This weeks issue of The Week magazine has arrived in mailboxes. Features this week include: Can Chrysler survive bankruptcy? Republicans: Is there a path back to power? Obama weighs Supreme Court options. Signs of an economic recovery. Swine flu threat recedes.

Arts & Leisure
Books
Also of interest … secrets of the brain

Books
Author of the week: Ayelet Waldman
Novel of the week: Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa by R.A. Scotti
Book of the week: The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles

Music
Bob Dylan: Together Through Life
Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle
Art Brut: Art Brut vs. Satan

Film
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Battle for Terra
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
New on DVD

People and Gossip
Gossip: Sean Penn, Robin Wright Penn
Gossip: Rudy Giuliani
Gossip: Carrie Prejean
Gossip: The Vatican
Hulk Hogan’s painful decline
The book that ruined Gay Talese
Brooke Shields’ maternal karma

Lifestyle
New cars: 2009 BMW 7 Series
The best … space savers
Tip of the week: How to make an iPod battery last
Best websites to make meetings efficient
For those who have everything: The Thunderbolt R2G2

Travel
Europe: Small nations, momentous pleasures
Last-minute European travel deals

Book List
Best books … chosen by Michael J. Fox

Stage
Stage: Ragtime
The week’s other opening: Accent on Youth

Art
Exhibit of the week: The Pictures Generation, 1974–1984
Where to buy … Jean-Marie Périer: First-person Access

Television
The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching
Movies on TV this week
Show of the week: Independent Lens: Crips and Bloods, Made in America

Extras
Business columns: The business case for female leaders
Business columns: For sanity’s sake, expect the worst
Issue of the week: Can Chrysler survive bankruptcy?

Making Money
Workplace
What the experts say
Health-care costs: A fight for answers, and relief

Main Stories
Obama weighs Supreme Court options

News & Opinion
Obama weighs Supreme Court options
Signs of an economic recovery
Swine flu threat recedes

Controversies
Republicans: Is there a path back to power?

Best Columns – US
Punishing whites for being white
The end result of torturing Zubaydah
Prosecutors who’d rather ignore rape
Quote of the week: Jonah Goldberg

Best Columns – Europe
France: The philistines who want to ruin rosé
United Kingdom: Will YouTube destroy the prime minister?

Best Columns – International
Russia: How the U.S. protects its arms dealers
Canada: When parents keep their kids ignorant
India: Election time in the world’s biggest democracy

Talking Points
Pakistan: Fears of a nuclear Taliban
Torture: What would Jesus do?
Biden: The accidental fearmonger
Cursing: Not on TV, you don’t

Briefing
How Star Trek conquered the universe

How They See Us
Is it Spain’s place to investigate Gitmo?

Obituaries
Jack Kemp
Salamo Arouch

Health and Science
Health & Science
Health scare of the week: Sweetened drinks make you fat

Polls
Poll watch

Cartoons & Short Takes
Polls
Poll watch

Editor’s Letter
Editor’s Letter: O, be some other name!

It Wasn’t All Bad
Routine day hike becomes three-day nightmare, and more

Boring but Important
Targeting tax havens, and more

Only in America
Workplace racial-sensitivity pamphlet called insensitive, and more

Good Week – Bad Week
Saudi Arabian children, and more

Tabloids
Pilot saved by portable toilets, and more

Noted
People with ordinary sore throats and fevers flood ERs

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Golf Digest magazine has published it’s June 2009 issue. Featured in this issue are 20 destinations every golfer should go to. Also, a question and answer session with Phil Mickelson.

20 Places Every Golfer Must Go
The game’s best off-course attractions
True golf fans can’t get enough. Even if they’re not playing or watching golf, they’re thinking about it. We designed this feature with that golfer in mind. From Seoul to St. Andrews, from Ohio to Arizona, we’ve collected the game’s 20 top off-course attractions. You’ll find tributes to icons, bars where tradition is always on tap, gravesites of golf legends, hallowed hallways, a clown’s mouth, and more. Some of these attractions are near famous golf courses; others are more remote. Many are moderately priced or even free. But, most important, each is steeped in the game we love.

