NEW YORK, June 30, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- This week's Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition will report on a broad range of informative business and lifestyle stories written by the Journal's award winning reporters. The week's Weekend Edition will be available via home delivery and on newsstands on July 1-2.
The Journal's Pursuits section puts the focus on leisure-time decisions: what to see, what to buy, what to read, what to eat, what to watch, where to go and how to get there. Entertainment. Style. Food. Travel. Sports. And from the Journal's opinion staff, Books and Leisure & Arts. Concise and to the point, Pursuits is all about engaging readers with great ideas that relate to a wide variety of passions pertaining to their lifestyle. Loaded with lists, picks and reliable advice, Pursuits promises to place an intelligent, inspiring focus on the best of the best.
Highlights of this week's Pursuits include the following stories:
Cover Stories:
-- Families welcoming returning soldiers from Iraq are putting
their own imprints on the homecoming ritual. During the Gulf
war, backyard barbecues and yellow ribbons were the hallmarks.
These days some military homecomings are becoming more elaborate
as professional planners get involved.
-- Travelers are taking advantage of this season's discounted
cruise deals -- but many are finding getting to the ships more
expensive, and more difficult, than ever before.
Our Picks
-- Singer/songwriter Don McLean, best known for his 1971 hit
"American Pie," has had compositions like "And I Love Her So"
and "Vincent" rerecorded by artists from Elvis Presley to
Emmylou Harris. Here he chooses five albums that showcase the
work of great American singer/songwriters.
-- A look at the rise of the "instant cover," where a hit song is
covered by other popular artists a few months -- or weeks --
after coming out. A number of recent covers of Gnarls Barkley's
hit "Crazy" have become popular downloads, including an acoustic
version by pop star Nelly Furtado. (Downloads.)
-- Three new broadband deals are letting fans catch constant live
coverage of competitions going on overseas this month --
Wimbledon, the Tour de France and World Cup -- as media
companies scramble to acquire Internet rights even to sports
less popular with Americans.
-- The West Coast theater scene has been getting more attention
lately, after two shows that had their U.S. debuts in California
-- "Jersey Boys" and "The Drowsy Chaperone" -- cleaned up at the
Tony Awards. A look at some of the most buzzed-about shows
playing on the West Coast this summer.
Leisure & Arts
-- Henry Petroski looks at why the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is a
masterpiece.
-- Eric Felten suggests drinks to mix in celebration of
Independence Day.
-- A year after the Supreme Court's decision in the Grokster case,
the president of the CEOs of the RIAA and the MPAA assess where
the recording and movie industries stand in downloading and
piracy.
Style
-- The best hats for blocking rays and cramming into a beach bag.
-- WE go shopping for sundresses with designer Rebecca Taylor.
Cooking & Dining
-- Grilling has always engendered macho competition, but type-A
CEOs take it to a new level. With recipes.
Sports
-- The U.S. Women's Open getting under way in Newport, R.I.,
John Paul Newport takes a look at efforts to bring more girls
into golf.
Books
-- If you're feeling blase about this year's observance of our
oldest patriotic holiday, James A. Colaiaco's "Frederick
Douglass and the Fourth of July" should stir you out of
complacency.
-- Gettysburg College historian Gabor Boritt picks the five best
books on the Battle of Gettysburg.
Editor's Note: WSJ reporters are available to discuss these topics.
About The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal, the flagship publication of Dow Jones & Company (NYSE:DJ); (www.dowjones.com), is the world's leading business publication. Founded in 1889, The Wall Street Journal has a print and online circulation of nearly 2.1 million, reaching the nation's top business and political leaders, as well as investors across the country. Holding 31 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism, the Journal seeks to help its readers succeed by providing essential and relevant information, presented accurately and fairly, from an authoritative and trusted source. The Wall Street Journal print franchise has more than 600 journalists world-wide, part of the Dow Jones network of nearly 1,900 business and financial news staff. Other publications that are part of The Wall Street Journal franchise, with total circulation of 2.7 million, include The Wall Street Journal Asia, The Wall Street Journal Europe and The Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com, the largest paid subscription news site on the Web. In 2006, the Journal was ranked No. 1 in BtoB's Media Power 50 for the seventh consecutive year.
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