Golden Calf

The Golden Calf A Novel Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov Translated from the Russian by Konstantin Gurevich and Helen Anderson Open Letter: 336 pp., $15.95 paper From 1928 to 1932, the Soviet Union carried out the first Five Year Plan, initiated the disastrous policy of collectivization and strengthened the gulag. But if there was a bright spot in those years of budding brutality, it may have been the writing team of Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov, who in the satirical novels "The Twelve Chairs" (1928)

The Golden Calf A Novel Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov Translated from the Russian by Konstantin Gurevich and Helen Anderson Open Letter: 336 pp., $15.95 paper From 1928 to 1932, the Soviet Union carried out the first Five Year Plan, initiated the disastrous policy of collectivization and strengthened the gulag. But if there was a bright spot in those years of budding brutality, it may have been the writing team of Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov, who in the satirical novels "The Twelve Chairs" (1928)

Archeologists excavating an ancient fortress-city have discovered a figurine they believe was a precursor to the biblical golden calf that enraged Moses when he descended from Mt. Sinai. The archeologists said the tiny statue, which predates the biblical Israelites' exodus from Egypt, suggests that the Hebrews drew upon an ancient Canaanite tradition when they betrayed Moses by worshiping a pagan deity in his absence. "Hebrews came out of the Canaanite milieu," said Laurence E.

A sale of pickled sharks, butterfly paintings and other pieces by provocative British artist Damien Hirst has raised $198 million, silencing his doubters and defying the global economic gloom. Sotheby's auction house said the total for the two-day sale was a record for an auction of works by a single artist, smashing the $20-million figure set in 1993 for 88 works by Pablo Picasso. The turmoil engulfing global financial markets did nothing to dampen prices as more than 600 prospective buyers packed the London showroom for each of the three auction sessions.

American artists have never had an easy time of it, but the case of playwright Ronald Ribman borders on the ridiculous. He remembers that when he applied to the University of Pittsburgh masters program in literature and submitted writing samples, "a teacher noted that 'Mr. Ribman has a bizarre way of looking at life that a few courses in Realism will break.' Even then (in 1954), they didn't understand me." His very un realistic play writing has since been misunderstood and acclaimed.

Conrad's "Iraqi and Kuwaiti body count" cartoon (June 10) says it all. When a country needs a war in which thousands of innocent people are slaughtered in order to feel good about itself, something is terribly wrong. I also noticed that when President Bush talked about crying before deciding to declare war, he related his tears only to the loss of American lives, as though American lives are inherently more valuable than any other. I don't understand why the need for gloating, and euphoric feelings of patriotism.

A sale of pickled sharks, butterfly paintings and other pieces by provocative British artist Damien Hirst has raised $198 million, silencing his doubters and defying the global economic gloom. Sotheby's auction house said the total for the two-day sale was a record for an auction of works by a single artist, smashing the $20-million figure set in 1993 for 88 works by Pablo Picasso. The turmoil engulfing global financial markets did nothing to dampen prices as more than 600 prospective buyers packed the London showroom for each of the three auction sessions.

I returned to Berkeley looking for a man with a golden calf. His name was Zakatarious, and I'd met him on the steps of Sproul Plaza in 1973. I was a reporter for the Berkeley Barb then, the venerable underground newspaper that was an icon of the country's counterculture as it morphed from the '60s rebellion into the human potential movement of the '70s and '80s. Zakatarious was a part of the story that I itched to tell.

Well, not all of us have the all-knowing clairvoyance T.J. Simers seems to possess, but I wish I did. He must be the most educated man ever to cover the NFL. He makes all of the right calls, and never errs in his decisions. Best of all, he never reports with a biased opinion. OK, that was sarcasm. CHARLES C. AHLERS, Isla Vista Re: "Carolina Caper Has Another Villain," by T.J. Simers: This is the first time I have read anything by Simers that even resembles an understanding of football and people and sports.

Congratulations to Matthew Burbott and Allen Klinger (Letters, Feb. 4) for the only down-to-earth views regarding the shuttle tragedy. Burbott wrote of the "romanticized perceptions"--and Klinger of how we have made of the shuttle a "golden calf." Most of the views of other writers consisted of idealistic rhetoric about dreams and pioneering, of sacrifice and heroism. I say the shuttle program is not worth the loss of a single human life. James Brunet writes, "We can say 'no' to the unknown mysteries of space, turn our backs, and announce our decline as a civilization."