1. Arnold Palmer’s Restaurant
2. Bobby Jones Exhibit
3. British Golf Museum
4. The Dunvegan
5. Jack Nicklaus Museum
6. The Himalayas Putting Green
7. In Celebration of Golf
8. Old and Young Tom Morris Grave Sites
9. Par-King Skill Golf
10. Pine Crest Inn
11. Ping Plant Tour
12. 17 Mile Drive
13. The PITCH AND PUTT Course at Turnberry
14. Slammin’ Sammy’s at the Greenbrier
15. Sky 72 Golf Club Driving Range
16. The Tap Room/Club XIX
17. Urban Golf
18. USGA Museum
19. Vintage Pinehurst
20. World Golf Hall of Fame

Q&A: Phil Mickelson
The man with three majors, a dinosaur head and a 300-pound meteorite is no dodo

With the 2009 U.S. Open coming to Bethpage Black in June, Phil Mickelson again is thinking about trying to win the national championship he covets on a course he thoroughly enjoys. He’s had a few close calls and a few that were not so close, such as last year’s Open at Torrey Pines in his back yard of San Diego. On Monday of Open week, he required seven hours of intravenous treatment at a local hospital after a viral infection caused dehydration. Another case of dehydration earlier this year in Miami requiring Saturday-night IVs didn’t stop Mickelson from winning for the 36th time in his PGA Tour career, putting him just three wins short of joining Tom Watson and Gene Sarazen in 10th place on the tour’s all-time list.

In extensive interviews with Golf Digest, Mickelson, who turns 39 two days before the start of this year’s Open, addressed a number of subjects, including New York sports fans, UFOs, criticism from Tiger Woods’ caddie, a late collapse in the 2006 Open, business ideas conceived during sleepless nights, players who enjoy busting his chops, and some drastic policy changes he would like the tour to adopt (after a public spat with the commissioner). Oh, and then there’s the dinosaur head in Phil’s home office.

3 Dads, 3 Stories
Father’s Day tribute: excerpts from Chicken Soup for the Soul

My Summer Vacation
Six writers on their favorite golf getaways

Lesson Tee

Swing Sequence: Zach Johnson
He’s not long, but here’s what makes him so quick

Annika Sorenstam
My 3 keys when between clubs

Phil Mickelson
Focus on your swing path to hit the high floater

Tiger Woods
My healthy knee has changed how I drive into the ball

David Leadbetter
Fix your slice before it starts

Tom Watson
Par depends on the weather, as Byron Nelson told me

Jim Flick
Picture Fred Couples’ swing to fix an over-the-top move

How To

Featured Tip: Butch Harmon
Groove a good weight shift

Cover Story: Make More Birdies
The fine art of scoring: beating fear, tension and not yourself

Can You Feel It
How to find your touch on three short-game shots

Dr. Bob Rotella
My 10 rules on mental fitness

Steep Vs. Shallow
To hit stronger, straighter shots, swing the other way

Breaking 100-90-80
Tips and drills on iron play

U.S. Open Preview

A Flat Finish
For all of Bethpage Black’s strengths, its final hole isn’t one of them. So the USGA considered using the Red’s for a finish

Viewer’s Guide
TV times, hole diagrams, the playing field, the Virtual Open contest, websites and more

R-O-C-C-O!
A year later, Mediate reflects on his near miss against Tiger: “People act as if I won.”

The Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge
How hard will the Black play for our three celebrities and contest winner? The USGA says there’s no need to fear

Bethpage Basics
How the pros will work the driver — and you can, too

Next Stop: 200 Majors
Dan Jenkins looks back at covering 60 years of classics

What Could Have Been
Ben Hogan survived a crash to make history, but it robbed him of glory
Equipment

• Latest Gear: Mallet putters
• New Looks: Lightweight shoes
• Bomb & Gouge: Driver aerodynamics
• What’s In My Bag? Ernie Els

Columns

• Jerry Tarde: 18 questions for David Fay
• Tim Rosaforte: Retief Goosen’s putting fix
• David Owen: Food for thought
• Dan Jenkins: Report from the Masters

The Digest

• On The Tee: Nick Watney
• Guru: Playing with family
• Fitness: Lightning myths
• Rules: Stroke savers
• Books: 14 to check out
• Style: Watches as investments

Travel Digest

• Long Drives: Memphis to Little Rock
• Ambush: Bratton brotherhood
• Q&A With John Smoltz: The Boston Red Sox reliever talks about his aspirations of making it on tour and the golf course in his backyard

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Sky & Telescope magazine has released it’s June 2009 issue. This is No. 6 of vol. 117. Featured in this issue are articles on two NASA missions to the Moon, Saturn’s icy moons, new software for eclipses, Serpent Bearer, and a review of the CCDelightful QSI 540wsg.

Lunar Fireworks
If all goes as scheduled, in late August two NASA spacecraft will slam into the Moon in the hope of finding water there. Meanwhile, a NASA lunar orbiter will set the stage for future astronauts

Ice Worlds of the Ringed Planet
NASA’s Cassini mission has solved long-standing mysteries about Saturn’s icy moons, but raised new ones in their place.

Great Imaging Tools for Eclipse Chasers
New software makes it easier than ever to create stunning total eclipse images.

Herald of the Summer Milky Way
The Serpent Bearer is marching up into the evening sky, trailing a wealth of stars and clusters.

The CCDelightful QSI 540wsg
With its big chip and guider port, this camera delivers high performance and high elegance.

Monthly Columns

• Northern Hemisphere’s Sky
• June 2009 Sky at a Glance
• Binocular Highlight
• Planetary Almanac
• Sun, Moon, and Planets
• Exploring the Moon
• Celestial Calendar
• Deep-Sky Wonders

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The June 2009 issue of Astronomy has been published! Featured are articles on how we could see another universe, celestial sphere, Astrocombing, Milky Way, Adam Block imaging, summer solstice, and EON refractor.

How we could see another universe
Our universe may form one bubble of many in a vast multiverse. Cosmologists are now searching for signs of another bubble universe colliding with ours.

Illustrated: How we see the sky
Astronomers use a concept called the celestial sphere to understand the sky and its motions.

New technique closes in on dark energy
Astrocombing will revolutionize cosmologists’ method of measuring cosmic expansion.

Adam Block’s awesome universe
From an Arizona mountaintop, Adam Block introduces amateur astronomers to cutting-edge imaging.

Explore the Gem of the Milky Way
Summer’s Scutum Star Cloud holds numerous observing treats for any size telescope.

Discover the sky’s deepest, darkest secrets
Over three dark nights in southern Arizona, two observers track down dozens of the sky’s most exotic objects.

Orion’s low-cost APO delivers sharp images
The new EON refractor is affordable, portable, and well-built.

Bob Berman’s Strange Universe
How much solstice can you handle? June, of course, brings the summer solstice. It’s one of the few links between sky and Earth that still makes the evening news. Ask friends what happens June 21, and they’re likely to get it right, mostly. Longest day — check. Sun highest up — check. Sun moves through the sky along its most curving path — hmm, what? That one’s not widely known.

Glenn Chaple’s Observing Basics
An imperfect Moon – What was the first sky object you ever targeted with a telescope? If you’re typical of most backyard astronomers, you chose the Moon. Brightest and easiest to find of the night sky’s many offerings, Earth’s only natural satellite is the perfect destination for that maiden telescopic voyage. Four centuries ago (November 30, 1609, by most accounts), Galileo launched his astronomical career by observing the Moon with a homebuilt refractor.

David H. Levy’s Evening Stars
A David Levy sky – Almost 40 years ago, Joan-Ellen Rosenthal was riding in a car down a lonely country road near Enid, Oklahoma, with her then-husband. They were lost. “We know we have to go south,” Joan said to her husband. He stopped the car, and Joan got out, looked around, then got back in. “I just found the Big Dipper. From there I found the North Star. We have to take the next right to head south.” Her husband was flabbergasted. “Only you know how to navigate by the stars,” he said as they were on their way.

