Although the Nobel Prize in Literature is supposed to be awarded in recognition of a writer's entire oeuvre, it's become commonplace for Nobel-watchers to attribute the award to the Swedish Academy making a political statement. Thus when Orhan Pamuk won in 2006, cynical commentators attributed it primarily to a pair of novels, Snow and The White Castle. The novels explore the interaction between the Christian West and Muslim East and the struggle between Modernity and......

The Windy City has awakened to the news that Americans love miniburgers. We're glad the food writers at the Chicago Tribune finally noticed. "We like small things," [restaurant owner Jonathan] Segal says. "People, especially females, like the portion size. And burgers pretty much are the all-American sandwich." Especially females? Thank heavens, in Seattle, Cascadia's miniburgers are a unisex treat, even if the price has gone up to $2 per each. Those with fond memories......

The Huskies weren't among the 64 teams picked for the NCAA tournament, then neither were they among the 32 teams picked for the NIT. Down here at Seattlest HQ, stunned silence. After the first two regions were revealed, we sort of joked, "Uh-oh, looks like we didn't make it!" And then, when the final bracket was shown, well, wow...we really didn't make it! C.M. Newton, who headed the NIT selection committee, explained the selection process......