Kat with a K

Daily Reading (7/15/09)

The Annotated White House Flickr Feed. Hilarious.
Politico's Washington Coup
Pride and Twitterverse Pride and Prejudice as it would appear on Twitter. Hilarious.
Why do Scandinavians write such great crime fiction?

Daily Reading (6/29/09)

A really interesting essay: My Husband's Other Wife
The administration sounds more like The West Wing every day: Ax and Lesser. (Oh, God, I bet there's slash fic out there.)
A good take on Little Women: The Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves

Daily Reading (6/5/09)

So, Betty? You know, in Archie? Kind of nuts.
Can confirmation hearings really be "teachable moments"?
Fun new game: Michael Pollan or Michel Foucault?

Daily Reading (6/3/09)

Will Sotomayor really be good for women?
Here are some of the interesting bits from Richard Wolffe's new book on the Obama campaign.
Researches found a manuscript that may be a medieval women's "magazine".
Here's Spencer Ackerman's write-up of Lt. Gen. McChrystal's confirmation hearing.
Make sure you're watching Political Theater, the new online video series from WaPo's Chris Cillizza and Dana Milbank, every Tuesday and Friday.
Sotomayor meets the Senate.
How to Drink Wine Like an Expert
Polenta: The Complete Guide
A People's History of the Republican Comeback
Star Trek: A Military Analysis

Daily Reading (5/29/09)

New American Girl doll! I, um, kind of want one.
A profile of two of the youngest House members.
Robert Gates: The Bureaucrat Unbound
Do CEOs Matter?
People should have listened to Brooksley Born.

Daily Reading (5/23/09)

The Republicans - or, well, some Republicans; it doesn't seem to be an official party thing - have put out a health care plan. Here's the summary (PDF).
Side-by-Side Comparison of Major Health Care Reform Proposals (h/t Ezra Klein)
Unsurprisingly, country clubs are having some issues due to the recession.
How the finance industry has effectively captured our government: The Quiet Coup
Do financial crises make people more socially conservative?

Daily Reading (5/20/09)

Your feel-good story of the day: Banker saves ducklings.
Is Michelle Obama "saving" J. Crew? Yeah, maybe not.
Michael Lewis reviews the Warren Buffet biography

Daily Reading (5/19/09)

The Internet: Making your brain an index. (h/t: Ezra Klein)
How Obama is like Spock.
Wolfram Alpha: Really not so great.

Daily Reading (5/18/09)

Why we should stop the drone attacks in Pakistan.

Imagine, for example, that burglars move into a neighborhood. If the police were to start blowing up people’s houses from the air, would this convince homeowners to rise up against the burglars? Wouldn’t it be more likely to turn the whole population against the police? And if their neighbors wanted to turn the burglars in, how would they do that, exactly? Yet this is the same basic logic underlying the drone war.

Daily Reading (5/15/09)

Another 100 Best 20th Century Novels list. I've read fourteen of them.
Here's a good 2004 profile of Dr. Tomas Frieden, the President's pick for head of the CDC.
Ron Paul's son is running for Senate.
The New Language of Feminism
Rick Warren's church and domestic violence
I didn't really realize the ramifications of gene patenting until I read this article about the breast cancer gene. Wow.

Daily Reading (5/14/09)

A new Clash of the Titans? WIth Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes? This is pretty much the best news ever.
The gatekeeper of 'Hardball'
What's your NPR name?
Do Rahm and Nancy have chemistry? Um, yeah. A slideshow.
Wil Wheaton on the new Star Trek.
Ever wonder about Congressional divorces? I hadn't really, either, but the article is interesting.
Inside Barack Obama's Hispanic strategy.

Daily Reading (4/16/09)

Oops. Obviously, I put this together a while ago and forgot to post...

The Case for Memorizing Poetry
Obama's Conversation Starter
John Dickerson took his kids to the White House easter egg roll and lived to tell about it.
Slate reviews Beowulf, in verse.
What do we mean when we say we need female justices?
America is not a Christian nation.
Another lethal April, another failure to ask why.

Daily Reading (4/10/09)

The Onion: Scholars Discover 23 Blank Pages That May As Well Be Lost Samuel Beckett Play
NOT The Onion: When Rock Stars Read Edmund Spenser Which really made me want to go read Edmund Spenser, actually. Or Anne of Green Gables. (Extra credit to whomever gets the connection! Hi Rachel!)
There's a sequel to A Little Princess coming out. I am curious, but mostly appalled. But I'm sure I will read it anyway. (So will Alison Flood.)
Aaron Sorkin's [Possible] Return to Television I loved this quote: "Studio 60 is about Aaron Sorkin characters speaking Aaron Sorkin dialog about the issues which matter to Aaron Sorkin. It doesn’t matter whether these characters are in the White House or on the set of a television show." Yes, exactly. I've been watching a lot of Sports Night over the past few months and it's equally true of that show. Which is why I LOVE THEM ALL.