The Sky this Month
Venus blazes before dawn – Both inner planets gather in June’s morning sky. Mercury and, in particular, Venus put on fine displays as twilight commences. The warm evenings typical of June offer great conditions to show off the solar system’s most beautiful planet, Saturn. Go ahead and invite some neighbors over for their first view of the ringed planet through a telescope. Meanwhile, the overnight hours belong to Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

Ask Astro
Meteorite impacts and martian volcanoes
Could the meteorite that formed the Hellas Basin on Mars have triggered the volcanic eruptions on the other side of the planet that created Olympus Mons?

Starlight, how bright?
In stellar magnitude estimates, why do larger numbers represent dimmer objects? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

Zodiacal insights
The constellation Ophiuchus lies partly on the ecliptic, so why isn’t it considered one of the zodiacal signs?

The galactic bar scene
How do the bars in barred spirals form?

Dark matters
Could large numbers of black holes account for much of the “dark matter” estimated to exist in our universe?

Stephen James O’Meara’s Secret Sky
Fireballs from the Scorpion – One activity I have long enjoyed this time of year is a fireball watch. If you’re the kind of observer who can get excited about seeing one or two of these flaming “stars” in a month, then join me in trying to catch some Scorpiid meteors. They may be few, but they sure can be bright!

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In the May 2009 issue of Men’s Journal, on newsstands now, Matthew McConaughey opens up about living a celebrity life on the road in his Airstream, Todd Palin introduces readers to Alaska’s brutal Iron Dog race, we reveal the untold story of 12 U.S. soldiers who fought the Taliban on horseback, and a hunter, a top chef, and a journalist walk into a swamp for a blood-soaked lesson in how to capture, prepare, and savor wild boar.

Matthew McConaughey: The Air-Conditioned Gypsy
To really get to know Matthew McConaughey, you have to hear his tales from the road. Like about the KKK brisket guy in Waco, or the 7,200-mile trek in his Airstream. Because at heart he’s a vagabond.

Survival Skills: Jack LaLanne
The king of fitness on what to eat, how to live, and keeping your woman happy — even in your 90s.

The Greatest Nature Show Ever Filmed Hits Theaters
Earth, the HD movie version of the innovative Planet Earth mini-series, opens in theaters April 22.

Alone Across the Ice
Todd Carmichael set out to become the fastest person to reach the South Pole on foot. He didn’t count on having to fight for his own life.

Update to “The Killing Peak”
Setting the record straight on the K2 tragedy.

The Charge of the 9/11 Brigade
Nearly six weeks after 9/11, a dozen members of the U.S. Special Forces embarked on a secret and highly unusual mission behind enemy lines. Riding horses too small for them, they led the first charge against the Taliban — and won. Here, in an exclusive excerpt from Horse Soldiers, is their story.

Iron Todd Palin
Last time you saw Todd Palin he was standing quietly by his woman on the campaign trail. Now meet him on his own terms, as an outdoorsman who competes in one of the toughest races on Earth.

Paradise Regained
Entrepreneur Greg Carr restores a wildlife park to its former glory.

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Skin&Ink has published its June 2009 issue. Featured in this issue are Liorcifer, Jessica Ilalaole, and Jess Yen. Also featured are the Richmond Tattoo Convention, a quick history Of British tattooing, tattooed Naga headhunters, and temporary tattoos.

Bits & Snatches
The world most-tattooed magician, Liorcifer inks the Darkside, Dana gets hoodwinked, Jason D’Aquino’s matchbook art, the Question Man, Val being Val and Travelin’ Mick answers The Big 10.

Hipshots
Jessica Ilalaole snaps Seattle inkers and—who would have guessed?—funnyman Robin Williams!

Skin&Ink Dolls -With Jeff Davidson
Lovely Katherine’s little boy helped pick out her Star Wars and E.T. tattoos.