I returned to Berkeley looking for a man with a golden calf. His name was Zakatarious, and I'd met him on the steps of Sproul Plaza in 1973. I was a reporter for the Berkeley Barb then, the venerable underground newspaper that was an icon of the country's counterculture as it morphed from the '60s rebellion into the human potential movement of the '70s and '80s. Zakatarious was a part of the story that I itched to tell.

"The United States seems to be at once the most religious and the most secular of nations," sociologist Will Herberg wrote in his classic work, "Protestant, Catholic, Jew." The year was 1959. Church attendance had hit a new high, biblical epics were a Hollywood staple, and religious intellectuals were enjoying renewed cultural clout. And yet, Herberg noted, millions of ordinary Americans had learned to divorce faith from their everyday public lives.

Well, not all of us have the all-knowing clairvoyance T.J. Simers seems to possess, but I wish I did. He must be the most educated man ever to cover the NFL. He makes all of the right calls, and never errs in his decisions. Best of all, he never reports with a biased opinion. OK, that was sarcasm. CHARLES C. AHLERS, Isla Vista Re: "Carolina Caper Has Another Villain," by T.J. Simers: This is the first time I have read anything by Simers that even resembles an understanding of football and people and sports.

Back when this town was born 100 years ago, gold is what drew people to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Today the lure is snow and down-home living. Winifred Oldham Hamilton, 93, the local historian, grew up with the town. The Oldhams settled here as prospectors the year Red River incorporated--1895. Country singer Michael Martin Murphey hides out here amid the ski slopes and the Texas two-step dance halls. "I think it's one of the most pristine, down-home areas in the world," Murphy said.

Conrad's "Iraqi and Kuwaiti body count" cartoon (June 10) says it all. When a country needs a war in which thousands of innocent people are slaughtered in order to feel good about itself, something is terribly wrong. I also noticed that when President Bush talked about crying before deciding to declare war, he related his tears only to the loss of American lives, as though American lives are inherently more valuable than any other. I don't understand why the need for gloating, and euphoric feelings of patriotism.

Archeologists excavating an ancient fortress-city have discovered a figurine they believe was a precursor to the biblical golden calf that enraged Moses when he descended from Mt. Sinai. The archeologists said the tiny statue, which predates the biblical Israelites' exodus from Egypt, suggests that the Hebrews drew upon an ancient Canaanite tradition when they betrayed Moses by worshiping a pagan deity in his absence. "Hebrews came out of the Canaanite milieu," said Laurence E.

Back when this town was born 100 years ago, gold is what drew people to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Today the lure is snow and down-home living. Winifred Oldham Hamilton, 93, the local historian, grew up with the town. The Oldhams settled here as prospectors the year Red River incorporated--1895. Country singer Michael Martin Murphey hides out here amid the ski slopes and the Texas two-step dance halls. "I think it's one of the most pristine, down-home areas in the world," Murphy said.

The Singular Generation by Wanda Urbanska (Doubleday: $16.95) Sociologists get a lot of flak. They are accused of practicing an unscientific science. Where other scientists can prove their theories and replicate their discoveries in petrie dishes and test tubes, sociologists are not so much discoverers as chroniclers of social phenomena. Like economists, they are great at telling us about the obvious, but more often than not, fail when they take on the role of soothsayers.

American artists have never had an easy time of it, but the case of playwright Ronald Ribman borders on the ridiculous. He remembers that when he applied to the University of Pittsburgh masters program in literature and submitted writing samples, "a teacher noted that 'Mr. Ribman has a bizarre way of looking at life that a few courses in Realism will break.' Even then (in 1954), they didn't understand me." His very un realistic play writing has since been misunderstood and acclaimed.

The Singular Generation by Wanda Urbanska (Doubleday: $16.95) Sociologists get a lot of flak. They are accused of practicing an unscientific science. Where other scientists can prove their theories and replicate their discoveries in petrie dishes and test tubes, sociologists are not so much discoverers as chroniclers of social phenomena. Like economists, they are great at telling us about the obvious, but more often than not, fail when they take on the role of soothsayers.