CULTURAS IN VITRO - What's in a name? Sometimes the most difficult words to write are the ones that appear on the front cover, but do titles really matter?

ECO-TERRORES - Magazine editor provokes ire of neoconservatives: Lewis Lapham, the longtime editor of Harper's Magazine, laughs at the news. "Great," he jokes after hearing that a neoconservative group called Americans for Victory Over Terrorism has labeled him an "internal threat" to the United States.
Lapham was placed on the same list as Jimmy Carter, Rep. Maxine Waters, novelist John Edgar Wideman and others whom the group -- headed by former Secretary of Education William Bennett -- chastise for not supporting President Bush's war on terrorism. Americans for Victory Over Terrorism says Lapham and the others have a "blame America first" agenda.

CULTURAS IN VITRO - To be heard, classical musicians cut own CDs: With recording contracts now a rarity, more performers are becoming their own producers

CULTURAS IN VITRO - A Graying, Growing Audience: [D]uring the last 10 years, only one moviegoing age group had not shrunk or stagnated: moviegoers older than 50. According to a survey by the Motion Picture Assn. of America, between 1990 and 2000, moviegoers in the obsessively sought-after 16-20 age group had dropped from 20% to 17% of total viewers. Moviegoers in the 25-29 category dropped from 14% to 12%. Even 12- to 15-year-olds, who are supposed to be part of the biggest demographic bulge since baby boomers, dipped from 11% to 10%.
Meanwhile, moviegoers ages 50-59 didn't just stay steady, they shot up from 5% to 10% of total audience. A second survey I found on the MPAA Web site, which interviewed frequent moviegoers, found that during the last four years, attendance of over-40 moviegoers was up as well.
For demographic researchers, these numbers are no surprise. Thanks to the graying of the baby boom generation, 38% of American adults are 50 or older, a number that will grow to 47% by 2020. More important, these older moviegoers behave very differently from their parents when it comes to entertainment. The baby boom generation remains loyal to its generation of film and rock stars--after all, who do you think goes to all those Eagles reunion concerts?

CULTURAS IN VITRO - Church rediscovers sin in cinema: But it is the hysterical reaction to The Sin of Father Amaro, which had its European premiere at the San Sebastian film festival, that has brought memories of the bad old days of the Papal Index, when Catholics were threatened with damnation if they read a book or saw a film that had not been given the imprimatur of the Pope.
There were protests outside the film's screening in San Sebastian, but these were of a small-scale, unoffiical kind.
The film is a transposition of a 19th century Portuguese novel by Eca de Queiroz to contemporary Mexico. A tale of a young, idealistic and heterosexual priest who lets himself sink into the institutional corruption of the church after getting his young lover pregnant, the film was found to be tame by most critics.

CONTAMINANTES - About the 2002 Ig™ Nobel Prize Ceremony
WHEN: Thursday, October 3, 2002, 7:30 pm
WHAT: The 12th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony. Ten new Ig Nobel Prizes will be awarded.
A Look at the Ig Nobel Prize: Ig Nobel Awards Honor Strange Contributions to Humanity
Notable Ig Nobels:
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: The Self-Perfuming Suit (1999)
PSYCHOLOGY: Pigeons Learn Fine Art (1995)
BIOLOGY: Airtight Underwear (2001)
PUBLIC HEALTH: Nose Picking (2001)
PUBLIC HEALTH: Inflatable Doll Advisory (1996)
MEDICINE: Intimate Zipper Injuries (1993)
MANAGED HEALTH CARE: The Spinning Birthing Table (1999)
TECHNOLOGY: The Wheel (2001)

ECO-TERRORES - Why Did the World Trade Center Collapse? Science, Engineering, and Speculation

ECO-TERRORES - Experts skeptical of al-Qaeda-Iraq tie: Link could help the case for war, but some say it's weak
The Bush administration has intensified efforts to link al-Qaeda terrorists with Iraq, charging that senior al-Qaeda members were in Baghdad recently and received training in chemical and biological warfare.
The reports could serve to bolster the administration's effort to build support for going to war against Iraq. But several intelligence experts, including some within the U.S. government, expressed skepticism about them.

VITAMEDIAS - The Spy Who Loved Nokia, And Other Next-Stage Ads: Movie viewers may be used to seeing commercial goods placed in films, but product placement on television will be popping up on this fall's new shows like never before, as studios, networks and cable channels scramble for fresh sources of revenue.
The high cost of a free press in Romania: Companies claim that several newspapers are insisting that they take out advertising, or face reading unfavourable and often untrue stories. The newspapers are also encouraging companies to pay for unfavourable stories about competitors

VITAMEDIAS - News embargoes raise vexing issues: News organizations are plied with announcements from researchers and PR groups alike that are "embargoed" until a certain date, ostensibly to even the playing field and ensure news isn't rushed willy-nilly to page or screen.
Embargoes can vex journalists, who may resent restrictions or question the validity of withholding information from the public. But embargoes get broken, and hubbub follows.