Backstory > Culture
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03.26.09 Monitor writers celebrate ‘unique’ momentsFrom crawling on the carpet with Ronald Reagan to sipping tea with the Che Guevara of Afghanistan, former staffers recount stories as the Monitor transitions to new formats. |
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03.26.09 St. Joe teaches Thai orphans ‘to be good’‘Stay with these poor people if you can,’ urged Mother Teresa – and Father Joseph Maier does. |
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03.25.09 Surviving Iraq: A US Army grunt’s taleSpc. Brian Hunsuck is the boy next door on the front lines: He lost a friend, nearly lost a leg, and still acts like Beaver Cleaver. |
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03.24.09 Great Depression icon meets the great recession |
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03.23.09 Britons rally to save red phone booths |
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03.20.09 Rehearsing to act ‘natural’ on reality TV |
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03.19.09 When NYPD wears a Muslim topi |
More headlines
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03.18.09 The West’s largest Buddhist stupa rises in SpainBenalmádena’s Enlightenment Stupa is a karmic surprise amid the Moorish minarets and ancient Christian steeples. |
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03.17.09 An independent bookseller stars in her own fairy taleNancy Traversy took on the big chain-store dragons to rule her own realm – Barefoot Books for children. |
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03.16.09 New online dictionary redefines ‘look it up’Lexicographer Erin McKean’s interactive ‘Wordnik’ is projected to be the largest online dictionary ever. |
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03.12.09 A grand quest to rid an island of ratsScientists carrying out the ambitious program on Rat Island hope to return the volcanic outcropping in the Aleutian chain to its original splendor as a seabird paradise. |
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03.11.09 A mandolin revival creates ‘The Montana Sound’Strumming up the past in the Rockies – a 1902 photo inspired a revival of an instrument that used to rival the cowboy’s campfire guitar. A short sample of the Montana Mandolin Society performing 'The Texas Fox Trot.' Used with permission. Montana Mandolin Society |
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03.06.09 ‘Apes’ own a piece of the Rock (of Gibraltar)Wild ‘apes’ stole my snuggly! A macaque on Gibraltar snatches her toddler’s favorite toy and a woman finds out about Europe’s only wild primates. |
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03.05.09 Expert judgment at the Philadelphia Flower ShowFrom sweet peas to tactful brotherly love – a judge at the city’s flower show needs a broad eye for detail. |
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03.04.09 A nightclub for nerds makes science cool in New YorkThe Secret Science Club meets once a month, drawing lofty speakers and large numbers of young people, who yearn to discuss sci-tech issues in an informal setting. |
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03.03.09 Soldier’s Afghan dog story comes back to biteDon’t ask, don’t tell? Pets are forbidden – but the rules are often overlooked in Afghanistan and Iraq. |
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03.02.09 Homeless people act out realities of life on stageThe Seldom Seen Actors perform plays with a mission - saving others from addictions and a life on the street that they’ve faced themselves. |
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02.26.09 In the hands of babes: Thai elephants’ futureA new generation of mahouts – some as young as 7, and as lightweight as 50 pounds – bend the will of the massive beast. |
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02.25.09 Last of a breed who make boats out of reedsOn the shores of famed Lake Titicaca, Demetrio Limachi and a handful of others toil to preserve the ancient art of creating crescent-shaped craft out of bundles of dried reeds. |
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02.24.09 On Capitol Hill – cultivating a monastery mind-setDuring gnashing of teeth over the stimulus bill, a Thomas Merton-inspired House reflection group was holding hands and taking its weekly step back to reconcile personal conviction and political reality. |
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02.20.09 Was Iowa ever American Gothic?The house is still there, but is the much-parodied icon still relevant to the Midwest? |
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02.19.09 Africans improvise the movie houseSurround sound, it’s not. But a bamboo-and-mud hut is all it takes to draw film audiences ready for entertainment at 40 cents a ticket. |
