Luminous Ideas That Broke the Mold
By ROBERTA SMITH

Putting aside the question of gold for the moment, much that glitters is actually glass, gracefully shaped, exquisitely decorated and sparkling with light. Since its invention 3,500 years ago, glass has been revered for its purity, beauty and usefulness, and at times for its supposedly magical powers. It has occasionally been valued as highly as gold or silver, with the skills and formulas required for its production guarded like state secrets. The master glassmakers of Venice were forbidden to set foot off Murano, the island to which the industry was removed by a government decree in 1291. Those who managed to escape were pursued by assassins, it is said, when offers of money, appeals to local pride and threats to family failed to bring them home.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/24/arts/design/24SMIT.html


Sinister Aspects of Japanese Animation
By KEN JOHNSON

Out of the to and fro of cultural influence between Japan and America, one of the more intriguing products to be tossed up on our shores in recent years is anime, a type of cartoon animation that emerged in Japan in the 1960's. With a sleekly hyperactive linear style, anime offers a weird mix of innocence and experience. It depicts big-eyed, male and female heroes who look like children or teenagers but engage in adult levels of violence and sexuality, usually in some apocalyptic, futuristic setting. Anime and manga ¡X the comic books from which it derives ¡X are hugely popular in Japan, and related video games have gained a cult following among young Westerners.
to finish the story, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/24/arts/design/24JOHN.html