Readers’ Gallery
Groovy. Cool. Far out. Mind-blowing. All of that and more in the tattoo gallery.

Features

Richmond Tattoo Convention
It’s been many a moon since we visited Billy Eason’s classy event. So, what’s poppin’ after all these years?

A Quick History Of British Tattooing
The U.K.’s leading exponent of skin art recalls the foibles and funny episodes of England’s colorful and determined tattoo forefathers.

Land Of The Tattooed Naga Headhunters
Travelin’ Mick visits the mystical, magical tattoo world of the lost Naga headhunter tribes of northeastern India.

Hot Flash
A sizzling collection of tattoo flash by a Nutty list of top tattoo talent.

Columns

Our Living History With C.W. Eldridge
Chuck talks about those cool vegetable dye transfers called temporary tattoos.

Travelin’ Mick
It’s interesting why China’s tattoo convention is in out-of-the-way Langfang, an hour outside of Beijing.

Spotlight With Vicki Botnick
Jess Yen combines the best of both worlds at My Tattoo in Alhambra, California.

Q&A With Matty Jankowski
Tattoo movies, in which the actors and/or the plot is thick with ink.

Around The World With Shanghai Kate
A rant, a rave, a celebration—a return to a time when conventions were fun.

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Rolling Stone’s latest issue 1078 revisits one of their favorite artists, Bob Dylan, who has graced the covers of Rolling Stone 16 times. Also featured is an inside look at Obama’s security team, Mike Tyson’s fragile peace, Sasha Grey, and an interview with the Mayor of Braddock, PA.

Bob Dylan’s America
Our greatest songwriter inhabits an alternate land of Chuck Berry and Walt Whitman, Texas gunslingers and murder ballads. And he may be the last man living there.

Inside Obama’s Security Team
They rarely speak in public, but behind the scenes, Obama’s national security advisers are organizing the biggest overhaul of U.S. policy since World War II.
By Robert Dreyfuss

Mike Tyson’s Fragile Peace
With a brutally frank documentary hitting theaters, the former world champ is about to step back into the ring. But this time, it’s his demons staring back at him.

Sasha Grey: Porn’s Avenging Angel
Hardcore’s reigning princess reads Nietzsche, shuns drugs and is trying to change society’s attitudes about women and sexuality — one gangbang at a time.

The Mayor of Hell
Braddock, Pennsylvania, may be America’s worst town. Meet the Harvard-educated punk-rock pol who is trying to save it.
Rock & Roll

Resistance to Tour-Biz Merger Grows
How will the proposed $2.5 billion Ticketmaster/Live Nation deal affect artists and fans?

• Coachella: McCartney, Killers Kick Off Festival Season
• Chart Watch: Black Eyed Peas Hit Top With Electro Jam
• Crime: Phil Spector Found Guilty of Murder; Faces Life in Prison
• Exhibition: Hall of Fame Explores John Lennon’s New York Years
• Checking In: Yusuf Islam Revives the Cat Stevens Sound on New Disc
• Live: DMB’s New York Blowout Show
• Breaking: Airborne Toxic Event’s Bummed-Out Smash

Profile

Eric Church
Country’s new hitmaker loves Merle, hates trust-fund kids.
Q&A

Ben Harper
On finding inspiration riding city buses and his heavy new band, Relentless7
Records

Green Day’s Punk-Rock Opera
Epic new disc makes American Idiot sound like a warm-up.

Plus: Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, The Hold Steady, Diane Birch, St. Vincent, New York Dolls, Yusuf, Gomez, Serge Gainsbourg, Rick Ross, Trey Anastasio, Art Brut, Beastie Boys, Rodriguez, Manchester Orchestra, Death Cab for Cutie, Chrisette Michele, Jill Sobule and Playing for Change: Songs Around the World.

Fricke’s Picks:
Trembling Bells and John Martyn
Movies

Hot Summer Flicks
The scoop on Star Trek, Brüno and 14 more of the season’s best movies.

