng like a joke. No- FICTIONS body wants to get old, yet every year they get older. by Randel Helms The year 2000 found them walking According this the ridge that leads north and east from Cumberland Gap like a road in provocative book, the the sky. while the wind ripped the four Gospels of the leaves from the trees all around them.

Two thousand! I! was the coldest Octo- New Testament are ber in years. They slept in a dry cave fictional narratives, floored with dust like the moon, where footprints would last a .thousand composed as the cul- years—or at least forever. Life was still mination of an exten- sweet. Billy Joe married again. Nation sive literary and oral moved back in with Ruth Ann. It was not yet time. tradition—idealistic Somewhere there are pictures that writings produced to show how they looked alike in the be- ginning, in that way that all boys look serve a theological alike. Later pictures would show how vision. The most they diverged: BJ in blue suits and ties; Pignatelli in silk sport coats and hun- familiar and powerful dred-dollar jeans; Nation in coveralls of these fictions are and gimme hats. Some fifty years later as literature: they looked alike again, s'ttirg or the analyzed edge of a limestone cliff high over the the stories of Christ's Big Sandy River, thin in the hair and birth, his agony in gelinc; :hick in the middle. That was 'heir l.-.K" October. One week after Christmas. the Garden of

Nation died. It was very sudden. Pig- Gethsemane, his natelli hadn't even known he was sick, then he got the call from Ruth Ann. It betrayal by Judas, his crucifixation, death and r was a heart attack. He was almcsl liiy- Randel Helms, a noted biblical scholar, is professor of nine. How old do you want to get? Pig Gnat took out the map, which he English at Arizona. Stare University. kept in his office, but didn't unfold it. He "1 bis '••fprtSi-ii had the feeling he could only unfold it b'JOK once. Billy Joe and his young wife —-Joe E. Rambart, University of North Texas picked him up at the Louisville airport, and they drove straight to Middfetown "Gospel Fictions is a treasure . .. a scholarly gem of detective work!" for the funeral. Billy Joe was angry; his wife seemed apologetic. After the bur- —-John J. Greisinger, M.D. ial there was a reception at the house on Coffee Tree Lane. Pignatelli went out 'The succinctness and lucidity iri/h which Helms writes makes this to the garage and two little girls fol- topic available to those who aught he put off by more elongated lowed him; all Nation's grandchildren approaches. " — were girls. He spread out the map on Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith the workbench, and sure enough, the old paper cracked along the folds. He 154 pages • Cloth $25.95 • Paper 814.95 found the Daisy under the bench, dark with rust and smelling of WD-40. The girls helped him look but he couldn't At heller bookstores or order directly from find the magazine or any BBs. Back in the house, he kissed Ruth ©Prometheus Books Ann goodbye. He wondered, as he had often wondered, if he would have Call toll free (800) 421-0351 (24 Hours) married if he could have married the or write to: Homecoming Queen, Almost all the 59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197 mourners had left. Billy Joe was drunk, • and still sulking. "We waited too god- Add 3.50 P & H NY State residents add applicable sales tax damn long!" he whispered. Big Gnat CCNIIV..ECON PAGE1Q3 IfUTERVlEUU

Happiness is something we make happen, says the Doctor of Flow. And here's how you can heighten that experience. HALY CSIrSZE

first there was only the blank page, the mind filled bear, is the domain of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pro-

with anxiety. But I am well into it now thoughts A — nounced CHICK-sent-me-high-ee; friends call him coming in the right is words, building a story that a joy for "Mike"). A Hungarian-born polymath and professor of me to write. else will enjoy reading it Whether anyone psychology and education at the University of Chicago, doesn't matter now. There is nothing I'd rather be doing. Cs -fszenfcnihalyi has pondered the meaning of happi- I'm not hungry or thirsty and have lost all track of time. ness since his childhood In wartime Europe. His books,

There is only the thing itself. I am in flow. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, and its se- Flow this- enviable state of optimal experience, where — quel, The Evolving Self, are popular explanations of the the challenge is high, but not beyond the skills brought to theory he's been developing for two decades.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID MICHAEL KENNEDY —

Indeed, Csikszentmihalyi has paper for American servicemen. Finish- Stepped in where other psychologists ing his studies in psychology at the have feared to tread, focusing on the University of Chicago, from 1965 to best moments of life—joy. creativity 1970 he taught psychology and sociol- rather than on the unconscious or loss, ogy at Lake Forest College in Illinois. In suffering, and neurosis. The focus on 1970 he was drawn back to tne Univer- enjoyment is relatively novel in psy- sity of Chicago and the opportunities it chology, but the field may be ready to offered for long-term projects. recognize the importance of normal Today at 59, Csikszentmihalyi is states of mind. And if distressed people doing what he likes best. None of the can learn to better experience flow, they myriad ways his theories have been may be able to quell their unhappiness. used in real-life situations please him Aristotle wrote that people seek nearly so much as a good theoretical happiness more than anything else. go-round with colleagues and grad But after 2,300 years, most of us are students who share with him a sprawl- of- still seeking and still unhappy much of ing sei es of ancient, unglamorous the time', Why? In the psychoanay'ic fices. Only the computer equipment view, happiness is the pale shadow of and the baby's crib and playpen for dark desire. Since we rarely indulge the married students' children attest to our sexual drives, we find acceptable the modernity of the ideas born here. substitutes, practicing "sublimation." During our talks I told Mike that after activities Anyone who enjoys mountain climbing, reading Flow, I looked at my a psychoanalytic explanation holds, is to see which produced flow. Now I set merely exhibiting a sublimated penis aside time for some of them, whereas envy. A game of chess allows players before I'd say, "I'm too busy." Now I to cope with their castration anxiety. feel it's important to my emotional- "Nobody seems to do anything ac- health to have this experience as often cording to this point of view," as possible. Gs&SZStttmlhalyl complains, "except to "That's interesting," he mused. resolve a festering childhood anxiety." "Someone else might have diagnosed

But to him, "Life is shaped as much by what produces flow and then said, the future as by the past." In his sce- 'Okay, I'm just going to do the one nario, happiness is there for the asking. thing that's most enjoyable and forget "The best moments usually occur when about everything else.' Another could a person's body or mind is stretched to say, 'I feel so good in this activity I want its limits in a voluntary effort to accom- to transform all my other activities to plish something difficult and worth- make them feel like this.' Each person while," he writes. "Optimal experience needs ic take control of this issue and is thus something we make happen." make of it whatever he or she will." Those "best moments" are no; lim- —Dava Sobel ited to leisure or even good times, he argues, since "people who have survived Omni: How did you come to make a concentration camps or lived through formal study of happiness? near-fatal physical dangers often recall Csikszentmihalyi: When I was 15 or 16 that in the midst of their ordeal, they ex- and by chance in Switzerland, I heard perienced extraordinarily rich epipha- _ a talk by Cart Jung about the mass nies in response to such simple events delusion Europe had suffered during as hearing the song of a bird in the forest, completing a hard the war. That struck me, because as a child in the war, I'd task, or sharing a crust of bread with a friend." seen something drastically wrong with how adults—the

their thinking. I trying to Csikszentmihalyi grew up in Italy —Fiume (later Yu- grown-ups I trusted—organized was goslavia, now Croatia), Venice, and Rome—where his father find a better system to order my life. Jung seemed to be try- became head of the Hungarian diplomatic mission. What his ing to cope with some of the more positive aspects of father really liked to do, Csikszentmihalyi recalls, "was run human experience.

I around antique stores all over Europe and find paintings After hearing Jung I read all his books could find; then which he then restored." So it was no accident that Csik- Freud and other psychologists to see what they had to say szentmihalyi developed an interest in art, becoming an ac- about a good life. There wasn't much. Finally I came to this complished painter before age 22 when he left Europe to country, because in Europe there was no program in psy- in- study at the University of Illinois. As a boy he spoke Hungar- chology. I quickly discovered that most psychology here ian with his family, German with his nanny, and Italian with volved rats and pathology. Luckily I eventually founo a friends. He flunked English in high school, but eventually mentor at the University of Chicago, Jacob Getzels, who for learned it by following Walt Kelly's Pogo cartoons in a news- was interestedin creativity. We worked out a proposal my 74 OMNI The universal best-seller just returned to Earth as a CD-ROM.

