36 Hours in Hanoi

Bowls of bun bo nam bo, grilled strips of beef served over rice noodles, at a Hanoi street stall.
By NAOMI LINDT
Published: April 5, 2009

NEAR Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart of Hanoi, a digital clock counts down the seconds to this atmospheric city's 1,000th birthday in 2010. There certainly will be a lot to celebrate: the city, Vietnam's capital, has experienced extraordinary growth over the last two decades, evolving from a grim, famine-ravaged place into a sophisticated metropolis with high-rises, sensational cuisine and world-class art. Those shaking their heads at the disappearance of local culture, though, should think twice. For every glitzy mall, there's an incense-filled temple nearby, and cultural influences of the past are still part of the modern-day fabric, from revered Confucian monuments to trendy French restaurants. In fact, it's this zeal for barreling toward the future while always looking back that defines this city. More

Even Rick Wagoner’s Firing Got Lousy Mileage

By FRANK RICH
Published: April 4, 2009

EVEN among pitchfork-bearing populists, there was scant satisfaction when the White House sent the C.E.O. of General Motors to the guillotine. More

The Grass-Fed Menagerie

By PETE WELLS
Published: April 2, 2009

The streams ran high with melted snow, wild chives were breaking through the dirt and bluebirds — actual bluebirds — swooped down from bare trees. My wife and I were taking a spring walk along a Catskills road, 1-year-old Elliot strapped to my back while Dexter, who’s 4, obeyed whatever gene commands small boys to throw rocks into moving water. Down the road, the cattle were not just lowing but bellowing. Maybe it was their springtime exuberance, but something in their voices was strangely bewitching. Before I knew what I was saying, I asked, “Who wants to visit the farm?” More

Obama in Europe

Obama in Europe: overtures to ovations
By Edward Luce
Published: April 3 2009 19:29 | Last updated: April 3 2009 19:29

At the end of Barack Obama’s press conference following the Group of 20 summit on Thursday, a large crowd of journalists did something journalists never do: they gave a politician a standing ovation (this reporter stayed neutral). In a week that began with a flurry of meetings between the US president and his counterparts from China, Russia, India, Saudi Arabia, Britain and others, and ends with this Saturday’s Nato summit, the media’s uncharacteristic behaviour might easily be forgotten. More

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday, once more with feeling, to mizzlaurajean.

Either

Somebody lost a hell of a lotta blow, or there's snow on the ground.

I posted about this, but here it is again

Accelerator in Internet Explorer 8

The latest version of Internet Explorer has a new add-on for LiveJournal users. Accelerator makes it easy for you to quickly post an entry about an article or web page to your journal without having to leave the site where you found the item you're writing about. Just select the text you want to post and let Accelerator do the rest.

Shamelessly stolen from an LJ Letter that everybody got anyway...