| 'Whimpy Kid' bullies its way to big success
His readers (Kinney says he's most popular among fifth-grade boys) would disagree. They've embraced his creation, a bullied but wisecracking middle-school student named Greg Heffley. (Rodrick is his slacker older brother.) Kinney, 36, the father of two sons, ages 5 and 2, lives in Plainville, Mass., and says he "was a regular kid who had my wimpy moments." He dreamed of being a syndicated cartoonist like Bill Watterson ("Calvin and Hobbes"). But after drawing a popular strip for the student newspaper at the University of Maryland, he collected nothing but rejections. He became a Web designer. He also persisted and thought about getting his cartoons published as a book, "sort of through the back door." Coincidentally, his company was seeking content for one of its educational websites.
FOCUS: South African Power Woes Complicate Central Bank Task
For South Africa's central bank, a shortage of power is looming as a dominant theme for this Thursday's meeting on interest rates. High and rising inflation argue for the South African Reserve Bank to keep its benchmark rate at 11% or even hike it. But electricity shortages, which on Monday brought the lucrative mining industry to a halt for the fourth consecutive day, complicate the picture. The mines look like they'll be able to get back to work within a week or a month at the most, but the problem could easily resurface in a country where the energy infrastructure hasn't kept pace with the rapid growth of recent years. The crisis, occurring amid a highly volatile global mood, may also raise concerns about South Africa's ability to finance its large current account deficit, sparking a run on the rand.
Dallas, I love you, but I've found Austin
Ushers guide the visitors down the sloping aisles of the sanctuary and pack them in among the buttoned-down believers. Tonight's sermon is being videotaped, and the cameras will show a full house. After the choir has finished singing and the plastic buckets containing offerings have been collected, a man steps to the pulpit and introduces Lewis: "He don't care who like it--he just loves to tell the truth." And with that introduction, Lewis, 36, takes the stage. He is bald and short, no more than 5-foot-6, with a thin mustache and a round, freckled face. He is dressed simply but stylishly in a sports shirt and dark trousers. As Pentecostal preachers go, he is somewhat subdued--he rarely raises his voice. His style is conversational and direct: "Can I just be real with you?" he'll ask.
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