A Life Without Rules

It feels wholly unnatural, or at least incongruent with the laws of market economics and the writerly ego, that Arundhati Roy, whose first novel, "The God of Small Things," was translated into 33 languages and spent 49 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, would produce a book of activist essays rather than a second novel depicting her native India. But this is exactly what she has done.

• by Tamara Straus

Poverty Is Real, and It Is Not OK

Almost 30 years ago, I returned from a long stay in India. I thought I would remember always the faces of the villagers. I was pained by the enormous gulf between the quality and quantity of their food and homes and possessions and the food and homes and possessions to which I returned. But experiences, no matter how powerful, fade. The raw reality of India receded into memories, until last week when I got an e-mail message from a friend, just back from her first trip to India.

• by Donella H. Meadows

Divided Planet: The Ecology of Rich and Poor

Daily, I consider myself a witness to Armageddon. I am frightened by traffic, urban and suburban development, television commercials. To me, our rapidly expanding market economy is like a nuclear explosion. But Tom Athanasiou is a more deliberate and qualified observer than myself. His book, "Divided Planet," is the most comprehensive work I have read on the social, economic, political and ecological collapse of the earth.

• by John Nichols

A cable runs through it

Contractors laying a 12-inch-thick, fiber-optics cable under the treelined sidewalks of downtown's Wahsatch Avenue were forced to stop digging last week after nearby residents complained the work might be hurting the avenue's stately city-owned elms, maples and oaks.

• by Malcolm Howard

The Super Bowl of rabble-rousing

When President Clinton and bigwigs from more than 100 nations hit Seattle Nov. 30 to discuss the global economy at the World Trade Organization's annual summit, they'll be greet by a bit more than spiffy fruit baskets in their hotel suites.

• by Jason Gay

Cap'n McCain at the helm

I've always admired McCain for his heroism, for his willingness to fight difficult and lonely political battles, and even for his explosive temper. But as much as I admire McCain, I dislike many of his stands on the issues. I wouldn't consider voting for him for the Legislature, or the House, or the Senate. Given the chance, though, I'll vote for him for president.

• by John Hazlehurst

Thanksgiving: A Native American View

I celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving. This may surprise those people who wonder what Native Americans think of this official U,S, celebration of the survival of early arrivals in a European invasion that culminated in the death of 10 million to 30 million native people

• by Jacqueline Keeler

Eugenia's List

Colorado Springs public communications manager Eugenia Echols has released a list of the people at City Hall who are allowed to talk to the press.

• by Malcolm Howard and Cara DeGette

IQ: Turkey Talk

Every week, the Independent takes to the streets, in search of your opinion on the latest, breaking news.

• by Kristen Sherwood

Comedy Counterculture

Local comedian Tibby Deaux has put together a comedy show George Carlin, Lenny Bruce and Bill Hicks would be damn proud of. In the tradition of counterculture and anti-establishment, and with a nod to the free thinkers, liberals and radicals of the past, he has created a show called Focus on the Insanity.

• by Suzanne Becker

Dorothy Schlaeger

This is the busiest shopping weekend of the year, so theres no better time for a chat about voluntary simplicity. An outgrowth of a discussion course developed by the Northwest Earth Institute in Portland, Ore., voluntary simplicity seeks fulfillment through a pared-down, non-consumptive lifestyle one that allows time and energy for the people and activities we most value.

• by Tess Powers

WWJD

01 Wednesday

Magical Brew

You know, I've tried going the wine tasting route, but it's hard. I don't feel comfortable swishing the wine around my mouth and spitting it into a little bucket with a room full of strangers, even when they're doing the same. Especially when they're doing the same. So when I heard about Palmer Lake Brewing Company's Brewery Dinners, at the Warehouse, I got pretty excited.

• by MB Partlow

Let's Make Sweet Potato Pie!

A step-by-step recipe for some smashing sweet potato pie.

• by Brennen Florey

Playing Around: Looks Like Me

This week we highlight Looks Like Me, winner of the Independent's Best Local Band Reader Poll, who will be hosting their CD release party at the Colorado Music Hall on Sat., Nov. 27.

• by Kristen Sherwood

Espionage Rules

Pierce Brosnan (Golden Eye and Tomorrow Never Dies) can do no wrong. While leading actors like Harrison Ford and Nicholas Cage recede into mere shadows of their former selves, Pierce Brosnan gleams in "The World Is Not Enough," with all the requisite savoir-faire and charisma that the longest-running film franchise in cinema history demands.

• by Cole Smithey

Headless Horseplay

Director Tim Burton's predictably warped version of the Washington Irving classic has been roundly pounded by critics for being too black and too gory, and for simplistic plotting. What exactly were they expecting?

• by Kathryn Eastburn

Oh, Behave!

When Tom Stoppard centered his 1984 comedy around a semi-autobiographical character, he entered a house of mirrors, trying to capture real life in a play about life imitating art. The main character in "The Real Thing" is an English playwright unwittingly trapped in the cycles of love and betrayal that fuel his own fictional creations.

• by Owen Perkins

That was This, Then is Now

They don't make mommas like her anymore. They hardly make plays like this either. And one thing that's certain, nobody in the Springs has produced anything of this quality in quite some time. "A Raisin in the Sun" tells the story of Lena Younger's family, an unremarkable Chicago family facing remarkable moments at a crossroads crisis.

• by Owen Perkins

Future Shock

Beginning with a Sam Peckinpah montage reminiscent in mood of the ADD-inducing jump-cuts of an MTV video, this third book by Chuck Palahniuk is a fascinating study of current societal values as seen through the eyes of impossible characters. And the message ain't pretty! Not a surprise considering Palahniuk's first book was the recently-filmed "Fight Club."

• by Michael Salkind

Extra Ordinary

In this award-winning collection of poems, Ruth Stone simplifies things by showing us how words are the "food, oxygen, and comfort" we need to get through the worries and pleasures of everyday life.

• by S.K. Carew

Kitchen Table Wisdom

Never averse to expressing outrage at any age, feminist matriarch Germaine Greer ("The Female Eunuch") will not disappoint readers with coy observations in her new book, "The Whole Woman." While some knee-jerk critics equate feminism with stridency, Greer seasoned prose soars more often than it stabs.

• by Rebekah Shardy

Event Listings

If there's something going on, we've got it listed here.

SevenDays

What's happenin' this week in the big city -- highlights from our listings.

• by Kristen Sherwood