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[sound I cleverly explained by the world's leading astrophysicists. of the universe with the man who taaaiou You can even reference the entire text of the best-selling .vrote ilie book on it. :iiL-&e-t:a:ior en oreakv ly among a.'tis:s. called ihst ire "autotefc exoer ence/ goal I tried to look at artists' cognitive meaning an experience whose processes— how they formulate a was simply to be itself. But the term problem, decide what they want to seemed stuffy, pretentious, too much scholarly jargon. student said, Own A paint. But the more I observed these like One it artists, the more I saw that the really in- "Why don't you call flow?" Sometimes

it teresting question was iv/iythis activity I regret calling that, because "going Modem? was so terribly enjoyable to them that with the flow" sounds like something they would get completely carried out of the Sixties from California—too

away in it. Again, very little in psychol- relaxed and undisciplined, which the ogy shed light on that. Most psycholo- experience is not. So we are caught gists would've interpreted "the between this Scylla and Charybdis of phenomenon in terms oi defense being too professional and too popular. "'- : ; " I:-;.- mm mechanisms or compensation—subli- Omni: Can you remember your own mation at best. None reckoned with the first flow experience?

positive joy artists experience when Csikszentmihalyi: It was toward the end " JL - g a - * creating. So my dissertation explored of the war, in 1944. Many relatives and ways of expressing this in a thecetical friends in Budapest had been killed. in conception, Next, I began to study oth- One of my brothers died combat, ers who did things for which they got and another had been taken prisoner Explore no external rewards. by the Russians and sent to a forced Omni: Originally you looked at enjoy- labor camp in Siberia. I discovered

ment in terms of creativity alone? ciass was a miraculous way of enter- Csikszentmihalyi: Right, But in observ- ing into a different world where all OMNI Magazine ng how supposedly creative people those things didn't matter. For hours I'd go about setting up a problem and just focus within a reality that had clear

If what to solving it, 1 noticed the tremendous emo- rules and goals. you knew on America tional involvement, even ecstasy, they do, you could-survive there. No other

around, I seemed to experience, At the time I saw kids my age were so played the exhilaration as a means to an end, against colleagues of my father in the

Online FREE something that kept them pursuing the diplomatic corps. I usually beat them, interested great boost. activity. But then I became in which was a

the feeling itself as an end product. When I was 14 or 15, mountain for 10 Hours! What really counts is how you fee/, not climbing became a source of flow. writing. what you accomplish, When I thought Then painting and There were

it all the time, but those four about that way, I had to know more minor ones If you own a computer and a modem, you about it. In the early Seventies, the allowed me to get really involved Thsy can get even more of the OMNI experience Public Health Service funded my three- are difficult in the beginning. With with OMNI Magazine on America Online. year project to study enjoyment in work climbing you have to get up at two or Broaden your horizons and enter the people on assem- three in the morning and walk for a few worlds of science, science fiction, and the arc play, including until to the I get future with inrorrr.ation and :- sights horn bly lines. developed a new method to hours in the cold you this month's issue. Talk to other OMNI systematically study the quality of ex- rock face. But once you get involved,

it's it readers on interactive message boards or perience. My students and I collected a different world. You can keep up send e-mail to the OMNI staff. Pirticbste fascinating on-the-spot data on peo- for hours—with no sense of time pass- in live conferences and events, and enjoy ple's feelings throughout the day. ing. The same is true of almost any of OMNPs sibling publication, COMPUTE Our subjects wore electronic pagers, inese activities. Magazine. Just, use keyword OMNI to d we could signal them at random Omni: Does the element of risk Ivls^ai:"-: access OO.'Ni Online! times. At the beep, the participants heighten the experience of flow? Or, sample hundreds of other informative filled out a questionnaire about where Csikszentmihalyi: Some flow experi- and entertaining, services, like computing they were, what they were doing, who ences involve low danger, like reading support from leading hardware and soil- was with them, how they felt, how hard a good book. But certain people are ware makers, more than 70,000 software they were concentrating, how challeng- c sposed to respond to risk, and their 3-0 grants you can download and keep, ing the activity was, and how well they flow will depend on it more than some- ar.d an international e-mail gateway. were meeting the challenge. This "ex- body else's. Danger is the hook. But Order -today to get America's most exciting perience sampling method" became their descriptions are not that different online service and your free 10-hour trial so rich in results that for almost eight from, say, a Thai woman's description membership. quality of con- years I didn't study flow directly. Many of weaving a rug. The " our subjects had been teenager-;, centration, forgetfulness, involvement, control are similar. 1-800-827-6364 and Reed Larson and I wrote a book about them called Being Adolescent. Omni: Are there physiological indica- Ext. 7926 In 1973 or 1974, the term flow grew. tions of flow?

It came out of listening to people de- Csikszentmihalyi: Years ago, I started

scribing how it felt when what they looking at EEGs, galvanic skin re- were doing was going well. Over and sponse, brain waves, and heart rates.

over we heard: "Oh, it was like being in At that time you couldn't get people

a flow, being carried away by what I into realistic situations to measure iheir

was doing. It was very complex,, yet phys.clog cal responses. I came clos- seemed effortless." Originally we est with chess players, because they ,

are sedentary when ihey play. But most lenge and skill are high, we call that a EEG studies are not worth the paper :iow experence. This student reports STORM they're printed on. The best EEG man 1 high-challenge, high-skill once when WARNING know doesn't touch any EEG data ex- she's singing, once studying, once BY MERCEDES LACKEY cept from people who are asleep. playing tennis, and twice while reading. Review by Andrew Wheeler Last year I started trying again with Omni: What's happening to her on the

new imaging machines. We selected graph outside the flow sector? I have to admit it: I

40 high school kids, 20 of whom had Csikszentmihalyi: Here she fights three didn't like the first many flow experiences and 20 who times with -kids in school encounters — Lackey book I didn't. monitored their she rates We evoked po- as high-challenge, low-skill, read. Winds of tentials in a standard learning situation That's anxiety. Other times the beeper Fate just lost me. where they responded to questions found her talking, preparing for a quiz, There were presented on a computer screen. Jean reading comics, eating —all of which women with tele- Hamilton, a psychiatrist and former stu- she judges high-skill, low-challenge. dent, measured cortical activity in peo- Boredom. She watches TV only three pathic horses, ple solving problems and found that times and rates that the same as being men with telepathic hawks, talking ones who had many flow experiences in the bathroom: low-challenge, low- swords, and so on and so on. It spend much less effort on the task. skill, And that's apathy. Some people seemed like every big fantasy novel When we tried to replicate her experi- are never in flow. They are either always I'd ever read. But when I dropped ments, we found kids who reported anxious or always bored. They're always back to read the earlier books, I flow more frequently performed better out of whack. This particular kid has an began to understand and enjoy in the test situation with much less cor- more: nately high number of flow experi-

Lackey's world of Valdemar. I started tical activity, were less aroused by the ences. Then you look at what she's doing: tasks, or spent less mental effort re- singing, siudying, computer, tennis. looking forward to each new book, sponding to the stimuli. When we Omni: What are some other states? and this one is no exception. asked them to rate their subjective Csikszentmihalyi: In arousal, there's a It begins a new trilogy, the states, those often in flow turned out to little more challenge than skill. In con- "Mage Storms," just as Winds of feel less much self-conscious in the trol, you have fairly high skills, higher Fate began "Mage Winds." But this test situation. than your challenges, but not by much, book is far more friendly to the first- Kids who don't flow make a greater so a person feels essentially in control time Valdemar visitor, so I think mental effort because they not only re- of the situation, but not in flow. In these Lackey is going to pick up new read- spond to the problem on the screen, graphs of adults, we're comparing flow, but also monitor themselves and won- anxiety, boredom, apathy—whatever ers—scared off before by so much history, so to join her der, "Will I do right? What does the ex-. channel they happen to be in, with self- many books— perimenter think?" Their self-con- reports of how motivated, active,' con- legion of fans. Storm Warning is sciousness puts an extra burden on centrated, creative, satisfied, and better for the first-timer because it their mental effort. Marlin Hoover, one happy they feel. follows Karal, a young courtier from of my students, wired people with a You can they're see when anxious Karse. Until recently, his country and heart monitor, and for five minutes be- that they feel active and concentrated, Valdemar were at war, and he still fore we beeped them, we recorded but their motivation and satisfaction are thinks of the Heralds and their heart rate without the person knowing low. In boredom everything is very low Companions (the telepathic horses) it. We compared their heart rates be- but affect, meaning that even though fore they knew they were going to re- they're bored, they're fairly happy. Look as "white demons." So we see every- port with what they wrote down. ai apa'hy. People are usua' : y in apathy thing in Valdemar through fresh Clearly, the self-report is neatly tuned in when they watch TV or shoot the eyes—and that's a good thing, be- to the physiological process. But we breeze with peers. They don't concen- cause the baggage (physical and found large individual differences. trate, feel active, creative, happy, or emotional) of the characters, and the Omni: Do students report flow because even satisfied. But they still want to do sheer number of important people, is you've explained the concept to them? whatever they're doing. This is the adding up. Csikszentmihalyl: No. In general, peo- paradox of apathy: it's a really negative Low-key Lackey is much more to ple in our studies are not aware of the state in many ways, yet people tend to my taste than nail-biting Lackey; she concept or word. Our information gravitate to it. comes from their self-reports when the When teenagers engage in sports does suspense and action well, but beeper sounds. The self-report then and games, they're in arousal 30 per- then, so does every other major asks them how they feel about what cent and in flow 35 percent of the time. fantasy writer. Lackey's different they're doing, to rate the challenges of You find almost no boredom, relax- because when she writes about lan- he activity and their skills in it from low ation, apathy, and little anxiety. Com- guage lessons and cultural shock it's to high. [Points to data chart.] This stu- pare that with TV-watching: no arousal, just as interesting as battles and dent rates her skill in some activity al- practically no flow, no control; 40 per- intrigues. That's really soTcth ng most twice as high as the challenge. cent boredom, 10 percent relaxation,

special. I there wll be action Omni: What does that mean? 30 percent apathy. Completely different know Csikszentmihalyi: She's bored. Over a profiles. Then you look at how much and clenched teeth coming up later week we establish the average level of time they spend doing these things, in the trilogy; but for now, I'm racpy skill and challenge for a person. These and it's ten to one TV-watching. So we just to be with her characters white estimates would be the midpoint on a asked them why they do it. They say they get to know each other graph where the horizontal axis is chal- things ike: "Coming home from school, Storm Warning is available in vertical is sKill. lenge and the axis It she I know I'll feel better when I go biking better bookshops and from The repprts an activity where both chal- or play basketball, but it takes time to Science Fiction Book Club on p. 21 CONTINUED ON PAGE 90 1

AOJTIfWATTER UFO UPDATE:

1 their new instruction manual, firefighters are briefed on the art and science of UFOs — 11 only makes sense that

