Not so long ago -- as late as 1988, in fact -- we had a prophet walking among us. His name was William Gibson, and in his breathtaking Sprawl trilogy, he forecast the near future of technology and its social and cultural uses and impacts.

I was intrigued by Symmetry Theatre's claim that fewer good roles are written for women, I found myself wondering if people might not be aware of the variety of plays that do indeed have meaty roles for female characters.

The Australian musician Robert Forster has a second career as a music critic that he didn't expect and didn't seek.

Maybe a new generation of designers will make civic and social responsibility cool -- the Walkman of this era might be a personal solar power storage unit that can be carried around and snapped into power grid anywhere in the city.