- The Year in Movies
- "The General"
- Observing the seven days of Kwanzaa
- 'You've Got Mail!'
- Grateful Dead's Lesh gets new liver
- The Vincent Voice Library at Michigan State University
- Wrapping Trees for Art's Sake
- The New "Area 51"
- Odor, Sex - & Cockroaches
- Space Station Launch

It's been a record-breaking year at the box office. More tickets were sold at the box office in 1998 than in previous years. Armageddon, Saving Private Ryan and Something About Mary sold the most tickets. While  more people are going to the movies, it's also costing a lot more to make movies. Listen as Morning Edition host Bob Edwards speaks with film critic Pat Dowell who talks about the banner year at the box office and what's behind the increased cost of bringing movies to the screen.

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'The General'' (12/21/98) Ambivalence is a rare and wonderful thing in movies today but John Boorman's "The General" has it in spades. The film is based on the true story of Martin Cahill, a particularly audacious Dublin gangster who stole over $60 million during the course of a twenty-year career--including a gold record from Boorman's own house (which the director earned for the soundtrack to "Deliverance.") Brendan Gleeson's Cahill--a.k.a. the General--is a fascinating figure, half buffoon and half godfather. The viewer cannot help but be caught up by Cahill's joyful anti-establishment nose-thumbing, not least by his habit of going to the local police station in order to establish an alibi.  But Boorman avoids the trap of romanticizing his protagonist, whose brutal darker side emerges periodically and is all the more shocking in light of Cahill's customary charm and generosity. The General may present himself as a latter-day Robin Hood, but when it comes right down to it, he is just another thug. As Inspector Kenny, the police officer determined to outsmart Ireland's busiest burglar, Jon Voight gives a quiet, measured performance that is the perfect foil for Gleeson's ebullience. Shot in luminous black-and-white, "The General" turns what could have been just another gangster movie into a remarkable study of a deeply divided character.  ANDREA C. BASORA

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Observing the seven days of Kwanzaa

— December 26 to January 1 — is a growing tradition among many African-American families. Everything About Kwanzaa offers a terrific overview of this holiday for people new to the celebration. The site points out that "Kwanzaa is neither political nor religious and despite some misconceptions, is not a substitute for Christmas. It is simply a time of reaffirming African-American people, their ancestors and culture." The Smithsonian Institution also offers a look at the meaning of Kwanzaa. NetNoir helps lead the celebration with a history of the holiday as well as chat and message boards. NetNoir's also the place to go for New-Style Collard Greens, Ham and Black-Eyed Pea Salad and other recipes. But don't stop there. A member of Tripod shares the secrets for Sweet Potato Pie, Grandmother's Southern Fried Okra and several other tasty meals. The Kwanzaa Information Center offers more background on the tradition and related links, including a national event calendar. Sympatico, a Web portal from Canada, offers a special recipe and family project for each day of the holiday. And in case you need to say "Happy Kwanzaa" here's some Swahili from melanet.com: Kwanzaa yenu iwe na heri. — Deborah Branscum

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How many times a day do you hear "you've got mail" play on your computer? Who would have thought a little audio clip that downloads millions of times a day on America Online would become the title of a new hit movie? You've Got Mail, the movie, stars Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. They fall in love -- you guessed it-- in an Internet chat room. The film opened around the U.S. this weekend with critics, including Weekend Edition Saturday's Elvis Mitchell saying it has some great moments, but some weak spots too. Listen as he talks with host Susan Stamberg. At the same time, tell us what you think about falling in love on the 'Net.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh was recovering Friday after receiving a transplant in what may be another case of a '60s survivor paying for his rock 'n' roll excesses with his liver. Lesh, 58, was in stable condition at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., where the surgery was performed a day earlier. He was hospitalized for several days in September with internal bleeding stemming from hepatitis C, which he learned he had in 1992. The Grateful Dead and their legions of followers were known for using drugs during the band's heyday. But there is no way of knowing what caused Lesh's hepatitis infection.

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The G. Robert Vincent Voice Library is the largest academic voice library in the nation. It is located on the fourth floor of the West wing of the Library. It houses taped utterances (speeches, performances, lectures, interviews, broadcasts, etc.) by over 50,000 persons from all walks of life recorded over 100 years. Since 1974, the Vincent Voice Library has been headed by Dr. Maurice Crane.

Here are some samples...

Isaac Asimov speaks at MSU in 1974 (1,270K)
Big Ben rings in the twentieth century as Bob Vincent explains (245K)
Edwin Booth reads from "Othello" in 1890 onto an Edison cylinder (415K)
George Washington Carver talks about peanut research in 1930's (401K)
Amelia Earhart talks of science's aids to women in 1935 (540K)
Ray Eliot describes the 1944 football team at the University of Illinois (860K)
Betty Ford on being married to an insecure man in 1975 (120K)
C. F. Kettering talks about painting cars at GM in 1955 (995K)
Kenneth Landfrey in 1890 records bugle from Charge of the Light Brigade (430K)
Florence Nightingale (Bob Vincent interpolates) in 1890 (390K)
Will Rogers' campaign speech in 1922 (975K)
Babe Ruth, dying of cancer, talks about baseball in 1947 (515K)
Anwar Sadat calls for everlasting peace in 1970 (465K)
Robert Taft talks of the importance of a voice library in 1938 (235K)

More about the Vincent Voice Library

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The artist Christo and his wife Jeanne Claude have wrapped the Reichstag in Berlin, the Pont Neuf in Paris, and 11 small islands off the coast of Miami. Now the pair have turned their attention to a park in the Swiss city of Basel. They've been wrapping 163 trees in 55,000 square yards of silver-gray polyester. To find out why, listen as Claire Doole reports for All Things Considered. She visited the park as it was being transformed into a work of art. 

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September 9, 1997 -- Scientists have gained insight - and learned new lessons - by observing the behavior and habits of birds and mammals. But cockroaches? Yuck! Well, think again. According to NPR's Chris Joyce, researchers have discovered that cockroach odors -- and their keen sense of smell -- play influential roles in their buggy interaction.

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The U.S. national space agency has begun counting down for a shuttle launch that will put the first American piece of the international space station into orbit. Space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Thursday on its long-delayed mission. Astronauts plan to join their structure with a Russian component already in orbit. Ultimately, the orbiting facility is supposed to be as roomy as a 747, with enough living space for seven astronauts. Listen as NPR's Richard Harris reports for Morning Edition that its purpose is as much political as technical.