^— 1 civilian emergency per- P — sonnel from police to '%lIHkw firefighters may be called ..A. Ja| * 4 to the scene of ,.JBH Ik. a close v -it encounter, real or not. ^j^H ^^r f / ft ' But despite their role on f ^ *jm T the front lines of virtually ! any emergency, our W^w

srs" have never been given any kind of back- 1 ground on the UFO phe- 1 For a detailed briefing I ->v\ the topic, all profes- | sional rescuers need do s refer to the new, second

Charles W. Bahme, a former Los Angeles Fire d

' -"-lUFOsfor Theguid

, ,. : _ ,,-.... w„. .was ignited al, August 26, 1942 during the famous "L.A. Air Raid." ing. Near

;ws bulletins announced an enemy pressed tf e, then a young Navy fireman, the closet, and many I

>r public officials before." ARJTinJIATTER

If this were true, coun- n other lake monsters, like Nes- sie, should show up on a similar timetable. But, : - -"~9 Scottish future medical break- "ughs and eventual r

morning between 10:00 -nd 11:00, or in the

. .lid-afternoon between THE INNER LIFE OF 3:00 and 4:00. To Ko- LAKE MONSTERS in 7:00 and 8:00 jo, this n p.m., just before sunse ever inhabits Loch at Lake Champlain in Ness is not nocturnal like

summer," Kojo writes ir Champ and may actu- the journal Crypto- ally be a different species.

anthropologist sug- zoology. "The steady ir Yet another expert, bio-

i chemist Roy Mackal, ;st that observing tt of sightings HIS MOTHER'S FROZEN usive critters may formerly of th HEAD REMAINS not be a hit-or-miss affair: LEGALLY—BUT AGAINST he Monsters , says Yasusni HIS WISHES—IN 'Jess, takes THE CARE OF ALCO Tokyo, your One skeptic is chemist issue with this as well. Ko-

; of bearing wit- Henry Bauer of Vir- jo's findings, notes ginia Polytechnic Institute ight suggest ..lore about the cul- cago and Charles Piatt of the Enigma of tural patterns of the lake

When K lout the inner fives of the

ied the schedule for 1 1 .onsters themselves. for Kojo's findings, Again, Kojo disagrees. \i legally, but against I Bauer says the tim- % "Based on my cur- ' Al|,nr c «* wishes—in ing of the reports sory observations of in Vermont, for in- might well be due to faff the people," he cted to jves. While lakes states, "I'm skeptical

; reports dur- possibil"' are signif- I ing the height of the day, that there stronger late in the d increasing the height

j. "Sightings

! increase after about

...... i-profit, will lake

: the legal responsibility re not going to let thu jmbers build up again conditioned by cng cer Lines o : expe

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ful, and we're dropping by for a visit." whatever, partly, perhaps, because

If ours were a largely rational uni- peace is a blank, a negative, an ab- verse, your statement could be taken sence of something, whereas war is at face value. But our own judgment, concrete, deiinite. and active. You will -inc on Planet Earth, must inevitably be that we humans are remarkably gifted ; ..„. 111 .,: i i here. feel- a: ; r. we .T' umsy glad you finally got Are you Chuck Yeager a~ateurs when maintaining a peace. ing jet-lagged, dehydrated, or debili- 3: : gaaio: GonerpJ itfe;irsds, U.S. Air Farce

There is a certain amount of grim tated in any way from your long trip? It would depend on who, when, and opinion pre- humor, I suppose, in the possibility that, It's nice to see you." where. In my one cannot although we have traditionally, histori- dict what one would say to a bunch of cally been embroiled in tribal rivalries, George Carlin extraterrestrial beings unless we knew your unexpected coming may serve to Comedian a few things about the conditions of the bring us together by forcing us to real- "Get out! Go back! Save your- meeting. ize that we are, after all, one human selves! You don't know -what you're get- family, But whether this happy outcome ting into, Prolonged contact with our William Beecher Director. Office of Public Affairs for the results or not, I would suggest that you species can only degrade your present do not long turn your backs on us. standards, whatever they are." U.S. Nuclear Psgu:a:orv Commission And yet—such is the mystery of life My first instinct was a flip response in our peculiar corner of the universe Bernard Shaw "What would you like for lunch?" that many of us are also capable of the Principal Anchor, CNN Bui, since you're obviously serious, i most exquisitely tender concern for our I would not assume the delegation would ask how we could pu: together fellow creatures, an ability to love that could speak or understand English. teams of Gjls:andirc specialists from a disciplines explore exienos svor, to vie esser animals. It is Nor would I presume to be Earth's cross-section of io from this primary, primitive emotion, I spokesman, I would run! ways of trying to improve.ihe quality of suspect, that there comes our some- life on each planet, based on disparate times astonishing ability to create Brereton C. Jones lessors learned in science, medicine, beauty, whether that attribute takes the Governor, Kentucky history, literature, and the arts. form of painting, music, sculpture, po- I was extremely intrigued by your etry, drama, or any other art. question of how we would welcome an Harlan Ellison Perhaps the greatest favor you can exraisrrss:r a. delegation v'siting Earth. Writer bsestow on js is to share your opinion If a member of the delegation If, by some frenzied desalination of the purpose of life, for we of our murky gene pool I_ ~~ have never known what it is. between then and now, of There is no shortage of theo- "PLEASE DON'T REVEAL THIS IS YOUR FIRST VISIT exultantly ridding us ries, of course, but they are le- our hideous and undying gion and many are mutually OR YOU WILL BREAK THE xenophobia, I suggest that exc usive. it is tragic, in fact, we go out to meet them that some of our most savage HEARTS OF THOUSANDS OF UFO BELIEVERS." buck naked, our hands wars have been among empty and palms up, ex- groups that differed in regard —PHILIP J. KLASS, UFO DEBUNKER tended and open. And to this one basic question. I suggest we say only Most of us, in the total ab- AND CONTRIBUTING EDITOR OF AVIONICS IN this: "Help us. We are sence of an ability to explain very young and we want either the physical universe or AVIATION WEEK MAGAZINE to know." the reason for its existence in Alternately, if we don't the first place, simply assume get the clean-up time, if It that there is some all-powerful spirit stated, "Take me to your leader," I happens tomorrow or Thursday, then only thing to that has created literally everything. Bui could explain that I am the leader of a there is one we should say even our most intuitive theologians proud group of people known as Ken- v-s'ihg aliens, and it is this: explain nice trip? have always been at a loss to explain tuckians. I also would that we "So? You had a Are you why a benevolent deity would create are a peace-loving people, and we are tired, want to wash up, have a biie to poisonous snakes arc spders, deadly n;eres:ed In learning about the other eat? A nice piece of brisket, maybe; plants, and billions of bacteria and beings in the universe. some fresh fruit? Sweetheart, you'll re- viruses that daily kill millions all over In addition, I would want to give them suck an orange, you'll feel so chat." our planet. It follows, therefore, that if two items that I believe would best ex- freshed! Then we can you are in a position to enlighten us on plain who we are as a country. I would such age-old questions, we will be pro- present to them a copy of the U.S. La wrence Fsri-nghstii foundly grateful. Constitution, and a copy of the Bible. Poet

The Constitution, I would tell them, Who could translate? Helen Gurley Brown is the compilation of rules that we as a Editor, Cosmopolitan people have chosen to follow. Robin Leach of and I don't mean to be too sensible or The Bible, I would continue, is the Host, Lifestyles the Rich

I rules realistic, but doubt I would be able to compilation of that our Creator Famous get anyplace near the peaceful ex- has chosen for us to follow. ''Welcome—we hope you find us traterrestrials who visited Earth. They I would explain that we do not al- peaceful, too. What took you so long? would imrr.edia-.s v be snapped up by ways abide by all of these rules, but We always believed you were out

Hard Copy, Prime Time, 20/20, I. CM., that we are striving to do so, and that is there! Would you like some cham- Creative Artists and other talent agen- our ultimate goal. pagne and caviar to celebrate your ar- million cies, Elite and Eileen Ford and other Then, I would conclude by inviting rival? Then we have a questions modeling agencies, and asked to be them to stay awhile, and samois some to ask you; especially, how long have guests of honor at a dozen fundrais- of the many advantages Kentucky has you existed and how long have you

