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Whose Fiction Was It?
The featured article in The New York Times Magazine on August 9th concerns the late short story writer Raymond Carver, and the influence others may (or may not) have had on his work. The article's author, D.T. Max (a contributing editor at The Paris Review) attempted to determine how much of Raymond Carver's fiction - and the ideas behind the stories - were Raymond Carver's.
Raymond Carver was born in the rural Northwest of working class parents. He first leaned to write by taking a correspondence course. He lived in poverty and suffered from multiple bouts of alcoholism throughout his 30's. He was married twice. He died from lung cancer in 1988, at age 50. At the time of his death, Raymond Carver was considered by many to be America's most important short story writer. The subject matter of most of his stories concerned the working poor.
Many critics over the years have noticed the difference in style between early and late Carver stories. The early stories are minimalist in style. The later stories are detailed. The article's author analyzed Carver manuscripts, interviewed Carver's former editor at Esquire magazine and Alfred A. Knopf, and spoke with Raymond Carver's ex-wife and widow. He concluded that many of Carver's early stories were heavily edited; and that Carver's editor had a significant impact on the final form of these stories. Late Raymond Carver stories (published after about 1980) were lightly edited at Carver's insistence. Because many of Raymond Carver's papers are in the possession of his widow, it is difficult to say how much of his work was the result of collaboration with his wives or others.
Data CEO Featured in Washington Post
A lengthy front page article in the August 9th issue of The Washington Post followed the CEO of a data software corporation as he and the corporation sought enough cash from investors to launch the company's initial public offering. The CEO, Michael Saylor, founded MicroStrategy Inc. (www.microstrategy.com) ten years ago as a maker of "decision support software." The corporation's software supports data mining, data warehousing, and other data applications.
Post staff writer Mark Leibovich followed MicroStrategy's CEO on an 11-day pre-IPO "roadshow" aboard a corporate jet. The purpose of such "roadshows" is to raise cash from investment funds, to make a good impression on Wall Street, to set the opening price of the company's stock, to generate momentum for a subsequent run-up of the stock's price, and to make MicroStrategy's underwriters (Merrill Lynch) happy.
According to the Post, an important part of road shows is the final "structuring" of the IPO - setting the stock's opening price, and how many shares (or "allotments") each investment fund would be allowed to buy at the opening price. The price was eventually set at $12. MicroStrategy's stock price doubled on the first day it was traded - June 11th. The stock is currently trading at about $40.
Managed-Care Sagas May Be Exaggerated
Some heart-rending anecdotes about patients' experiences with "managed care" and health maintenance organizations may be exaggerated, according to an front page article in the August 10th issue of The Washington Post. The use of anecdotal evidence to score political points has long been used in the Washington political wars. President Clinton has occasionally used anecdotes about individuals without medical insurance and (lately) persons who have had bad experiences with HMOs. One of these anecdotes - about a 55 year old woman's death from cancer as the result of an uncaring HMO - proved to be inacurate.
What's worse, newspaper and televison journalists - who should know better - continue to run managed care "horror stories." Tales of human woe are more interesting than statistics or abstract debates about cost and liability. And reporters take advantage of a situation that allows them to run with a one-source, unsubstantiated story from someone they aren't familiar with.
One one hand, simple anecdotes don't adequately explain complicated medical cases - especially when a patient feels he or she is unfairly denied treatment. Nor do reporters and politicians often have access to a patient's medical records. On the other hand, nearly half of those interviewed in national polls say they have personally run into problems with their health plans or know someone who has. These range from routine billing disputes to a failure to approve important medical tests or access to specialists. According to the Post, news editors may be having second thoughts about running anecdotal stories, primarily because the public is becoming tired of them. The article was written by Post staff writer Howard Kurtz.
Modern Library's 'Best 100' Choices Criticized
Faced with widespread criticism of the list it released last month of the 100 "best" English- language novels published in this century, the Modern Library says it will change the way it chooses the century's best English-language nonfiction books later this year. An article by Paul Lewis in the August 15th issue of The New York Times summarized the criticism of the Modern Library's selections. In separate articles published in The Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker, historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. and novelist William Styron - who were among the 10 judges who drew up the list - distanced themselves from the choices, and from the methods by which the books were chosen.
Critics contend the Modern Library used the 10 judges choices as merely a guide for its own final ranking. One of the choices, Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon," was originally written in German. The judges were entirely white, and were predominately elderly American men. The voting system was cumbersome and confusing.
Responding to the criticism, the Modern Library's managing director, Ian Jackman, said he would discard the current voting system and make the next panel of judges more diverse. The article appeared on page A17.
Body Scans - Better Data for Better-Fitting Clothes
An article in the August 13th issue of The New York Times explores the technology of three dimensional body scans. The fashion industry in the United States and abroad is developing technology that will eventually make "mass customization" a reality. The technology may be available as early as next year at a handful of locations. Eventually, one's body measurements may be placed on a standardized "smart card" which can give retailers all the information they need to fit individuals.
Right now, body scanners can be found mainly at a few research sites and special effects studios. The United States military has been active in developing body scanning hardware and software since the mid-80's, with the goal of making safety equipment like helmets and gas masks fit better.
According to the Times, even if body scanning is slow to spread to mass markets, accurate information on body shape could have a profound effect on the clothing industry. Fit will be better because there will more accurate information about body shapes. Traditionally, each tailor or clothing store have taken body measurements according to some measurement "system." But the systems are inconsistent.
In the future, body scanners will make several hundred accurate body measurements in a few seconds. Future body scanners will require require customers to be scanned while in their underwear. This may be done in a body scanning facility that is owned and operated by a partnership or group - as are many medical scanners today. The article was written by Anne Eisenberg and appears on page E1.