Thirty years ago, my family fled their home in war-torn Vietnam to start a new life in New Orleans: kids, a home in the suburbs, a successful business. Then Hurricane Katrina washed it all away. A first-person account of my parents’ struggle to rebuild their lives — for the second time — and discover the true meaning of home.
ALSO: Read my take on the historic election of the first Vietnamese-American to Congress.
In Vietnam, an American student confronts the ugliness of one war and prepares for what she could lose in another.
Seth Tibbott was just an ordinary hippie living in a treehouse when he came up with a multimillion-dollar idea that would become a cultural icon and make him the hero of vegetarians around the world.
Posted: Monday, June 1, 2009, Double X
Link: http://www.doublex.com/section/news-politics/how-your-pedicure-could-end-recession
WE’VE heard the nation’s leaders warn that we can’t really dig ourselves out of this economic ditch until consumer confidence returns—in other words, until we all feel safe enough to get out there and shop. But this plan of action feels rash. Excessive, reckless, down-payment-in-shoes-style consumption is what got [...]
Posted: Monday, August 10, 2009, Double X
Link: http://www.doublex.com/section/life/will-“extreme-saving”-improve-your-sex-life
AS many of us tighten our budgetary belts, some people are taking the concept to a new extreme by vowing not to spend any money at all. No movie rentals or drinks with friends. No parking the car at the garage, no newspaper for the subway ride. No groceries, [...]
Published on: Tuesday, 5/12/2009, The Washington Post, front page
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/11/AR2009051103607.html
THE nation’s retailers have begun to embrace the new cost-conscious consumer, developing products they can sell at lower prices without driving themselves out of business in the post-splurge era.
Starbucks dropped the price of a medium iced coffee last week to just under $2. American Eagle cut out the [...]
The recession has changed the conversation in America.At play dates and happy hours, friends are swapping recipes instead of making restaurant reservations. Teenagers are skipping flashy block-long limos and showing up to prom in minivans. Coupons has become a more popular search term than Britney Spears on Google. Instead of feeling self-conscious about spending less, people are flaunting their frugality.
Published on: Friday, 7/10/2009, The Washington Post, front page
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/09/AR2009070903026.html
OPENING more stores wasn’t enough for retailers during boom times. They wanted to create new forms of life.
Specialty chains spun off new concepts that targeted different demographics. Teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch spawned Ruehl for postgrads, while rival chain American Eagle created Martin + Osa with casual clothes [...]
Published on: Saturday, 8/15/2009, The Washington Post, front page
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/14/AR2009081403463.html
EVERY action must have an equal and opposite reaction, or so the laws of physics say. Push and pull. Proton and electron. Gravity and levity.
And now, Red Bull and Drank.
Drank falls in an emerging category of “relaxation beverages,” concocted to soothe the overextended, overbooked and overworked masses that [...]
Published on: Thursday, 2/26/2009, The Washington Post, front page
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/25/AR2009022504009.html
THE economic downturn is forcing America’s households to learn a tough lesson: how to fend for themselves.
Sales of starter sewing kits have shot up by 30 percent at Wal-Mart as families forgo the tailor. Landscaping companies have suffered a 7 percent drop in revenue over the past year. Procter [...]