If I did ers .. . how could you get to them? to offer. They are simply out of this known about us? And you see ever did, I would just say, "Hello, I'm world! E. T.TDQ 8^ OMNI soap sprays, and other na:u'al cor:rc ! s Does this Japanei oiii'I outfit rfowi ii'inoiif r.-nvofh^in iiixta to rid crops of insect pests. One of his ™ long-term projects, backed by sugar Fujiyama Ceramic Pen beet growers, has employed larvae anc beetles control aphids gcrg.ng still only $3925* to themselves on the valuable vegeta- *But read this ad for an even better deal! bles, drastically cutting -crop loss on Ehler's you've occasion to write with one of the famous sugar beets, However, work If ever had liens. vfiLi k'lO'.v what mar-.elo'.is p -od'.icis ri'.ev .in.:. VVrliiiig w'\ may be curtailed by additional cuts in

a |ov. [I is almost effort! ess. Tin- pon appears to float across flit' California's stale budge: which backs ^utistential even tour thoughts seen i to fimv rnoj-c fseeivThe dra much of UC's research. "The savings to however, as with so rruirv other nice things, is Lie: '.he price of the consumer and grower can be luxury pens is;nvhilh high. It'scESv io spend ^150 Or more on tremendous," says an optimistic Ehler. oi them. Our iapi'.neso friends have cre-neil their own versior these luxury pe-ns.T:iev areeciuallv "kv.sir.g and auife similar "It's nontoxic and nonpolluting. There is appearance, hef! and Jeel. Thev h.ue r:ios,vne hi-lacqiicriinisn.tlu no environmental hazard. We don't same fine guld-tooe accents and l.h.o same =;ccd -elated clip as have a problem with pest resistance tioso luxirv pens Tie ..\..-| ,.:s.ve ceramic famous Luroocan because :he pest cannot evolve a re- wiling lip provides silk s:::ooin, efforties- v. rir.uc It will sistance to its natural enemy." Given never flatten, stall 01 'kip, even niter hank-st ar.d longest use. the. fact that there is genuine concern lhemostrc-ma:kahle-':i'i-..!.-il>(!iil i:)C: Ftiiwrs. Ceramic Pen pesticide residues in food and is its price. We are rhi e.\c I usivc distributors and are there- about

fore ahie to offer 1: :or |li': S>\->3. But, we an even the environment, Ehler adds "anything better deal: Buy fieri for $79.90, and u-c'il send you tor-_ "hetterdeai'.Getviilhit—get your F tricate work of the Human Genome ty order Project, which may cost an esiima:ed irWholi S3 billion and could take nearly 20 years to complete, despite funding shortages. The dream of reading and reorcducng the er.l -e genetic code of a human being is becoming reality thanks to research initiatives including DNA cloning, deciphering of gene se- 1S5 Barry Scee'. San -rancist quences, and analysis of chromo- somes with sophisticated micrcscooes. anos are be ig censm.jcied to assis: n "The entire genetic search could be years." Glen Evans, SEARCHING rebuilding aquatic ecosystems in east- done in five says a the University Of CONTINUED FROM Pt ern U.S. forests, luring wildlife back to molecular biologist at natural habitats. "Our work is to create Texas Scuthwes:em Medical Center at lack of funding. Af a time when Amer- wetlands as a natural Band-Aid to Dallas, and one of the key players in ica's waterways are being rapidly de- damaged ecosystems, very similar- to the international genome search. "It stroyed by illegal dumping, pesticide ones naturally created," says Robert may take longer because the funds are residues, neglect. ar:c excessive sedi- Atkinson, environmental biolog st at 'toe not there." To save money, researchers mc-r:ation caused by deforestation and Center. "The restoration of our water- constructed robots to handle some of strip mining, congressional lawmakers ways is in its infancy. We do not have the more tedious work such as intricate seem more content to give lip service much money, so we try -to make sure gene sequencing and time-consuming than dollars to projects to reclaim dam- that we scientifically maximize our re- computer functions. Evans credits the aged s :os. Funding has never matched sults with careful monitoring of each use of robots with cutting costs "some- the enormity of the problem since a tiny project. More funding will only come what," but insists the project needs an '- team of environment b clogists, affi through increased puolic awareness of even greater funding investment to ated with the Center of Environmental the severity of the problem." reach target goals. and Hazardous Materials Studies at In an effort to curb spending and At its completion, the mecical com- Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, maximize efficiency, many researchers munity will possess the ability to con- first started working to restore compro- rely on common-sense approaches lo struct a gene map and complete mised water ecosystems in the late tackling difficult scientific challenges. genetic information for any human 1960s. On a shoestring annual budget Lester Ehler, for instance, a researChet being. As V the possib Ity of abuse, of S1 million, biologists reconstructed in entomology at the University of Cali- Evans says researchers rsa.'ze crucial wetlands and restored natural wildlife fornia at Davis, applies traditional bio- ethical questions of access and pri- habitats to a user-friendly state in a looical control methods of insec; pest* vacy need to be answered before the number of iocales such as Lake Michi- first used over a century ago, using a technology becomes widely available, gan, bottomland sites in the Mississippi pests natural enemy to control a species. and various safeguards to protect drainage region, and the Matxle and The technique reduces our depen- availability are being studied. Santa Cruz rivers. Under the direction dence on harmful pesticides which Nearly 6 percent of the budget is of Dr. John Cairns, Jr., the team started cause harmful environmental damage geared toward This goal. In fact, Evans restoration work in the Appalachian and long-term hazards to human says, "compiling this gene map will un- area in the fall of 1991 to reduce sedi- health. Since 1973 on a small university cover the genes which could uncover ment runoffs, revive wildlife, and curtail budget, Ehler has been experimenting d seases like cancer, heart disease, damage from flooding. Artificial wet- with lace-wing larvae, lady beetles, and mental illness. If we get a cure for US OMNI ,: : AIDS, it wi'J come frc" his work Mon- or surgical procedures. Surgeons can land. The company has 48 locations itoring and finding cures for AIDS, use the device when they perform en- globally and a staff of 8,000 working on other v'ral diseases, and serious micro- doscopic operations requiring small in- 4,900 projects yearly.

bial threats such as Human Parovirus cisions, employing a small monitor "The helmet has fared well in tests," B-19, Delta virus, and E. coli disease, which provides them with a detailed says Jeremy Harris, co-designer with have also been a part of the ongoing close-up view of the part of the body Donald Hackman of the 1992 creation. mission of the Centers for Disease they're operating on. Rather than Surgeons like the quality of the image Control (CDC) in Atlanta. Since Amer- straining to look up at a TV monitor and the mobility. You can look down ica currently spends 14 percent of its overhead, the device is "right there" past the monitor at your hands, and the gross national product on health with near their faces. All images are in color. view of the monitor is never blocked. millions going for treatment methods, The helmet, constructed of styrofoam, Precious seconds are never wasted. the CDC is operating on a fresh is lightweight and carries a two-pound Every surgeon likes that aspect."

premise: Anticipation and prevention of ceL'i;erweight to ensure balance and Money, or the lack of it, is also a infectious diseases are possible, mobility. Much of the funding to Bat- major issue in research. Funding is- needed, and cost-effective. telle, the company which gave us the sues have complicated the develop- CDC researchers are worried aboji. technology to make photocopies, ment of the controlled fusion project, the spread of new strains of polemic y comes from government health and an energy alternative, currently under- fatal organisms such as Hanta Virus defense agencies and foreign coun- way at the Princeton Physics Labora- from the U.S. Southwest and Lassa tries such as Germany and Switzer- tory, The research seeks to harness the ana i_bois fevers Irom Africa, as well as a variety of drug-resistant bacteria, working their way into other areas of the world because of :oc-olal cnanoes. Get The Best Nights Sleep Ever! environmental alterations, increased in- ternational travel, and widespread Frustrated transfer of foods. Once transplanted, bacteria and viruses often exchange With Your Also it keeps your

genetic material or mutate into more Sleep? spine in its natural lethal, infectious forms. "A series of or- Do you m« and turn >.ent. Andtha ganisms has newly emerged or mu- lowcts rbe tension .iv niij-str Can't seem to tated in the last 20 years, and we must find a comfo ruble po: surrounding be vigilant that they do not spread," rion: Doi:? voui buck k> you can says Mitchell Cohen, director of the fortably CDC's Division of Bacterial and My- adit when, you awake cotic Diseases. "Some of these dis- These arc signs that eases are just a plane ride away. Some your have emerged within our borders. We support you pi must design effective prevention and control measures. We have had enough experience to know that we must use our resources to contain the spread of microbial invaders. Other- wise, we'll have increased illness, death, and medical care costs." Funding for the CDC's National Cen-

. ter for Infectious Diseases has re- mained relatively stable due to its work 'j'l-'v '!.', ;/ : /:/ / ,: .if vim Call in monitoring the current Eubercutosis For More Information (TB) epidemic and AIDS research. The You owe it to yourself to learn more about

agency's ao'e effort in seeking more dii? revolutionary way to a bettet night s sleep. effective- treatments to stem theTB out- Sleep Better On Air break comes at a time when most For FREE Video and Brochure, Call A Select' Comfort Air Sleep Systui states from Maine to Oregon have doesn't rely on sprin slashed their TB prevention budgets, 1-800-831-1211 thinking the problem has been eradi- cated. In fact, other research areas such as heart and lung disease have suffered because of the increased inci- dence of TB and AIDS, causing some r~ Please send me a FREE VioTo"! researchers to question how some fed- and Brochure. eral funds are applied. Not only are funding levels remain- """-

ing constant in AIDS research, private I companies are also spending money -"-•— — -/- | for medical devices. For example, in Mail to: Select Comfort Corporation Columbus, Ohio, researchers at Bat- I 6105 Trenton Lane M, Minnapoli,. MN ^442 I telle Institute designed and pertecleo a |©s e ] M cunirorLC.] r P.,iw5 Dept. 36b'5| helmet-mounted video display. monitor How can Vm Awtsst I keep my work © ART CUMINGS Lighten up / from becoming Art is meant ;?\-fcellecfcuaf|y "to rn&ke. us intimidating 9 th.nk /

