On this date in 1963, Sylvia Plath died, a suicide, in London, age 30, on her third attempt.

Dying

is an art like everything else.

I do it exceptionally well.

I do it so it feels like hell.

— “Lady Lazarus” (1962)

On this date in 1963, Sylvia Plath died, a suicide, in London, age 30, on her third attempt.

Dying

is an art like everything else.

I do it exceptionally well.

I do it so it feels like hell.

— “Lady Lazarus” (1962)

Man Charged in Decade-Long Abduction Case

“A Japanese man alleged to have abducted a schoolgirl and hidden her in his room for almost a decade in the home

he shared with his mother was arrested on Friday, police said.”

Man Charged in Decade-Long Abduction Case

“A Japanese man alleged to have abducted a schoolgirl and hidden her in his room for almost a decade in the home

he shared with his mother was arrested on Friday, police said.”

A new issue of the Center for Disease Control’s Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, which tracks new and reemerging infectious diseases worldwide, is available on the web. Current topics include coccidioidomycosis, Norwalk-like calcivirus infection, TB, malaria, and Japanese encephalitis.

Michael, we never knew you wanted to be a stand-up comic too:

“Robert Downey Jr. is the finest actor of his generation. He can do anything and we hopefully will have him around for a long time to come.” — actor Michael Douglas, on his “Wonder Boys” co-star Robert Downey Jr., who is serving time for using drugs in violation of his probation.

Daughter probes Ramblin’ Jack Elliott: A new documentary by his daughter is a career tribute to the semi-obscure legendary folksinger and one-time protege of Woody Guthrie. ‘Interviewee Kris Kristofferson tells her, “I never met anyone who was so enchanting on subjects I didn’t give a damn about.” Indeed,

Elliott is delightful company: a master at spinning tales, killing time, even doing drop-dead parodies of musical styles he doesn’t fancy.

But pic does arrive at a wistful half-catharsis when Jack, cornered at last by his exasperated daughter, confesses they’ll “never uncork

the secret” of why he’s been a less-than-ideal father. He is what he is: a rambler, albeit a marginally more settled one these days,

based in Northern California…, buoyed by belated accolades, including a ’95 Grammy for his first

recording in 20 years, and a ’98 National Medal of the Arts handed over by President Clinton himself.’

United Colors of Sleaze and Exploitation: ‘Missouri’s attorney general has sued Italian clothing maker Benetton for alleged fraudulent

misrepresentation in gaining access to four American death row inmates who later appeared in the company’s ad campaign.

Attorney General Jay Nixon said that when prison authorities in Potosi, Missouri, granted permission they were told that Benetton’s

“We, On Death Row” project was sponsored by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and that interviews done with

the inmates were intended for an article for Newsweek magazine.

“Instead, we find out that the project is a part of a Benetton advertising campaign, and the photographs and interviews are being

used in an ad campaign that includes billboards, videos and a 90-page supplement to be distributed nationwide in magazines,” Nixon

said.’

Do you know somebody on a protease inhibitor who needs to know this information immediately?

“One of the most commonly used herbal remedies, St. John’s wort,

substantially reduces blood levels of the HIV-fighting drug indinavir, and may cause treatment failure in

some HIV-infected patients, US researchers report.” [Reuters]

Nelson Mandela celebrates the 10th anniversary of his release from 27 years of political imprisonment by the U.S.-backed South African apartheid regime for “high treason” .

>

Unveiling a plaque at a new monument in Mvezo, part of rural Transkei, where he was born July 18, 1918, the son of a chief’s adviser. (photo: Juda Ngwenya/Reuters)

A new issue of the Center for Disease Control’s Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, which tracks new and reemerging infectious diseases worldwide, is available on the web. Current topics include coccidioidomycosis, Norwalk-like calcivirus infection, TB, malaria, and Japanese encephalitis.

Michael, we never knew you wanted to be a stand-up comic too:

“Robert Downey Jr. is the finest actor of his generation. He can do anything and we hopefully will have him around for a long time to come.” — actor Michael Douglas, on his “Wonder Boys” co-star Robert Downey Jr., who is serving time for using drugs in violation of his probation.

Daughter probes Ramblin’ Jack Elliott: A new documentary by his daughter is a career tribute to the semi-obscure legendary folksinger and one-time protege of Woody Guthrie. ‘Interviewee Kris Kristofferson tells her, “I never met anyone who was so enchanting on subjects I didn’t give a damn about.” Indeed,

Elliott is delightful company: a master at spinning tales, killing time, even doing drop-dead parodies of musical styles he doesn’t fancy.

But pic does arrive at a wistful half-catharsis when Jack, cornered at last by his exasperated daughter, confesses they’ll “never uncork

the secret” of why he’s been a less-than-ideal father. He is what he is: a rambler, albeit a marginally more settled one these days,

based in Northern California…, buoyed by belated accolades, including a ’95 Grammy for his first

recording in 20 years, and a ’98 National Medal of the Arts handed over by President Clinton himself.’

United Colors of Sleaze and Exploitation: ‘Missouri’s attorney general has sued Italian clothing maker Benetton for alleged fraudulent

misrepresentation in gaining access to four American death row inmates who later appeared in the company’s ad campaign.

Attorney General Jay Nixon said that when prison authorities in Potosi, Missouri, granted permission they were told that Benetton’s

“We, On Death Row” project was sponsored by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and that interviews done with

the inmates were intended for an article for Newsweek magazine.

“Instead, we find out that the project is a part of a Benetton advertising campaign, and the photographs and interviews are being

used in an ad campaign that includes billboards, videos and a 90-page supplement to be distributed nationwide in magazines,” Nixon

said.’

Do you know somebody on a protease inhibitor who needs to know this information immediately?

“One of the most commonly used herbal remedies, St. John’s wort,

substantially reduces blood levels of the HIV-fighting drug indinavir, and may cause treatment failure in

some HIV-infected patients, US researchers report.” [Reuters]

Nelson Mandela celebrates the 10th anniversary of his release from 27 years of political imprisonment by the U.S.-backed South African apartheid regime for “high treason” .

>

Unveiling a plaque at a new monument in Mvezo, part of rural Transkei, where he was born July 18, 1918, the son of a chief’s adviser. (photo: Juda Ngwenya/Reuters)