September / October 2006

Putting Political Ideals Into Action

Thomas J. Anton

Obituaries

A listing of the obituaries for September / October 2006.

The Calculus of Drinking

Giving up alcohol was not a sacrifice; it was an act of imagination.

The Playwrights' Place

Summer theater gives fledgling writers a chance to hone their words on stage.

Art Smarts

Tired of the same old posters? Two economics concentrators and a computer whiz have created a Web site where students can buy real art.

Why the Good Guys (Occasionally) Win

Biologists explain why, in a cheater’s paradise, cooperation ever evolved.

The World of Brown

Now that he’s reported for duty, what’s the new provost going to do?

What I Did Last Summer

From investment banking to organic farming, our annual report on students’ summer jobs.

Fresh Ink

Tours de Force

Two alumni take a circuitous route to dancing for one of the world’s great modern dance companies.

Hey, Britannica!

Three literary-arts grad students took a playful approach to writing an encyclopedia of fiction.

The Virtually Embedded Journalist

Deborah Scranton explains how she persuaded National Guardsmen to film their experiences in Iraq.

The View from a Humvee

Deborah Scranton gave video cameras to ten National Guardsmen in Iraq and edited the resulting footage into a groundbreaking documentary.

What Writers Do

Although movies made from his screenplays have grossed hundreds of millions of dollars, Josh Friedman ’89 had more to say. So he started a blog.

Pass the Gnocchi, Please

To win the best students, universities now compete for their stomachs as well as their minds.

Awake and Sing!

If you’ve long been hankering to gather around the piano with your family and sing classic songs of the American Yiddish theater, here’s your chance.

The New Atomic Scientists

Nanomaterials may prevent your chinos from getting stained, but more and more researchers are asking: are they safe?

Beyond Superman

Remember comic books? In recent years, illustrators and writers have used the form to create serious literature. Mark Siegel ’89 and his wife, author Siena Cherson Siegel ’90, are among the passionate few leading the charge.

Artificial Intelligence

I first became acquainted with computer scientists in the mid-1960s, when I went to work in a computer systems lab. My assignment was to make computers more user-friendly. . .

Brown: How Radical?

I wish you could have published the brief profile of three class of 2006 members who joined the marines without rehashing the tired stereotype that the average Brown student “thinks the United States is responsible for 95 percent of the world’s ills" . . .

First Frisbees

Your article on ultimateFrisbee (May/June 2006) was an extraordinary and welcome update on theprogress of this magnificent team sport. . .  

The Cost of Fairness

I read “The Bookstore Business”with great interest (Elms, May/June). I write from the perspective of a twenty-five-year career in higher education. . .

Puzzled

I was so excited when you began publishing an acrostic in the BAM. It brought me back to leisurely Sunday brunches spent doing the New York Times puzzles in the Ratty. . .

Warming to the BAM

As Brown alumni and three-time Brown parents, we were especially pleased to read the review by Tim Tibbitts ’90 of the new book on global warming written by our son. . .

Taking Control

As described in the March/April BAM, we have coordinated Project Muso Ladamunen in Yirimadjo, Mali, for the past year. . .

Good and Evil

The BAM is usually interesting and sometimes surprising, but I got a real shock when I read the last sentence of the Mail Room letter from Gerry Murphy ’69 in the March/April issue. . .

Beyond Darfur

We are delighted that Brown has made the right decision and divested from companies profiting from the crisis in Darfur. . .