Comment by Henry S. F. Cooper. Comment on NASA's decision to shut down the Magellan spacecraft next year, even though it will still be gathering essential information as it maps Venus. The decision was reached in a bargaining session between NASA and the White House's Office of Management and the Budget. Magellan will be sacrificed on...

The Talk of the Town Obedience by Joan Acocella. Talk story about the writer's favorite dog, a two-year-old German shepherd named Louis, attending class at the Port Chester Obedience Training Club. Louis belongs to the writer's friend Diane. Classes are divided into Basic I, Basic II, and Novice; graduates receive a C.D. (Companion Dog) title, or a...

The Talk of the Town Elvis Hell by Chrystal Ingram. Talk story about the Elvis Hell's Kitchen Tour, at Trixies, a fifties-and-sixties-style diner on W. 47th St. The invitation promised Elvis food, Elvis fun, Elvis psychics, and more. The writers' coats were checked by a man in a Barbara Eden costume. Flyers on the wall announced an...

The Talk of the Town I Like That by Alison Rose. Talk story about Anthony Hopkins. The Welsh actor was in town for the premiere of the film version of "Howards End.' He talks about how much he likes the American landscape: "What I like is Wyoming, the Montana flatlands." Tells how much he likes American coffee shops, hotels, and motels...

Fiction Wilderness by Edna O'Brien. Two policemen arrive one night at Nell's home, in London, to tell her that her son Paddy has been in an accident. A pleasure boat had collided with a barge on the Thames, and many were drowned or drowning. She accompanies the police to a hospital near the scene of...

Profiles TAKING IT PERSONALLY by John Newhouse. PROFILE of Sen. Alan K. Simpson, the assistant Republican leader, or whip, and junior U.S. Senator from Yoming. At 6'7", he is one of the funniest and earthiest members of the Senate, as well as the tallest. He was also known as one of the Senate's hardest workers, and...

Musical Events by Andrew Porter.

A Neurologist's Notebook A SURGEON'S LIFE by Oliver Sacks. A NEUROLOGIST'S NOTEBOOK about Dr. Carl Bennett (a pseudonym), a Canadian surgeon who has Tourette's syndrome. The writer accompanied Dr. Bennett as he treated several patients, including a young mechanic with extensive neurofibromatosis, which produces protuding sheets of skin that can disfigure the whole body...

Letter from Bolivia by Alma Guillermoprieto. The DEA says it always knows when it has managed to bring down prices through interdiction because the Coca-Cola Company's resident Bolivian buyer makes an appearance at the coca exchange, to purchase ingredients for the softdrink. Locals in the coca growing region are also used to seeing operatives from...

The Film File Wayne’s World by Michael Sragow. “Saturday Night Live” has become a repackaging industry. The extended antics of vidiot savants Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) and Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) betray the same slapped-together quality as the TV specials “Toonces, the Cat Who Could Drive a Car” and “Saturday Night Live Goes Commercial,” though the film is...

Poetry At the Acme Bar & Grill by Julia Kasdorf. In dim light Manhattanites sip Margaritas and suck their fingertips. Who else...

Poetry The Watches by Elizabeth Macklin. Before they became mysterious and quartz, we longed to...