World Briefing

Moon Shoes For Joggers
Sure, they look a bit like platform shoes — without the psychedelic colors. But who knew such funky-looking footwear could feel so nice? Nike's newest $150 running shoe, the Shox TL, just hit stores worldwide and contains 11 polyurethane columns from heel to toe, providing the runner with ample cushioning. On downhill runs the columns act as brakes, so a jogger doesn't feel like a runaway caboose. Some heavyweight runners say they don't feel as fatigued after using the Shox. But other users — especially smaller ones — find this is a lot of sneaker to lug, particularly on distance runs. How about a lighter-weight version, with more ventilation?

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Expat Experience

A House Somewhere: Tales of Life Abroad takes the romance of travel a step further and explores what happens when wanderers settle down in foreign lands. The anthology, edited by Don George and Anthony Sattin, includes some of the best travel writing of the past 20 years, with excerpts from Paul Theroux's Sunrise with Seamonsters and TIME contributor Pico Iyer's The Global Soul. Also included, alas, are too many grating accounts of yuppies slumming in old country houses or despairing of finding a decent plumber in Tuscany. But other stories strike a humbler chord, as when Karl Taro Greenfeld (editor of TIME Asia) reveals the pain of a resident outsider. The collection vividly displays the disparate experiences of expatriate life but also celebrates the universal moment when a house somewhere becomes a home. --By Aryn Baker