At a glance

After 7 books about Stephen King, fan decides to quit

PORTLAND: It has taken George Beahm 10 years and seven books to put down in print everything he has to say about Stephen King. Now he8217;s ready to head off in a new direction. The best-selling horror writer probably couldn8217;t be more relieved, Beahm acknowledges. 8220;If I were Stephen King and someone were to write that many books about me, that would definitely get kind of weary. You8217;d be thinking, When is this going to end?8221;8217; Beahm said. 8220;The answer is, When I8217;ve said everything I8217;ve wanted to say, and I8217;ve finally gotten to that point.8221;8217; Beahm8217;s decade-long focus is a testament to his admiration for King, whom he has met only once, and to the thirst of King8217;s fans for every last shred of informationabout King and his work. Beahm, 45, who was born in Maine, started reading King after he picked up a paperback copy of Salem8217;s Lot. Beahm wrote his first book about King, The Stephen King Companion, in 1989, as a guide to the author8217;s work. He followed up about a year later with The Stephen King story, a biography. He has since rewritten and updated both books, and added Stephen King A to Z, which he describes as 8220;a catchall8221;, and Stephen King Country. Beahm8217;s last book on the subject is the self-published Stephen King Collectibles, a price guide to King-related items, which is due out soon.

Hispanics are changing the face of the US

WASHINGTON: The United States of the 21st century will belong to Hispanics, according to an article in the latest edition of Newsweek. Latina magazine publisher Christy Haubegger writes that with a population growing at a rate seven times faster the general population, Hispanics are changing the face of America. The turning point came, she writes, with the8220;bloodless coup of 1992, when salsa outsold ketchup for the first time.8221; Since then, Hispanics have become 31-million strong, and account for 11.4 per cent of the US population according to the US Census Bureau. Pegged Generation N, 18-to-34 year old Hispanics in the United States are coming of age with growing demographic clout, education and strong cultural roots 8212; a fact not lost on politicians. Presidential candidates Al Gore and George W Bush recently both held campaign stops in Hispanic-strong Florida and California, and even greeted voters in Spanish. But although they are joined by a common language, Latinos come from 22 different countries and multiple racial backgrounds, Newsweek pointed out. Even so, 8220;this generation is going to permanently change things,8221; Rudy Acuna, founding chair of Chicano Studies at California State, Northridge, said.

Germans make a splash with bawdy8217; oar at British regatta

LONDON: A German rowing team brought a touch of 8220;brazen naughtiness8221; to an otherwiseserene English regatta when one of their oars was found to be off-colour, according to the Times. By way of a mascot, rowers in Der Hamburger Und Germania Ruder Club had painted what the London paper on Saturday described as 8220;a voluptuous and reclining lady8221; on one oar. 8220;The woman, seen from behind and wearing only suspenders and a bra, dipped gracefully in and out of the water as the crew won the first heat of the Queen Mother Challenge Cup,8221; wrote the boating correspondent for the Times. Onlookers and organisers were shocked by the bawdy breach of rules designed to preserve the 8220;dignified Englishness8221; of the event. 8220;Oar blades are required to be painted in club colours,8221; regatta chairman Mike Sweeney was quoted as saying. 8220;The offending blades will have to be repainted.8221;