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energy source of the stars produced power plants beco-e oosolete in 50 computers, and other fields. He plans by processing deuterium and tritium years, what will we do? This is a na- to give tax credits for industrial re- plasma within strong magnetic fields tional security issue: to remain tops in search and development, Some scien- while heating it to fusion temperatures. fusion research, We've always as- tists worry about the mountains of red Despite a series of triumphs, federal sumed lhat we will hold the edge." tape generated by such liaisons. Oth- funding has fluctuated since the proj- It is the fear that we will not "hold ers wonder if Clinton's stress on ap- ect began in 1951 with a meager the edge" in international competition plied research might deemphasize hie $40,000 budget, reaching peak levels which propels scientific research. importance of basic research and the in the 1970s but dropping significant y Technological advances do translate pursuit of knowledge. during the Reagan-Bush era. Clinton into political and economic power, Both the White House and the supports the project, which will com- such as our creation of the atomic American science community know the plete a key phase of its program this bomb during World War II, as John issue of technological superiority is fall when it produces a landmark 10 Gibbons, Clinton's science adviser ac- crucial to this country's economic and million watts of energy, enough to light knowledges. "This administration is political survival. Other countries de- up a small town. placing a heavy bet that the science vote much .larger portions of their gross For 1993, Congress appropriated and technology community, given sup- domestic product (GDP) to civilian re- about $330 million for the project, port and encouragement, can provide search and development, according to which should culminate in the con- one of the principal engines for growth, current NSF data. Japan, for instance, struction of a joint international Ther- We are developing programs to give devotes 3 percent, and Germany 2.7 monuclear Experimental Reactor, pre-competitive assistance to technolo- percent of their respective GDP for slated for operation in 2001. Countries gies that promise commercial payoff." non-defense related R&D, as com- including the European Community, Critics are skeptical of Clinton's plan pared to fiscal com mi I mens of only 1.9 Russia, and Japan are cooperating on which allows federal labs to spend up percent for the United States. "This this project. "This process is cleaner to 20 percent of their research budgets country has too many needs to just let and safer than the fission process for on partnerships with industry. The key its research potential go to waste," the nuclear power plants," says Dale program, costing $17 billion over four says AAAS' Albert Teich. "So many of Meade, deputy director for the labora- years, offers tax incentives and direci the global challenges, whether environ- tory, The long-term project, according funding to foster technology. Clinton mental, health, or economic, involve re- to Meade, needs consistent funding hopes to bolster technological re- search, but not everybody recognizes support. "Can you imagine if the search by converting some military re- that need. Sustaining our research lev- Japanese and Europeans developed search to civilian purposes, which els is essential to America's political, fusion, and our fuel resources were de- would act as a catalyst for innovations economic, and technological future. It's pleted?" he asks. "Should our nuclear in automobiles, biology, aerospace, as simple as that. "CQ ENTERTHE to want to be in flow. That doesn't ex- inJTERWIElAJ plain how an individual in flow has a Dodge Neon CONllNUfDFRCMpA sense of complete participation in life and full expression of the potenva ties crr.'-rige ana ge: oner kids "cc-elher. of the self, You feel integrated on a per-

it's level, that goes with the ab- SWEEPSTAKES and I'll have to change my Clothes sonal and just so much easier to turn on the TV." sence oi worn'es. Whether "he absence AND YOU Omni: That's scary. Have the beepers of wcries is primary or a fortur.ale by- COULD WIN... turned up any other surprises? product, it's certainly important. So it's

Csikszentmihalyi: It shows how depen-" almost like an escape. A HOT, NEW dent we are on some external structure But Einstein once said science is to keep our minds, well, flowing. Not :he :jre~i:esl escape there is. And sure, 1995 DODGE NEON! even in flow, but fust on an even keel. when you go into abstract realms of the Remember in the Sixties many psy- mind, it's nice to have another place to live besides the real world— a beauti- ONE OF 30 MONTHLY ctroloo/lsts did sensory deprivation ex- LjerimeiKs. They put you in a dark room fully ordered, logical space. You could FIRST PRIZES... ONE MONTH'S alone, and your mind started wander- say that's an escape, but an escape

ACCESS FEE PLUS 5 HOURS ing, and you couldn't control the move- forward! I make a ciis: nc: en between ON AMERICA ONUNE! ment of your consciousness. We find an escape that's a reduction of chal- that is also true in everyday life. You lenge and skill, which occurs, for ex- Each month, from January through don't need an isolation tank. All you ample, when you get drunk or take June 1995, OMNI will introduce an need is to be alone with nothing spe- drugs. That's qua^al vely efferent from original science fiction thriller from cific to do. Just on the basis of s'a;isi.- an escape involving upping the chal- of today's leading authors.., but one cal probability, most thoughts that lenges and skills. only on America Online! Each story come up will be worries. Omni: There's the element of growth? is full of unseen surprises,., Including Omni: Is this just human nature? Csikszentmihalyi: Right. I call it com- the chance to win fabulous prizes. Csikszentmihalyi: As Gregory Baieson plexity. You're operating with higher Participation in the contest is easy reducing challenges. Pi- and fun! Simply log-on to America put it, for everything that can go right, skills without Online, goto the keyword OMNI, and there are 100 things that can go wrong. casso 'was jeaeus ane insecure in his follow the instructions that appear on You want a million dollars. Fine. But nterpe-sona 'elations and didn't cope your screen, what's the probability of not having a well in:er personally. He put all his effort DON'T MISS THE million dollars? Much higher, right? And into his work, which became more the same thing with youth, with love. If complex. That's one way. Perhaps a EXClTEMiF: ; your mind is going on its own, without better way would have been for him to complsxiiy" lis rela:i en ships with peo- January's exclusive some control over it, the number of ger.ing ple, try to understand why he didn't get premiere... -essages tna; say, "You are net what you want" will be much greater along with them, and resolve those "Black Mist" than the positive messages. So you problems while still nvesfog energy in filter allowing you his art. But Picasso was escaping iiom by Richard A. Lupoff have to get either a to modify these negative thoughts, or conflict by "complexifying" another What happens when you mix murder you have to focus on something else to type of challenge. with Mars? Science Fiction and mys- keep them from coming in. Omni: If he'd been able to eope di- tery master Richard A. Lupoff shows Omni: Does -low accomplish ;his? rectly, might he have freed even more you in this brilliant novella, "Black it's for his art? Csikszentmihalyi: Yes. I wouldn't say energy the primary task, but certainly one of Csikszentmihalyi: If Picasso had re- the powerful side effects. When you're solved his problems with his wives, girl-

in flow, you don't have to deal with all friends, and children, maybe he would these random thoughts. not have been as driven. Maybe he Omni: So wnai's its pr mary i..nc1ion? would have enjoyed life more. Look at

Csikszentmihalyi: I don't really know. the great chess masters who exhaust We feel good about flow because all the challenges of their field. At that somehow, through time and evolution, point many of them go crazy, to use a first it go? linked to good feelings, just as simple characterization. Take the eating and sex did. Maybe flow feels great American chess master, Paul

good subjectively because it's a good Morphy, and 100 years later, Bobby way to make sure the species will take Fischer—100 percent involvement with on higher and higher challenges and chess, reaching the top quickly, and try to develop skills that match. then trying desperately to find flow Omni: Don't you think that's kind of a after that, Morphy offered to play any- teleological argument. body at great handicaps and give

Csikszentmihalyi: It's not teieolog cal. them lots of money if they won, but no-

oecause it just means that people who body wanted to play with him because couldn't achieve flow would have had he was too good. He had one psy- less chance of survival. It's a random chotic break after another. coupling of a behavior type with a feel- Omni: So there's also a negative, dark ing, which over time achisvec a greater side to flow. survival or reproductive advantage Csikszentmihalyi: Addictive quality,

And now we are in a sen yes, which may in the long run restrict —

nave hose opponu". ties yo.i r esort to less complex forms, like watching TV, Tour company logo watch sample listening to music, taking drugs. Omni: What aboul h'ngs like Nintendo, NOT $19.50... NOT $16.50... hanging around shopping malls? NOT $14.50... Csikszentmihalyi: They're not very *+(\(\ complex, of course, and go I don't like them. Such interests are self-destruc- tive because their challenges are FOR *l. Most kids quickly JUST quickly exhausted. NO EXTRA CHARGES CCU=£NV learn they've reached the ceiling of that

: activity. l gets boring and they go on to TO QUALIFY FOR THIS SPECTACULAR sc-'-ehing else. Not necessarily better, Don't be misled by the S1. 00 price. . .this $1 OFFER, YOU MUST INCLUDE THE but something else. Only TV seems to is a fine quality logo watch that normally IN ORDER: have a constant appeal. FOLLOWING YOUR sells for $20 - S27 (depending on order Omni: What percentage of people ex- quantity). Each watch carries our 1. Your name and title. perience flow? LIFETIME LIMITED WARRANTY. 2. This AD along with $1.00. Csikszentmihalyi: We've tried to deter-

3. Your OWN company or organization logo on This no-obligation offer is limited to: mine that by reading to people quota- business letterhead complete witr bus-n-:ss tions describing flow, including those • Just ONE sample watch per company address, to show the logo IN USE. No third- of a mountain climber, chess p ayer, (Please specify man's or woman's size.) party logos or computer-printed logos please. and dancer, then asking them: "Did • Companies who have never ordered from you ever feel like that?" If the person

