Nothingness, emptiness, repetition, boredom: for better or for worse, Beckett refined these attributes throughout his career. But the result is far from lugubrious. “Godot” famously adopted the techniques of vaudeville and farce: hat-swapping, pratfalling, Laurel-and-Hardy-like banter, trousers falling down. The play's two protagonists suffer from mildly comical physical ailments: Vladimir has a weak bladder, Estragon aching, smelly feet. The tramps' wordplay and jokes, some good, some deliberately feeble, pepper the text like a musical leitmotif.

Try again. Fail again. Fail better

By the end of the sixties, one-fourth of all American college men were buying his magazine every month.

The Girls Next Door

While all of Dubai shouldn't be conflated with Dubailand and its pure entertainment value, it's clear that the emirate will soon be overflowing with attractions, whether amusement-park rides or serious architecture. Like Las Vegas, Dubai's dramatic new developments won't be without their critics. Love them or hate them, these new wonders of the world are just that -- wonders.

Dubai's Architectural Wonders

The first years of this century have brought increasing shocks—technological, political, economic, and climatic. Now we are facing mounting concerns about a possible biological crisis: an avian flu pandemic.

But what is its probability? What steps can we take to prepare? And what are the broader implications for business and society?

To discuss these and other looming questions, GBN hosted a webconference with CEO Eamonn Kelly, GBN Network member Larry Brilliant (epidemiologist, technologist, philanthropist, and founder of Pandefense Inc.), and GBN consultant Steve Weber (professor of political science, U.C. Berkeley).

Birds, Bugs, and Business: Preparing for Crisis

Martin Gardner, author of Mathematical Games: "No one today writes about mathematics and mathematicians with more grace, knowledge, skill, and clarity than Constance Reid."

Freeman Dyson, Institute for Advanced Study: "This book is a sequence of rare beauty, a drama built out of nothing but numbers—and imagination."

From Zero to Infinity: What Makes Numbers Interesting

Ever want to borrow the latest Fendi bag for a month or drive around in a bright yellow Lamborghini for a day?

Several companies are tapping into consumers' penchant for leasing luxury. They're targeting both the affluent who don't want to hold on to anything for long and less-moneyed folks who covet a taste of the lifestyles of the rich.

High End for the Short Term

Inside Lincoln Hall, the atmosphere was considerably more cordial. Dempsey handed Jarecki a syllabus, and they began talking about Eisenhower. Jarecki then spotted the so-called iPod Ghraib poster on a wall above Dempsey’s desk—an image of the famous hooded torture victim listening to headphones—and asked, “Why do you have that?”

“To make cadets think,” Dempsey said. “It’s a conversation piece.”

Movie Date

Moral objections, however, more than legal or aesthetic ones, may be the most instinctive response to what Martin Amis calls "the obscenification of everyday life."

It's a Porn World After All

In this sweeping Civil War novel, Stephen Wright's understanding of America trumps DeLillo's or Pynchon's, and his writing rivals Toni Morrison's.

'The Amalgamation Polka'

As America turns its health-care system over to the market, pharmaceutical reps are wielding more and more influence—and the line between them and doctors is beginning to blur

The Drug Pushers