Daily Reading (4/9/09)

Much Ado About Levi
2009: The Year America Discovered Mexico
Spencer Ackerman and Matt Yglesias perfectly encapsulate my feelings on phone calls and voice mail: "If I see I have a voice message on my phone, I resent the caller for making me listen to it."
President Obama's Passover Letter
An interesting profile of/interview with UN Ambassador Susan Rice
Marx vs. Rand

Daily Reading (4/3/09)

I know I've been linking to practically every Gail Collins column recently, but I love her. The People Have Mumbled
Dahlia Lithwick tells us why we should be worried about the attacks on Howard Koh.
Sasha Frere-Jones on U2: The Longest Run
The Secret History of Bagels

Daily Reading (3/31/09)

A hilarious (no, really) G20 FAQ.
Gail Collins, always a good read, is really on a roll about David Paterson.
Favorite blog post of the day: Let's just throw it out there...
Mitt Romney: Still Running for President

Daily Reading (3/26/09)

I love these "how things actually work" stories (especially when they sound like something out of The West Wing): 'Specials' push Obama agenda on Hill
About that new international currency... Nature Decays, but Latinum Lasts Forever
Wondering what the Republican budget proposal says about health care? Ezra Klein will tell you.

Daily Reading (3/25/09)

Star Trek perfume and cologne? Really?
I used to sort of like Bobby Jindal, even though I disagree with him about pretty much everything. I don't anymore.
This is a bit long but really interesting (of course! It's Ackerman!): Holbrooke Emerges as Power Center at State
25 Dead People on Twitter
Cat cafes!

Some Random Links...

I don't have a lot to say about most of these, but they were fun...

2009's 25 Geekiest 25th Anniversaries

Interactive NPR Stations Map. So you can get directions for your road trip including how to listen to NPR the whole way. I have been wanting this to exist for years.

A list of the best TV couples. At least four or five of my favorites are on there.

Heart-Conscious Actress Jane Kaczmarek Knows 'The Price and Privilege of Citizenship' Seriously, she's so great I can't even fake-hate her for being married to Brad Whitford.

Bradley Whitford on Playing Rahm Emanuel

And this is old, but I just found it - great West Wing quotes, mostly about Josh and Donna. My favorite:

"The first thing they should do when they start cloning people is clone Brad Whitford. I think it should be a constitutional right that all women have one." - Janel Moloney (Donna)

Daily Reading (1/6/09)

Executive Orders: The Famous, the Infamous, & the Ridiculous
Robots, Not Roads
Obama vs. Osama
The 10 Best American Movies (I have seen none of them. Must remedy this.)
Democrats' Factions Could Stall Grand Plans
Understimulated
The Race to Run the GOP Gets Even More Ridiculous

Daily Reading (1/5/09)

Fifty Years of Popular Songs Condensed Into Single Sentences
Two Advisers Reflect on Eight Years with Bush
Mark Penn: The Man Who Blew the Presidency
From a Blind Date to Second Lady

Daily Reading (1/2/09)

Tortured Reasoning
Obama Faces Legacy of Lawlessness at Justice

And I found the following unpublished list of recommended articles from back in November. Some of them are rather dated by now, but they were all good, so I'm throwing them in here:
The Shadow President: How John Podesta Invented the Obama Administration
Sparring Starts as Republicans Ponder Future
The New Liberalism
Kids, Halloween Candy, and the Election
A Spokesman So Close, He's the 'Barack Whisperer'
Gail Collins: The Election Lives!
Which Minority Group Will Win the White House Next?

Daily Reading (10/24/08)

Yeah, apparently we're all politics all the time today. Sorry. It'll be over soon. And check out my New Hampshire related posts at NH Political Info.

Politics

McCain volunteer who claimed to have been attacked by an Obama supporter admits she made it up. (An Obama canvasser, on the other hand, was actually attacked.) Ackerman on the Ashley Todd incident.

Use Twitter to Protect the Vote

The White House clarifies that Bush did indeed vote for McCain. Hee.

Blame Game: GOP Forms Circular Firing Squad

McCain Lambastes Bush Years

Why American politicians have such rotten marriages

McCain-Palin and the Lucifer Effect

Giuliani in 2012?

For Obama, a Melancholy Biography Tour

Yglesias asks what I've been wondering: Why is helping small business necessarily the goal of public policy?

Long lines, glitches reported during early voting

Daily Reading (10/23/08)

Economics

Greenspan Concedes Error on Regulation

Paulson: Struggling to Keep Up as the Crisis Raced On

Politics

Look! Candidate teddy bears!

What kind of voter are you?

The Punditocracy's Seven Biggest Blunders of the 2008 Election Um, guys? The election isn't over yet! Let's not be overhasty here. I'm sure there are plenty of errors yet to be made.