Sample is normally shipped to letterhead I nage Watches, Inc. before. says yes, we ask "What would you be address. For home address delivery, you MUST doing? How often?" and so on. Among • Companies/ organizations to evaluate our include your business card to show company both Americans and other people we watch for promotion, incentive, or award affil a:ion Sorry, no P.O. Bos deliveries please find that 87 percent say, "Oh sure I've programs. Not intended just for personal felt like that," and 13 percent say, "I IMAGE WATCHES, INC. use. don't think I ever quite feel like that," • 91731-2809 9095 Telstar Ave. El Monte. CA Within that 87 percent, some say, "I re- if you do not qualify lor a $1 sample watch, Attn: Mr. Julio (818) 312-2828 member feeling like that when I was you can always buy watches from us at our twenty and playing football," and not regularlow prices. Please send for our catalog since. Others say they feel it every day. with price lis!. And the same percentage happens in other countries. people spend in you' ability -,:.i hava mce than one type sclcjsness and loses he sense of time. How much time do J o flow experience. The ideal would be I've never gotten around to saying HOW flow? If by flow you mean the highest unsell'-:;ansei:jusness, to be able to move from one game many of those elements you must have. level cf concen- structured activity—to another. Omni: Do you have to reach a certain tration, challenge, and skill —oh, Omni: Flow demands rules? age before you're capable of experi- maybe one-tenth of one percent of your Csikszentmihalyi: Yes. or you should be encing flow? time, or less, But if you mean being able to impose your own. Take house- Csikszentmihalyi: I'd guess that small above average in challenge and skill, work: People who really enjoy ironing, children probably feel it most of the then about 20 to 25 percent of the time. say, inevitably find they've developed a time. Partly because they don't see Now, some people never get to that set of rules so Ihey can have feed- many possibilities other than the ones point, and some are there half the time. — are some therapeutic ap- back "I did ii right, better than yester- they're involved In, Of course, children Omni: What day, or worse than yesterday." Nobody get fr ustrated if they try to build a tower olica:cns of flow theory? in Italy else may know those rules, but they of blocks and it keeps falling, but gen- Csikszentmihalyi: Psychiatrists do. So when they iron, they can tell erally they do what they can handle, or and the Netherlands are using the the- how well they're doing and get sucked transform things into what they can ory and techniques. With electronic into the activity to thai extent. The same handle, and don't see a higher chal- pagers and self-reports, they discover with mowing the lawn or washing lenge than what they're doing. how much time their patients spend they feel doing dishes. If you want to enjoy these activ- By high school they discover they doing things, and how for ities, you create rules. could be many different types of peo- them, then try to understand' why, Omni: How can you compare an expe- ple, and each is a potential challenge. instance, the patient is so unhappy at rience like ironing where the rules may They could be bigger, stronger, home or so happy in certain activities, be arbitrary or even silly with chess smarter, better looking, more this, more in order to build an individually tailored which has complex, external rules, or that—and they are overwhelmed by the intervention therapy. Every two months climbing, where obeying the rules is a possibilities. There is a loss of inno- they give a new beeper study. Over people are matter of life or death? cence in the realization that there s so time, the amount of flow the

it mounts, as challenges and Csikszentmihalyi: I like to think of flow much more to than you thought, and finding as being a continuum, a combination you don't know whether you can be like skills increase. of dimensions of experience, begin- that. It's not easy to flow and concen- For some schizophrenics who have ning with a challenging activity requir- trate when ail those distractions enter been hospitalized 15 or 20 years, the ing sK.i Is with clear goals and feed- your awareness. Kids who do it best doctors simplified the protocol. Then back. The person becomes utterly ab- are those who can focus on something they discovered that some patients sorbed in the activity, concentrating so do-able: That could be athletics, play- had disturbed mentation all morning,

intently he or she drops all self-con- ing a musical instrument. If -you don't but were completely normal between 92 OMNI —

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2:00 and 7:00 p.m. They found that psychic energy in the future. Most of famous, it's clear they were motivated identifying the optimal experiences in us, most of the time, invest our energy almost completely by intrinsic motives, these people's lives and building on in programs laid down either in our without much concern for fame. Yet, them could have a better effect than genes or consciousnesses either by bi- because they were so focused and in- the merely trying to ward off the negative ological or cultural selection. Essen- terested, they ended up pushing at-occs of tneir situation. tially, we tend to spend time doing boundaries and ended up achieving Omni: What else are you working on? things that don't really open up possi- success and becoming famous bilities future, are simply ful- sometimes even wealthy. Csikszentmihalyi: I direct two big proj- in the but envision soci- ects. In one, I'm interviewing people in filling needs or desires that made sense Omni: How would you a their seventies, eighties, and nineties, in the past. Part of that, of course, we ety that floated on flow? who've achieved something culturally have to do to survive. But we must real- Csikszentmihalyi: First, enjoy life. It important. They include Nobel laure- ize we can also create the future—ac- makes no sense to go through the mo- ates, innovative business leaders, cording to lines that were not laid tions of existence if one doesn't appre- stares—en. and scientist who continue down, programs not formulated in the ciate as much of it as possible. But learning and growing into advanced past, but which we discover ^h we ic-arr each also has to find flow in activities old age. We're trying to develop a more about our lives. To the extent that that stretch the self: continuing curios- challenges, model for optimal aging. The other in- people do that, it seems they are build- ity, taking new developing volves teenagers again, how they de- ing the future into their own selves. new skills. We can't afford to become cide their future careers, what values, Omni: So we have the capacity to di- trapsed within ourselves, our jobs, and entire attitudes, and habits prepare them for rect our own evolution? religions, and lose sight of the life. self loses it- a productive adulthood. With lots of Csikszentmihalyi: This is the point I try tapestry of When the in transcendent graduate students working on it, I'm to make in The Evolving Self. Individual self a purpose— craft more like an orchestra conductor than enjoyment seems an evolutionary po- whether to write great poetry, in responsible in large beautiful furniture, understand the mo- principal investigator. I feel like the old tential humans, of or help children be artist in a Renaissance workshop who part for technical and social advances, tions galaxies, walks by, looks at sketches, and says, in future-oriented goals. It's intrinsic in- happier—the self becomes largely in- "Make the nose bigger," or "You have terest thai keeps people discovering, vulnerable to the fears and setbacks of Psychic energy the oackground all wrong." exploring for the sheer pleasure and ordinary existence. fixed on mea.nirgfu Omni: Both projects extend concepts enjoyment of it. After a while other con- then becomes about flow into the individual's and so- siderations come into play: "Is this in- goals that will advance complexity and ciety's future. vention going to make me a lot of continue to have an effect in the con- long Csikszentmihalyi: That's where the work money? Is it going to be useful?" In sciousness of new generations has led me: to people's ability to invest talking to creative people who become after we leave mis world.00 34 OMNI ARTS FREE VIDEO ing to represent problems; they're try- ing to provide solutions." Shows You How BOWFLEX A fundamental rethinking is under- way in the art world, agrees Doug Ash- Lets You Outperform ford of Group Material, the New York artists collective that designed the ICA show. "Beyond considering alternative NordicFlex* and Soloflex . p/aces to display their work, people are contemplating broader questions like i> Bnaaag what is an anist supposed to do? Whom do we serve and how?" The next step, You Will See: he says, is to "generate a discourse that might actually change things." The idea of trying to start a dialogue I Why Bowflex's table pulley system was, in fact, the explicit goal of the piece tan give you better results. installed by sculptor M. Simon Levin and architect Mike Tyrrell at RA's North > Why Viuv/flsiX can offer both aerobic Point show. They parked a pickup truck and strength conditioning. in the middle of the site and adorned it * Why only Bowflex is backed by a with a nonfunctioning antenna and lifetime warranty. satellite dish. Cellular fax machines set up between North Point and the ICA enabled people to share their thoughts about the land with Massachusetts' lyghway, transit, and park authorities. For Your Free Video Call E "" : ™ ; These fax transmissions, Levin claims, were "guerrilla acts. Instead ol taking 1-800-BOWFLEX (269-3539) over by force, we frustrate them by tak- ing up their paper and toner." Sugges- tions forwarded to the state agencies include turning the area into a moun- tain range, a pine forest, a wetlands, or just a nice park. "These faxes alone 2 BOOKS FOR THE PRICE OF 1 aren't going to change anything," Levin concedes. "We're just happy people ESSENTIAL WINDOWS TOOLS fna'ted communicating." 382 pages plus one 3-5-inch high-density disk Regularly S29.95 Now $17 The project appealed to him be- A must-have book-disk combination that will transform you into a Windows power cause of his interest in creating transi- user. Find a feast of tips,, tools, and shortcuts, presented in an easy- to- under- tory works of art that "bridge the gap stand style. Disk contains programs to really supercharge your desktop. between life and art." Many who saw the truck/sculpture couldn't tell, for ex- ESSENTIAL WORD FOR WINDOWS TOOLS ample, whether it was supposed to be 273 pages plus one 3.5-inch disk Regularly $29.95 Now $17 an artwork or whether somebody just For Microsoft Word for Windows 6.0. Learn to use the powerful tools included in parked a truck in the middle of an art Word to create perfect documents fast and efficiently. show. Levin believes that anytime you Disk includes macros and the powerful Word add-on DocuPower Pro, file text get people asking questions like that, which adds management, and file search, powerful macros, and more you're doing okay. "In galleries, people much to Word. might think they know how to look at a painting: 'You stand a certain distance YES! Rush me the books I've ordered below. from it, look tor a minute or two, and ESSENTIAL WINDOWS TOOLS—special price $17 per copy move on to the next.' When people get ESSENTIAL WORD FOR WINDOWS TOOLS—special price $17 per copy confused about the context, and are FOR , BOTH BOOKS THE SPECIAL PRICE OF $29.95 unsure of where they stand, they have SHIPPING AND HANDLING: S3 10 US, $4 to Canada, $8 elsewhere to rediscover how to look at things, For NC, NJ, NY resident ;;:!<.! ,^,::> '--.x. Canadian :esidents add me, that's what real art is all about. GST "All of a sudden, you start to realize TOTAL DUE that beauty is not just in the designated art pieces, but in the nondesignated pieces as well. People start noticing COMPUTE Books mounds of dirt and say, 'Wow, that's actu 324 West Wendover Ave. ally a nice shape!' It can open their eyes. Greensboro, NC 27408 And the show can still be a success even if the people like the mound of dirt better 1hnr> tne so-called 'sculpture.'"Da rels with their large tube noses and a day, each 60 feet in length. Strange Wonders huge webbed feet, orange-billed ger- "They called this the 'Gates to Hell'," too penguins, and brown skua birds yells Bob Headland, standing on the looking for prey. Underneath the tus- old flensing platform at Grytviken, He is South Georgia island, a lonely outcrop sock crass, there are thousands of bur- our tour historian and a researcns" at where the climate is slightly more tem- rowing seabirds. And up on top of the the Scott Polar Research Institute in perate. The island is still below the Con- island, as a kind of crowning glory, is Cambridge, England. "Whales were vergence and is cold and frozen most nest after nest of magnificent wander- brought through the bay and dragged of the year, but along with the classic ing albatrosses, Paying us no mind at up here by a winch attached to the tail dark peaks and white glaciers of the all, these enormous, gentle-looking flukes. They were then dissected. The Antarctic, there are now brown muddy creatures engage in complete court- blubber was peeled off and went in bogs, patches of green tussock grass ship behavior, locking and rahlirg the.r one direction, and the rest of the body and more penguins, seals, and flying foot-long beaks, throwing their heads rolled to the other side. All the men seabrcs than one can possibly imagine. back into the air, and extending their working here had big spikes on their slippery with Here, we land on beach after wings to their full glorious spans, "It boots. It was extremely beach, and the viewing is so rich, the was just so beautiful to witness," says blood and guts . . . Come on, let's fol- sounds and smells sc ove^vnelmirg. ohoicgra.oner Perry Conway. "And they low the blubber." Louis Pici. a passer later confided: "To that our senses are almost saturated. did it with eight people around them, gerfrom New Jersey, like There are huge elephant seals, giant acting as if we were just another blade me, Grytviken was an Auschwitz sluglike creatures that are named for of grass," for whales." In 1982, an international the protruding snouts or trunks that are At Prion, no rats or mammals have moratorium was finally declared on this found on mature males. At this time of ever been introduced by man. Its ecol- industry, However, countries like Norway, the year, they lie together in big mud ogy is completely undisturbed and Japan, and Iceland continue to argue wallows shedding their skin and fur, thus provides a kind of snapshot of the fc the r.ght to reopen whale fisheries. and grunt, wheeze, snort, and belch. world before our species arrived: a Not surprisingly, whales are not the