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The May 4, 2009 issue of New Yorker has been published. Featured are articles on the Texas Secession, Dolly Parton, and Jeff Koons.

So Long, Pardner
If at first you don’t secede…. A second try at a Texas Secession?

The Talk of the Town

Take Two
Reprogramming ex-Wall Streeters for new careers.

Looking Swell
Dolly Parton on New York City. 

At Sea
A fire on the island off the Bronx.

Art on the Grass
Jeff Koons and an art collection in Greenwich.

The Sporting Scene

Horse Sense
The debate over racing.

Shouts and Murmors

Buzzed
by Noah Baumbach

Annals of Medicine

Open Channels
New drugs that target bad genes.

A Reporter at Large

The Life After
A startling exercise in reconciliation.

Letter from Washington

Money Talks
The guardian of Obama’s priorities.

Fiction

“The Slows”
by Gail Hareven

On Television

“Parks and Recreation.”
by Nancy Franklin

Books

The novels of António Lobo Antunes.
by Peter Conrad

Briefly Noted: “Every Man Dies Alone”; “Wandering Stars”; “The Rider on the White Horse”; “Armenian Golgotha.”

The Art World

“The Pictures Generation.”
by Peter Schjeldahl

Dancing

Merce Cunningham and Karole Armitage.
by Joan Acocella

Musical Events

Esa-Pekka Salonen’s exit.
by Alex Ross

The Current Cinema

“Il Divo,” “The Limits of Control.”
by Anthony Lane

Poems

“Treatment”
by Ange Mlinko

“Forgotten Fountain”
by W. S. Merwin

Critics’ Notebooks

The début of the YouTube Symphony.
by Alex Ross

“Clytemnestra,” at the Skirball Center.
by Joan Acocella

“The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes,” at BAM.
by David Denby

DVD Notes

David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”
by Richard Brody

Table for Two

Vinegar Hill House
by Lauren Collins

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Paisano publications will be out soon with their July 2009 edition of Tattoo, the world’s best selling tattoo magazine. Featured in this publication are the following artists:

Profiles: Six Feet Under
A Seriously Traditional Shop

Special Feature: Bring Me The Horizon
UK Metalcore Invasion

Events: Berlin 18
Torrid Teutonic

Profiles: Atomic Art Tattoo Studio
Portland’s Megatonic Studio

Events: Awesome Austin
Revival Of The Art

Tattoo Presents: Pretty in Pink
Captivating, beautiful adorned body art collectors

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Condé Nast has released the April 27, 2009 edition of The New Yorker Magazine. Featured in this issue is an article on the history of Earth Day in New York, and how it’s not the way it use to be. Also featured: Bret Easton Ellis, Philip Howard, and Brain Gain.

In the Air
Earth Day isn’t what it used to be.

The Talk of the Town

Yankees For Sale
Opening Day glitz at the new Yankee Stadium.

The Real Bret Easton Ellis
The writer on coming back home to Los Angeles.

Exit Lawyers
Philip Howard and the new American accountability.

Motherlode
A book honoring mom wit.

Onward and Upward with the Arts

The Bells
Harvard and a Russian legacy.

Shouts and Murmors

Amen, Brother

A Reporter at Large

Brain Gain
The neuroenhancer revolution.

The World of Business

The Road Ahead
Is there hope for the American car industry?

Fiction

• “Vast Hell”

Pop Music

• The reign of Lady Gaga.

A Critic at Large

The life of Edgar Allan Poe.

Briefly Noted: “Sonata Mulattica”; “It Is Daylight”; “Inseminating the Elephant”; “The Book of Props.”

The Theatre

• “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone”
• “Mary Stuart”

The Current Cinema

• “The Soloist”
• “State of Play”

Poems

• “Let the Record Show”
• “Sketch for a Novel”
• “A Modern Greek Folk Song”

Critics Notebooks

Adam Del Deo and James D. Stern’s “Every Little Step.”

“Mahanagar,” at Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Pop Notes

Booker T. Jones’s “Potato Hole.”

Tables for Two

Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen

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