Celebs write for the wee readers

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Apr 10, 2000

SAN FRANCISCO (NYT) -- He may not be up to War and Peace, but there's no reason John Travolta can't write literature for young readers. Travolta's Propeller One-way Night Coach (Warner, $12.98), written and illustrated by the actor, is one of a flock of children's books written by celebrities. "Kids' books have a special appeal," Random House editor Jonathan Karp told Forbes FYI. "They're short, with big type, and you get paid."

Among Travolta's fellow travelers in the field: The Duchess of York, Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Shaquille O'Neal, Patrick Ewing, Jamie Lee Curtis, Debby Boone and Jane Seymour. Here's one of the Travolta book's scenes, as described in a clip: "Just prior to the story's climax, a drugged mental patient on board the plane suddenly comes to and attacks the flight attendant. The man had his hands around the throat of the young lady and she had her hands around his throat as well." Forbes FYI's comment: "Times change. Good night, moon."

The price of coolness

NEW YORK (NYT) -- Flat-panel monitors have a higher "cool" factor than just about anything else you can plug into a personal computer. They also carry about the highest price tag of anything you can plug into your computer.

Samsung Electronics has not dropped the price, but it has hit upon an interesting compromise. It has made its new line of flat-panel devices more than mere computer monitors. The SyncMaster 150MP (15 inches) and 170MP (17 inches) are designed to have lives of their own, apart from the computer.

Plugged into a PC, the SyncMaster delivers sharp text and images at a maximum resolution of 1,280 by 1,024 on the 17-inch model. Plug in a coaxial cable and its built-in tuner and speakers turn the monitor into a free-standing television. Actually, it does not even have to stand. Its slim metallic body comes with a wall mount. The SyncMaster can also be used as a display for a VCR, a camcorder or a DVD player. It has a picture-in-picture that can be resized and a continuous zoom, up to 64 times, and is the first monitor on the market to offer a wireless remote control.

None of these feature-rich flat-panel monitors, which were released this month, are cheap. The SyncMaster 150MP sells for about $1,285, and the larger 170MP is about $2,620. That, apparently, is the new price of cool.

Violent concerns

NEW YORK (AP) -- Violence in the workplace results in three deaths daily, and costs employers $36 billion annually. So it's no surprise that workplace violence is the number one security threat to businesses. According to a survey by Pinkerton, a security services company, workplace violence not only topped the list for the second year in a row, but it scored 10 percent higher than last year in importance. Concerns over Internet security jumped to second place from seventh on the Top 10 list of workplace threats.

The survey, which was mailed to corporate security professionals at Fortune 1000 companies and completed by about a third, found that most respondents are worried about internal threats. Nonetheless, 20 percent of companies do not consistently perform criminal-records checks on job applicants, the survey found.

Days of our lives

NEW YORK (AP) -- Today is the 101st day of 2000. There are 265 days left in the year. From today's business and legal highlights in history:

In 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was incorporated.

In 1912, the luxury liner RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, on its ill-fated maiden voyage.

In 1925, the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published by Scribner's of New York.

In 1932, German President Paul Von Hindenburg was re-elected, with Adolf Hitler coming in second.

In 1953, the three-dimensional horror movie House of Wax, produced by Warner Brothers and starring Vincent Price, premiered in New York.

The week that was

HOLLYWOOD (AP) -- Here are some entertainment highlights during the week of April 9-15:

45 years ago: Marty, starring Ernest Borgnine, premiered at a theater in New York City. Borgnine won an Oscar for his performance. The film also won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director.

35 years ago: The Beatles won best new artist and best performance by a vocal group at the seventh annual Grammy Awards. They won the vocal group Grammy for A Hard Day's Night.

30 years ago: Paul McCartney quit the Beatles, releasing his solo debut album McCartney almost simultaneously with the group's Let It Be. The Beatles' Let It Be topped the U.S. singles chart. And Peter Green announced that he was leaving Fleetwood Mac, the pressures of stardom having grown intolerable for him.

20 years ago: Kramer vs. Kramer won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. Dustin Hoffman won the Best Actor award and Meryl Streep was named Best Supporting Actress.

Five years ago: Scott Bakula, Madeline Kahn and Bernadette Peters performed in Stephen Sondheim's Anyone Can Whistle. It was the first major production of the musical in New York City since it was first performed in 1964. The sold-out event at Carnegie Hall raised some $650,000 for the Gay Men's Health Crisis organization.