Thought some on this list might be interested in reading Tom Derderian's commentary on TABOO in the recent issue of New England Runner entitled "Taboo??The Nose on My Face". The article is at: http://www.jonentine.com/reviews/NE_runner.htm. It begins: While sitting in the stands at the New England Track Championships with the athletes of our Greater Boston Track Club (GBTC), one of them grabbed my arm to compare its color with hers. She noted that mine was darker. I noted that she was African American. I looked at her closely with my dark eyes set one on each side of my enormous nose and noticed that she had a very small nose. My nose is so big that I can always see it. It is like living on both sides of the Great Wall of China at the same time. I looked at the nose on this sprinter and wondered how she breathed through such a little thing. Our noses are different. I got mine from from my Armenian ancestors. She got hers from her West African ancestors. Our skin is about the same color. Neither of us is good at digesting milk. But she can sprint, and I can’t. So I began to wonder about noses, skin color, athletic ability, and why people don’t like to talk about such differences. ********* Also, some might be interested in an essay I wrote on the scientific and athletic controversy stirred up by TABOO that appeared recently on Salon.com. It's available at: http://www.salon.com/news/sports/olympics/2000/09/23/race/index.html -- Jon Entine RuffRun 6178 Grey Rock Rd. Agoura Hills, CA 91301 (818) 991-9803 :: [fax] 991-9804 http://www.jonentine.com