Etc...

At the fragrance counter

When last we touched base with the coming Olympic Summer Games in Athens, two unexploded World War II bombs were to be defused on the site of what will be the basketball, handball, and fencing venue. Now, for some sweeter news: The organizers are unveiling four perfumes they say capture the Olympic spirit - "Participation" and "Celebration" for her, "Fair Play" and "Heritage" if you're a he.

'All this isn't serious.'

- French Foreign Ministry spokesman François Rivasseau, scorning Secretary of State Powell's vow to ask

the Paris and German governments whether they oppose war with Iraq to let Saddam Hussein "off the hook."

Venture capital fund-raising plunged to $1.9 billion in 2002, a 21-year low, from $40.7 billion in 2001, according to a report commissioned by the National Venture Capital Association. But there were some successes. In its annual Midas list, Forbes magazine identifies the venture capitalists best at finding and funding successful information technology or life-sciences startups. The top 10 on Forbes' 2003 Midas list, and their companies:

1. Vinod Khosla, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Menlo Park, Calif.
2. Promod Haque, Norwest Venture Partners, Palo Alto, Calif.
3. L. John Doerr, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
4. Lawrence Sonsini, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Palo Alto, Calif.
5. Tench Coxe, Sutter Hill Ventures, Palo Alto, Calif.
6. Rob Soni, formerly of Bessemer Venture Partners, Boston
7. David Strohm, Greylock Management Corp., Waltham, Mass.
8. Avram Miller, Avram Miller Co., San Francisco
9. Geoffrey Yang, Redpoint Ventures, Menlo Park, Calif.
10. Peter Morris, New Enterprise Associates, Baltimore