Television critic David Bianculli talks about the power of TV programs' opening theme songs. The president of ABC Entertainment wants to do away with them.
James Reston, Jr. has written a biography of Galileo, called "Galileo: A Life." In it, he explores how Galileo was publicly humiliated for supporting the theory that the Earth revolved around the sun. Reston recently wrote a cover story for "Time Magazine," on the comet crash into Jupiter, before the crash became national news.
Writer Shelby Foote has created a niche for himself as a civil war historian. He is best known for his three volume history of the Civil War, called "The Civil War: A Narrative." He has just written a new book, "Stars in Their Courses," which re-creates the three-day Gettysburg Campaign. He was also the narrator of the eleven-hour PBS series "The Civil War," which aired in 1990.
Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews Thomas Mallon's new novel, "Henry and Clara," about a real life couple who was present at the Lincoln's assassination.
Karolyi coached Nadia Comaneci in the 1976 Olympics, where she was the first person to score perfect tens in Olympic history. Karolyi and writer Nancy Ann Richardson have collaborated on a biography of his life, called "Feel No Fear." The book tells of Karolyi's defection from Romania to the U.S., and how he brought the American gymnasts Mary Lou Retton and Kim Zmeskal into the public eye.
Last week, a cholera epidemic broke out in Rwanda, and the country now has limited medical facilities and few physicians. Dr. John Sundin worked during May and June at the Red Cross hospital in Kigali, Rwanda. He'll talk about the cholera epidemic, and about his experiences working as the only surgeon in Kigali.
Commentator Dagoberto Gilb reflects on how poverty in his Spanish-speaking community and a string unreliable coaches affected the morale and success of his son's Little League team.
Alsop is the music director of the Colorado Symphony. One of the few woman conductors in the world, she has also served as music director of the Lond Island Philharmonic, and has been the guest conductor for many orchestras, including the St. Louis Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Boston Pops Orchestra. Her new CD "Victory Stride," features the work of the African American composer James P. Johnson.
While new music from Shoes and Freedy Johnston may not be as heavy as what's popular today, critic Ken Tucker recommends rock fans check out their latest pop-oriented albums.
Ladd is a 24-year-old writer who has just published an autobiography, "Out of the Madness." He writes about growing up in the Dallas housing projects with his mother, who was a heroin addict. Ladd describes how he struggled to educate himself and eventually became a writer. His book started out as an article, written when he was 20, and published in "Dallas Life." Ladd currently writes for the "Dallas Morning News," and attends college.
We pay tribute to singer Dorothy Collins, who died yesterday at the age of 67. Collins was the star of the 1950's TV show "Your Hit Parade," and received a Tony nomination in1971 for her role in Stephen Sondheim's Broadway show "Follies." We will play "Losing My Mind," from that show.
Langella is the star of the new HBO Showcase film "Doomsday Gun," the true story of Dr. Gerald Bull, a brilliant arms designer who fulfills his lifelong dream of building a supergun. Langella also played Dracula in the Broadway revival of "Dracula" for which he received a Tony nomination, as well as in the 1979 film version of "Dracula." Most recently, he has appeared in the Broadway play "Booth," and in the movie "Dave," as Bob Alexander, the evil White House Chief of Staff.
Belli's first novel, "The Inhabited Woman," is about a young architect whose body becomes inhabited by the soul of an Indian woman from the time of the Conquistadors. The soul urges the young woman to abandon her privileged lifestyle and join an underground movement against the dictatorship. Belli is from an affluent Nicaraguan family. She studied English and advertising abroad before returning to Nicaragua and joining the Sandinistas and playing a role in the overthrow of Nicaragua's dictator Somoza.
Lee is the co-writer and director of the new movie, "Eat Drink Man Woman." The movie looks at sex and food as the two main things that create and maintain families. It centers on Taiwan's leading chef and his disappointments -- both in his career as a chef and in his attempts to raise his three daughters. The movie also examines his daughters' relationships to food and sex. Lee is the director of "The Wedding Banquet," a movie about a love triangle between an American man, a Chinese woman and, a Chinese-American man.
Anthony Aveni is one of the pioneers in the field of archaeoastronomy, which traces how different cultures throughout the ages have interpreted the skies and planets. He has just written a book, "Conversing with the Planets." In it, he weaves together cosmology, mythology, and anthropology, to look at the significance of stars and how they have been perceived in various cultures. Aveni is a professor of Physics and Astronomy, as well as Sociology and Anthropology, at Colgate University.
The Cuban-born poet and essayist has just written his first novel, "The Marks of Birth." It explores the experience of exile through the eyes of a young character whose family is forced to flee the political unrest of a Caribbean island-nation, and begin again in America. Medina has also written two collections of poems: "Pork Rind and Cuban Songs" and "Arching into the Afterlife," and a book of personal essays entitled "Exiled Memories: A Cuban Childhood."
Frank Smyth is a freelance journalist who has written on Rwanda for "The Village Voice," "The Nation," and "The New Republic," and an investigative consultant for Human Rights Watch/Africa. He wrote a report for Human Rights Watch/Africa based on his visit to Rwanda in May and June of 1993. The report, "Arming Rwanda," is about the arms trade and the human rights violations in that country.
