GOLDSMAN NOMIINATED FOR BEST SCREENWRITER AWARDS
Akiva Goldsman '83 has been nominated as Best Screenwriter for the American Film Institute's first television and film award ceremony and for the American Foreign Press' Golden Globes. Goldsman wrote the screenplay for A Beautiful Mind, the story of Nobel Prizer-winning mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr., which opens nationwide Jan. 4. Jeanine Basinger, Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, was one of 13 members of the motion picture nominating committee.

SEBASTIAN JUNGER DISCUSSES HIS TRAVELS IN AFGHANISTAN
Author Sebastian Junger '84 talks about why he puts his life at risk by traveling to war-torn countries such as Afghanistan. Read his comments in a 12/16 Chicago Tribune Q&A interview.

LENSING DISCUSSES AUSTRIA'S STOLEN ART
Professor of German Studies Leo Lensing was mentioned in a Dec. 16 Los Angeles Times Sunday magazine article about a dispute over stolen art in Austria. Lensing wrote an essay, which appeared earlier this year in the Times Literary Supplement, that discussed the politics behind an exhibition of works by the portrait artist Gustav Klimt in Vienna, as well as the Austrian government's controversial refusal to restore stolen Klimt portraits to the family of the original owner.

WESLEYAN PRESS CITED FOR NEW SCIENCE FICTION SERIES
The Chronicle of Higher Education (12/21) cited Wesleyan University Press for its role in reviving early works of science fiction through its new series: "Wesleyan Early Classics of Science Fiction." Next month the Press will publish a new translation of Jules Verne's "The Mysterious Island" (1874), and the Chronicle quoted one critic who praised the aesthetic quality of Verne's inventions, which are "artistically rendered, in a way that electronic circuits usually aren't."

ALUMNA RIDES POPULARITY OF BOARD GAMES
In an article on the resurgence in popularity of board games, The Courant (12/08) highlighted The Eighties Game, a new creation by Anne Siegert '98 and her siblings. It features 3,000 questions on pop culture, history, politics and products of the '80s. Trivia games are a tradition in the Siegert household, which includes Paul W. "Dutch" Siegert '65.

WORLD IS UNPREPARED FOR RAPID CLIMATE CHANGE
The Boston Globe turned to Professor of Economics Gary Yohe for comment on a new report from the National Research Council warning that rapid changes in global climate have happened before and could happen again. Yohe, who helped review the report, said that international policy assumes "smooth climate change."

NEW PAINTINGS BY TELFAIR ON DISPLAY IN NEW YORK
"New Paintings" by Wesleyan Professor of Art Tula Telfair will be on view at dfn gallery (176 Franklin Street in New York City) until Jan. 5, with an artist's reception on Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. Her work "depicts ethereal space devoid of human presence [that is] aesthetically reminiscent of the works of the Hudson River School painters."

TWO BOOKS BY ALUMNI CITED IN NEW YORK TIMES
The Dec. 9 Sunday New York Times provided two alumni with a boost. "She's Got Handle: The Story of Nicole Louden's Triumph Through Inner-City Basketball," by Adam Zagoria '91 is a "fascinating look" at the differences between men's and women's basketball, according to the Times.
"Red Hook," a crime fiction novel by Gabriel Cohen '82 is an "outstanding first novel" that gives you "a real feel for the neighborhood," says the Times Book Review section.