; "I'm a professional seal bb'ogis"." oeaLt ful. but at the same time o' s; _rb- only resource in danger of exploitation says Peter Carey from the here. Krill are now caught in ~~ ~~ University of Canterbury in large quantities and used Christchurch, New Zealand, LIKE THE GiANT TABLES OF for animal feed (luckily, and one of the guides on our they are an unappetizing human food). An interna- tour. "And even I think ele- ICE SURROUNDING IT, ANTARCTICA DRIFTS IN phant seals smell bad." Occa- tional convention currently sionally, two young bulls rear THE MEMORY, A FROZEN regulates the size of this up and go chest-to-chest in a harvest. But the whole shoving match, opening their LANDSCAPE, A TIMELESS CONTINENT, A CON- Antarctic ecology is so de- huge pink mouths and show- pendent on this one ing their teeth. "This is how STANT REMINDER OF A species, that anything they develop the social skills which threatens it may they'll need when they grow WORLD WHICH CAN STILL INSPIRE WONDER. cause serious reductions in up and actually try to hold a populations of many of the territory," Carey explains. "But other species. While there oil right now, it's not all-out combat. It's ing, look at what has been lost, "When is now a moratorium on mining and practice, just play. They close their you get to a place like Prion," says extraction, many observes oeevc ;hai mouths on each otner's necks, but they Peter Carey, "you get a window on the it would be lifted quickly if substantial aren't actually biting." past, to a time when things were natu- deposits were discovered.

At a spot called Salisbury Plain, rally intact and hadn't been meddled My last night on the Khlebnikov I more than 100,000 king penguins with by us." cannot sleep again. Everything has gone

in I want gather—fantastic-looking birds with sil- And once arrived in the Antarctic, man by such a fleeting way, and ver-gray backs and splashes of yellow most certainly has. In the 1800s, sealers cesoerately to hang on to it all, to Antarctica and orange at their throats and ears. It came again and again, slaughtering somehow keep under my is a vast sea of these trumpeting, hundreds of thousands of fur seals for skin. If only there was a way to take a whistling, three-foot birds across a their skins and elephant seals for their chunk of the ice home or bottle the wind,

broad, muddy stretch. And for the most oil-rich blubber. Probably fewer than It is close to 1:00 a.m. now, and I part, they do not seem at all perturbed 100 of these animals were left on South wander up to the bridge where Sergey, by our presence: The kings go right on Georgia by the early 1900s. But their a lone Russian officer, is left on duty,

feeding, fighting, molting, and incubat- killing was eventually strictly controlled, For the first time in weeks, I notice it is well ing right in front of us. Their chicks take and the species has gone on to make completely pitch black—we are more than a year to fledge and. at this a remarkable comeback: Their numbers north of the midnight sun by this time— point in the season, look like brown, are now close to two million strong. and the sky is clear and full of stars. woolly bears almost the size of adults. Whales, however, were not as lucky. Sergey points to a constellation Parents return with their crops full of What you see in the Southern Ocean marked by four brilliant stars—the fa- fish to regurgitate into the mouths of today—as striking as these mammals mous Southern Cross—and explains these huge, hungry children—a daunt- sometimes appear— is thought to be that if you follow one of the arms on ing, neverending task. only about 10 percent' of what once down to the horizon, it points almost di- Right off of South Georgia is tiny was there. At Grytviken, just one of rectly to the South 'Pole. This is the first

Cross, I Prion Island, a little mile-wide gem seven old whaling bases that used to time I have ever seen the and packed with velvety coated fur seals operate on South Georgia, factory take it as sign, as a marker, showing and their black woolly pups, giant pet- workers once processed 25 fin whales me the way back. DO 96 OMNI .

GAfUlES Have You Lived CONTINUED FRONTPAGE 104 Before? in common. Casinos don't hang clocks 50% (or have windows) so that players will lose track of the time; public phones

: are :. egal af race tracks; and rats don't vomit, (In fact, that's how. rat poison OFF works—once they swallow it, they can't THE REGULAR PRICE regurc; tate it.) The others on the list are pretty se'f-exp anatory—or did you for- get the peahen eggs?

5. The men in the second list, in re- Kids' verse order, were the fathers-in-law of the men on the first list, The correct Computer Book pairings are Jackson/Presley, Rivera/ Vonnegut, Jr., Chaplin/O'Neill, Horo- A book-disk combination Witz/Tascanini, Quinn/DeMille, and for kids and their parents Wagner/Liszt.

Includes six shareware programs 6. All died in automobile accidents. for kids on one 3.5" high density 7. All renounced their U.S. citizen- disk plus "A Parents' Guide to ships. Kids and Computers," and "An 8. All are part Cherokee. Overview of Children's Software." 9. All competed in the Olympic Games: Patton in the modern oeriathlo-i. On the disk: ABC's, Brix, Dotso, Stockholm, 1912; Spock in rowing, Math Rescue, The Mice Men, and Paris, 1924; Princess Anne in eques- Word Rescue. trian cross-country, Montreal, 1976. 10. All had sexual affairs with Mar- lene Dietrich,

1 1 One was born the day the other died; Hawn and Benchley on Novem- Fun ber 21, 1945; Keach and Gehrig on June 2, 1941.

12. If you had answered the quiz Explore this and other ntrigui.-iG with Windows first, you would surely have recognized iopioo ih'uug.'i ihe Rositruciiiri iCtiohinys A book-disk combination these strong hints to the answers. r Those t inij-hoi"i;::f; i studies, give across for Windows Users Questions 13, 14, and 15 will be an- wlated knowledge o ; history's " swered in a future issue. Meanwhile, e form of practical Includes nearly a dozen shareware send meyourtheoriesl to your programs for Windows 3.1 users on one 3.5" high-density disk. The Rasicrucian Order is a world- OLD BUSINESS. In June, f printed three al and philosophical fractions, with On the disk: Better Colors, Case- each an empty one-digit ot a religion, and does ni,mera:or gil Maker, Cipher for Windows, Con- anc iwo-d denominator: found, Great Icons, Harry's Screen Savers and Kaleidoscope, Ins and Outs, SmariPaper, Wallpaper, and sound files. dd nn :d

The puzzle was to distribute the dig- 800-882-6672 its 1 through 9 into the nine boxes so Will call you. that the equation is correct. The only No one on

order, plus three such fractions that add up to 1 To send S9.00 per book $2.50 I'd like to learn more about the for shipping and handling (U.S., $4 to are 9/12, 5/34, and 7/68. Roui-'iiiiri;/ itudin. Pivw ii'-in Canada and $6 other] to COMPUTE Unfortunately, the puzzle was f-nr iuiivdnctof; bookie:. Books, 324 West Wend over Ave., printed with brackets instead of boxes, Greensboro, NC 27403. (Residents ot and several readers wrote to say they NC, IMJ, and NY please add appropriate had gotten the impression that the de- tax; Canadian orders add 7% goods and services tax.) All orders must be paid in rominators were to be a product of the U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank. Offer two digits. But fortunately and fortui- expires or while January 31. 1995 sup- tously, it turns out that there is only one correct answer to this puzzle, too,

''-~~..j£.:-:~:! which was previously unknown to the rv -r': For Faster Service original puzzles creator, Nob Yoshiga- KOSICRUCIAN QRDER* Call 910-275-9809 hara. What is it? Ask for Dept. CB ANSWER: The single solution is 5/(8 X 9) + 7/(2 x 4)> 1/(3 x 6) = 1 .DCJ ;

