<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>                          L     A     Y     A     ! [ e L e t t e r   f o r   A m e r i c a n   Y o u n g   A d u l t s ]                h t t p : / / w w w . l a y a . c o m <<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>> VOLUME II       ISSUE 12       DECEMBER 1997 T A B L E   O F   C O N T E N T S . . . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - A WORD FROM OUR STAFF - A WAR NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN (PART 2) - EVER NOTICE? - MAJOR TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH!!! - WEB SITE REVIEWS L A Y A !  looks best when viewed with 10 point Arial font. <>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>          A   W O R D   F R O M   O U R   S T A F F <>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<> Dear LAYA! readers, As we come upon the holidays again, I realize just how far LAYA! has gotten.  From a short, jokes-only distribution, to a full fledge newsletter with exceptionally interesting topics which our teen writing staff produces.  We hope you enjoy this wonderful holiday issue, the last volume 2 issue!  LAYA! has watched the internet growing around it, as LAYA! grows around the internet.  With over 200 subscribers, we'd like to thank you, the subscribers, for supporting us. The LAYA! Staff info@laya.com <>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>          A   W A R   N E V E R   T O   B E   F O R G O T T E N <>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<> PART 2 Surprisingly, the victor of this contest was Maya Ying Lin of Athens, Ohio, who at the time was a Chinese-American twenty-one year old architectural student at Yale University.  Her idea was for two long walls to meet at a vertex creating a chevron shape.  One wall points toward the Washington Monument, and the other toward the Lincoln Memorial, thus linking the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to the historical content of the National Mall.  Ironically, as this had been a homework assignment, Lin received only a B-minus for the design from her art professor at Yale.  These walls are made of polished black granite from Bangalore, India and are polished to be reflective, like a mirror. Chiseled on the wall are the names of the 58,196 men and women who died between 1959 and 1975, or are still listed as MIA.  The latter have a cross inscribed before their name.  If they return, the cross will be circled (the symbol of life), but so far, there have been no circles. The names are listed chronologically, day by day, month by month, year by year, in the order that the people were lost, beginning and ending at the vertex.  To this day, they serve as individual memories as well as a collective tribute to the sacrifice of American military personnel. Now known as "The Wall", Lin's design drew criticism from various veterans' groups.  Rather than allow the memorial to the veterans of a controversial war to also become disputable, it was decided to add Frederick Hart's Statue of the Three Servicemen to the overall design. Some veterans and their political supporters felt that The Wall was "a black gash of shame" or a "giant tombstone." It was too abstract a design for others who wanted a more heroic, life-like depiction of a soldier. Built in 1984, it depicts three servicemen, one white, one African-American, and one Hispanic, which represent the general racial makeup of the troops. They wear the uniforms and ordinance of the various military and naval branches and appear to be staring at the Wall as if contemplating the names of the war's victims. Despite the fact that this statue was built as a result of the earlier controversy, it fittingly complements the Wall. In 1993, the Vietnam Women's Memorial, by sculptor Glenna Goodacre of Santa Fe, New Mexico, was added to represent the work of the female Vietnam vets.  This was also a result of the controversy over The Wall's design.  Many women veterans of the war were unhappy with the addition of the Three Servicemen Statue.  Although the names of the eight military women who died in Vietnam are on The Wall, the statue seemed to emphasize only the sacrifice of the men.  Many of the 10,000 female veterans of the conflict felt left out. Lobbying for a tribute to the women, veterans convinced Congress to authorize the Vietnam Veterans Women's Memorial in 1988.  This bronze statue, which depicts three nurses and a wounded soldier, is six feet, eight inches tall, and weighs one ton. Planted around the statue's plaza are eight trees for each of the women who died in Vietnam.  Its purpose is to honor the "women of the armed forces of the United States who served in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era." The Vietnam Veterans Women's Memorial was dedicated as a part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1993, with Vice President Al Gore in attendance. After its opening on Veteran's Day, November 13, 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial has become the most visited National Park Service site in Washington, D.C.  Today, visitors leave poems, letters, and gifts for deceased soldiers at the Wall. By: Serena Chang      serena@laya.com <>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>          E V E R   N O T I C E ? <>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<> Observations:       Jenny was being, like, a total idiot.       She was all, "Let's get mad for no reason at all." Do these quotes sound disturbingly similar to your daily conversations? Well, don't be surprised if they do.  If not, I either applaud you for speaking proper English or denounce you for not being up-to-date with the latest style is spoken English. And the catch is, you can't really have one sentence without the other.  And even if you aren't acquainted with this specific situation, the format is probably the way you and your friends talk to each other. The key words I am referring to are the ubiquitous "like" and "all." Whether you are describing your enemy of the day (or anything--anyone--else for that matter), these two simple words are everywhere. Once reserved for exaggerations on mythical "Valley Girl" talk ("like…Totallay!") these two words pop up in almost every sentence spoken by students. People are no longer entirely in one way at a time…they're "like" something or another. But inversely, some things are completely one way. The funny part is that that "like" and "all" can almost be used interchangeably. For example: "She was, like, let's get mad for no reason at all. Ain't English great?    Now, here's an activity: Count the number of times you use a superfluous "like" or a form of "is all" in any conversation with a friend. The results will amaze you. I once counted the number of  times a girl used "like" in an announcement she made (Spanish class can get really dull…). In a mere two minutes, she had used "like" a mere 21 times. Or better yet, try not to say "like" superfluously for an entire day. I, like, dare you. By: Michael Chiang      mchiang244@aol.com <>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>          MAJOR TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH!!! <>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<> Announcing the new Built-in Orderly Organised Knowledge device called the BOOK. The BOOK is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: No wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It's so easy to use even a child can operate it. Just lift its cover! Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere - even sitting in an armchair by the fire - yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disc. Here's how it works... Each BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper(recyclable), each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. These pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence. Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufacturers to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs in half. Experts are divided on the prospects for further increases in information density; for now BOOKs with more information simply use more pages. This makes them thicker and harder to carry, and has drawn some criticism from the mobile computing crowd. Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet. The BOOK may be taken up at any time and used by merely opening it. The BOOK never crashes and never needs rebooting, though like other display devices it can become unusable if dropped overboard. The "browse" feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you wish. Many come with an "index" feature, which pinpoints the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval. An optional "BOOKmark" accessory allows you to open the BOOK to the exact place you left it in a previous session - even if the BOOK has been closed. BOOKmarks fit universal design standards; thus, a single BOOKmark can be used in BOOKs by various manufacturers. Conversely, numerous bookmarkers can be used in a single BOOK if the user wants to store numerous views at once. The number is limited only by the number of pages in the BOOK. You can also make personal notes next to BOOK text entries with an optional programming tool, the Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Stylus (Pencils). Portable, durable, and affordable, the BOOK is being hailed as the entertainment wave of the future. The BOOK's appeal seems so certain that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform. Look for a flood of new titles soon. ====================================================================== ====================================================================== L A Y A ' s  S T A F F . . . Robert Chin President robert@laya.com Daniel Cheng Layout & Design daniel@laya.com Chris Lin Editor of Weekly Content chris@laya.com Serena Chang Editor/Lead Writer serena@laya.com Charles Hua Internet Assistant charles@laya.com ********************************************************************** If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please e-mail "info@laya.com" ********************************************************************** SUBMIT AN ARTICLE!  E-mail "submissions@laya.com" with your article. If this article was not written by you, we'd like to know who wrote it and what their e-mail address is. If it is your article, please include your name and your e-mail address. Your article may also be published anonymously (please tell us this in the e-mail). 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