But the ease and un-flamboyantness of these similes owes to their yoking of near neighbors in the natural world.

The development of this kind of fitness is brought about only by dynamic movement, by isotonics, usually against fairly moderate resistance, and repeated many times so that the heart and lungs have to work increasingly harder and longer as training progresses.

The early days of the PC were a classic case of a solution in search of a problem. It was pretty obvious that a computer-on-your-desk was an exciting prospect and had to be good for something. But what?

ECLIPSE IN NEW YORK — this multiple exposure shows stages of the solar eclipse, starting at top left, as seen in New York City Monday afternoon.