It also went down Thursday for a total of about an hour around noon, then again Thursday evening around 7 p.m. for about two minutes, police and city officials said.

WSJ: Glitches in new NYC 911 system

When the furor inevitably died down I made it to the American version, and I even went back again to give it a fair shake, and the results both times were reminiscent of the Grom in Florence: unsatisfying.

FORBES: The Best Gelato in America?

Prop B, as it was titled, went down in flames, but Mr. Adachi vowed to fight the good fight again this year.

WSJ: San Francisco's Pension Fog

Then, when his original prediction went wrong, when the entire market was closed down, he thought that it would become legal again.

FORBES: Zynga's Shares Rise As Legal US Online Gambling Is Mooted

He went to the bathroom, came back, turned his cell phone on, and put it down again.

NEWYORKER: The Maserati Years