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bution will go toward public awareness, education, research and lobbying efforts to protect manatees and their habitat. OMNI EMPORIUM HEHTJI11 NOW OFFERS COLOR Of Central £ South America, iotas, Videos, S Group Tours, Free © DISPLAY ADS. Brochures! [713] 896-9334 Save the Manatee, Club GALL FOR DETAILS. 516-757-9562 » can 1-80M3S sJG UN "Oh Secret and Awesome Lost Personal DEAD Wilderness Shrine." "The Key to Oz and Always be Thine." Products shook his head, but he wasn't sure. "The Key to Oz and Always be Maybe, maybe they had. He felt sorry Thine." for Biiiy Joe's young wife. They left her "Bee-Men, and so forth. Now help at the house with Ruth Ann and the last me with this rock." of the mourners. There was no time to "Rock!"- lose. In January it gets dark early. The "First the rock and then leaves." cornfield was now a shopping center, "We'll never find it again." had been for forty years, but the woods "When we need to, we will. Come and the broomsage were still there be- on. I think it's late." hind it like a blank spot on a map. The It was late, but stiil warm for October. road that led back from the highway While Nation and Pig Gnat pulled the was still gravel. They parked the elec- rock into place, Billy Joe scrambled to tric (no one had ever been able to call the top of the culvert. The funny feeling How to order them them "cars") by an overflowing dump- in his legs was gone. Across the corn without embarrassment. ster at the bottom of a steep clay bank. stubble, in the subdivision on the other How to use them "Tel! the of the cliff again," side of the early lights me name highway a few without disappointment. said Billy Joe. gleamed. Among Ihem, Mrs. Pignatelli's.

"Annapurna," said Pig Gnat. "You "It is late," said Billy Joe. "I think you've been reluctant to purchase okay?" your mother's home. Maybe we should Ifsensual products through the mail. ." "I We would like to offer you three feel like shit but I'm not drunk any- cut across the field . . things that might change your more, if that's what you mean." "You know better than that," Pig mind. The narrow trail switchbacked up Gnat said. "He who comes by the trail First, we guarantee your privacy. the bank to the forest. One slip and must leave by the trail." ("Very thing we ship is plainly and secure- they were "dead." It was spitting snow. The trail followed the great stream ly wrapped, with no clue to its contents At the top the trail led into the trees, the away from the highway and the houses from the outside. All transaction.'; are dark, dark trees. on the other side, down the culvert and strictly confidential, and we never sell, Billy Joe carried the Daisy. Of across the gorge on a high, perilous rent or trade any customer's name. course it was useless without a maga- bridge of two-by-fours. Second, we guarantee your satisfaction. zine. They came out of the woods, Billy Joe led the way. Pig Gnat was If a product is unsatisfactory, simply

1 through the brush, into the field. "This in the middle. Nation, who owned and return it for replacement or refund. is the deepest and most mysterious therefore carried the gun, brought up Third, we guarantee that the product ynu part of the trail," Pig Gnat said from the rear, alert for game. choose will keep giving you pleasure. memory. "As we begin our journey up "Hold," he said. Should it malfunction, simply return it to the ancient Tibetan Nile." They crossed Three boys froze in the dying light. us fin- ;.\ replacement. the gorge (the Ford was gone) and fol- A giant grasshopper stood poised on lowed the great river to its source in a top of a fence post. Nation took aim. What is the Xandria CoJlection? culvert, now almost hidden under a Billy Joe squinted, imagining a rogue It is a very special collection of the broken slab at the rear of the shopping tiger. Pig Gnat kept his eyes wide finest and most effective sensual products center. "All kneel," said Pig Gnat. open, staring off into the' endless coils from around the world. It is designed for They knelt. Pig Gnat raked away the of night.Dd the timid, the bold, or lor anyone who has leaves with a stick. "Don't we say some- ever wished there could be something more thing, or something?" Billy Joe asked. CREDITS to their sensual pleasures. "That's after. Give me a hand with The Xandria Cold Collection celebrates Page 4, bolTom: W yne Lywlr page B. Bottom: Neal Pres- this rock." I lie possibilities tor pleasure you ce Billy Joe set down the Daisy and have within. Send for the Xandria Gold they heaved together, and slid the big Edition Catalogue. Its price of $4.00 is stone to one side. applied, in toll, to your first order. Underneath, in the dark brown Write today. You have absolutely noth- earth, a two-inch ruby square glowed. ing to lose, and an entirely new world of "Hadn't it oughta say press or cau- me enjoyment to gain. tion or something?" Billy Joe joked

:lrsy 33: r.r.i A|-.-L:igi:a- An: |jagis nervously. page The Xandria Collection, Dept. OM0195 "Sssshhhhh," said Pig Gnat. "Just P.O. Bin 31039, San r'rancisco, CA 94131 press it." "Why me? Why don't you press it?"

"I don't know why. That's just the way it works. Just press it."

Billy Joe pressed it and instead of pushing in like a button it sort of pushed back. There.

"Now, all repeat after me," Pig Gnat Anr,n'L,-yr.in* yisx said. "Oh Secret and Awesome Lost pa9M04.bot.miC aiHaveWRelna. Wilderness Shrine." — . GAones

COMMON KNOWLEDGE: What traits do the things in our quiz share?

By Scot Morris

Here are some puzzles to Cher, Jimi Hendrix, Burt Preparation H? exercise your axons and Reynolds, and James Garner. C. And these: Kraft par- dendrites, all about things in 9. George Patton, Dr. mesan cheese, 7-Up, Hein- common, Benjamin Spock, and Prin- eken, Doublemint, Salem

ft "I've Been Working on cess Anne. cigarettes, Tanqueray, the Railroad" and "The 10. George Patton, Adlai MJB, Fuji, Quaker State, Eyes of Texas" share a musi- Stevenson, Burt Bacha- American Express? cal connection with "My rach, Yul Brynner, Kirk Doug- D. And these: IBM, Minolta, Sweet Lord" and "He's So las, Gary Cooper, and Ivory, Alka-Seltzer, Enten- Fine." What is it? Frank Sinatra. What woman mann's, Maxwell House, Low- 2. Liberty, macaroni, bedded them all? enbrau, USA Today, WD- checkers, and socks 1 1 Goldie Hawn and Rob- 40, Phillips' Milk of Magnesia? 3. What do these six peo- ert Benchley share a cos- 15, MOST DIFFICULT ple—Princess Diana, mic connection. So do Stacy OF ALL: What do these have Linda Lovelace, Sally Jessy Keach and Lou Gehrig. in common: sole, shark, Raphael, Roger Ebert, What is it? sloth, vampire, parasite, Lenny Bruce, and Merman 12. ANSWER THE QUIZ booby. (This is a very puzzle. You'll to Mailer'—have in common QUESTIONS above before tough have with these six people—Carl trying this puzzle, derived know all about these ani- Lewis, George Foreman, from Sam Loyd's classic mals to derive the answer.) George Harrison, Paul Mc- Only Color Problem. Cartney, Margaret Thatch- What do these words have ANSWERS er, and Carol Channing? in common: tune, pet, 1. "Railroad" and "Texas" 4. My editor says born, nothing, dad, crash, have the same melodies. these things have nothing in renounced, redskin, So do George Harrison's "My common: clocks in a Olympic athletes, Marlene Sweei Lord" and the Chif- casino, public phones at a Dietrich, reincarnation, fons' "He's So Fine." race track, photographs and answer this quiz? 2. These are all presiden- of Abraham Lincoln smiling, 13. EVEN HARDER: tial pets. Liberty was Ger- witches-burned in Salem, There's just one tour-letter ald Ford's golden retriever, peacock eggs, and rat vomit. word that summarizes Macaroni was Caroline What do you say? what the following have in Kennedy's pony, Checkers 5. What do these six peo- common. What's the only was Richard Nixon's fa- ple—Michael Jackson, word?: President James Bu- mous spaniel, and Socks is Geraldo Rivera, Charlie Chap- chanan, the two-toed sloth, the current First Cat. lin, Vladimir Horowitz, the chow chow dog, the hyoid 3. You may have noticed Anthony Quinn, and Richard bone, mercury, -40 de- the lists are arranged Wagner—have in com- grees, the pyramids, Midnight youngest to oldest. Each mon with these six people Cowboy: iho -legs of Nepal, pair of persons was born Franz Liszt, Cecil B. Libya, and Ohio, and a on the same day. Joined at DeMille, Arturo Toscanini, logophile's attraction birth were Princess Di- Eugene O'Neill, Kurt to Pierre, South Dakota? ana and Carl Lewis, both

Vonnegut, Jr., and Elvis 14. FOUR-PARTER: born on July 1, 1961, Presley? A. What do these ten com- Foreman and Lovelace (Jan- 6. Jayne Mansfield, Mar- panies/products have in uary 10, 1949), Harrison garet Mitchell, Tom Mix, common: Coca-Cola, Bud- and Raphael (February 25, Jackson Pollock, Bessie weiser, Dentyne, Marlboro, 1943), McCartney and Smith, and Albert Camus. Baby Ruth, Campbell's soup, Ebert (June 18, 1942), Thatch- 7. Lee Harvey Os- Time, Avis, STP, Old Spice? er and Bruce (October 3, wald, Elizabeth Taylor, B. And these ten: Coor's, 1925), and Channing and

T. S. Eliot, Henry James, Kodak, Hertz, Cutty Sark, Mailer (January 31, 1923). and John Huston. Squirt, National Geographic, 4. My ediior is always 8. The heritage of Shell, Bayer, McDonald's, right. They have nothing 104 OMNI CON7INiJFrjONPAGE97