Ackerman: Finally, an Exit Strategy

Republicans Use 'Anti-American' Charge on House Floor as Well as Campaign Trail

Nate Silver thinks some likely voter models are suspect.

Apparently tons of Democrats are voting early.

The invisible battle over posse comitatus.

Daily Reading (10/22/08)

Economics

Are traders worth their money?

Was the Lehman loss all that bad?

Maybe the bailout will be profitable.

How will Treasury pick the banks to save?

Politics

Al-Qaeda Web sites show support for McCain

Who's actually running, again?

The RNC buys Palin a $150K wardrobe. Personally, I don't really care what her clothes cost - unless the RNC paying for them is of questionable legality. So I'm going to wait and see on that one. I will also say that I now want them to take back everything they said about Edwards's $400 hair cut.

Sarah Palin's college years left no lasting impression. Um, yeah, that's the less-than-neutral-sounding headline, but it sounds like they're saying it's literally true. Interesting.

Catharine MacKinnon: Obama is the way forward for women.

Ron Elving: Why can't the presidential polls just get along?

Ruth Marcus: The 'Socialist' Scare

There's nothing new about spreading the wealth.

Coming up in Sunday's Times magazine: a pre-post-mortem on the McCain campaign.

More on voter fraud: Block the Vote and Voter Registration Flashpoints

In Endgame, Metrics are Adding Up for Obama

Is Palin setting herself up for 2012? That would probably be the best course of action for her at this point.

And, of course, police are preparing for riots. Yes, this is part of why I can't think about election day without feeling sick. I'm half-convinced that there will be some sort of violence regardless of the outcome.

Daily Reading (10/21/08)

Arts and Culture:

The Atlantic, one of my favorite magazines, has a new design. Read about it here

A fascinating look at the term paper market. It's too bad I'm so darn ethical, because it actually sounds kind of fun.

NPR social networking now has groups.

World News:

Bush Decides to Keep Guantanamo Open

Economics:

Not that we're surprised, but the IMF is bailing out Iceland.

Don't Blame the CRA

Religious leaders speak out about the crisis.

Politics:

Obama is taking a break from campaigning to visit his seriously ill grandmother. Get well soon, Mrs. Dunham!

A North Carolina Congressman claims that liberals "hate real Americans." Yeah. Goes nicely with Palin's statement that there are "pro-America areas" of the country and Bachmann's whole thing about anti-American views held by Obama and other senators.

Obama will be in Chicago's Grant Park on election night. Personally, I can't even say or type "election night" without feeling ill.

Trying to figure out the differences between all the polls? Here's a tracking poll primer.

Many Holes in Disclosure of Nominees' Health

Fareed Zakaria endorses Obama.

Hitchens: Stop covering Palin until she gives a press conference.

Spencer Ackerman on the movie W.

Gail Collins and David Brooks have a kind of hilarious back-and-forth about early voting.

Let's not forget that both sides have people doing bad things.

How Obama quietly targets blacks.

Racists for Obama?

Oh good, time to start worrying about this: How accurate are exit polls?

Beyond Diebold: 10 Ways to Steal This Election

McCain targets white Clinton strongholds.

Sarah Palin? Not as outsidery as she says.

McCain supporters heckle early voters. Charming.

Early voters report that voting machines are switching their votes from Obama to McCain. Eek.

Daily Reading (10/20/08)

Culture:

The Top 10 Most Influential Educational Video Games from the 1980s

Economics:

Can Pakistan stay afloat?

Consensus Emerges to Let Deficit Rise

F.B.I. Struggles to Handle Financial Fraud Cases

Politics:

The Class War Before Palin

Hertzberg on McCain's Colombia fixation.

Pro-Life and Pro-Obama

A New Yorker profile of Joe Biden.

Defining 'Victory' in Iraq

Daily Reading (10/16/08)

Where shark attacks are most common. Heh. I love The Economist.

Literature:

Freeing the Elephants - a fascinating article on the controversy surrounding Babar.

Jezebel has a fascinating examination of policy and economics in The Long Winter. Whoa. I want to go reread it now.

Politics:

John Dickerson: McCain did well in the final debate, but not well enough to matter.

Why is McCain campaigning like this?

Levi Johnston gives an interview. He seems like a decent kid. I hope they make it work.

Go read a little pregnant on McCain's contempt for women.

Jezebel: The Race-Baiting Tactics of John McCain and Sarah Palin are Reprehensible.

A county in New York prints "Barack Osama" on absentee ballots. Um, oops?

The XX Factor: Why I Miss John Edwards. Me too!

What was with the connection McCain kept making between Palin and autism? This was driving me crazy last night.

Oooh, big long Matt Bai Times Magazine piece coming out! Yay! Working for the Working-Class Vote

Daily Reading (10/10/08)

Oops, forgot to post this the other day...

Economics:

Ignore the Dow. Watch the TED Spread.

Megan McArdle: How Did It All Happen?

Politics:

This is brilliant: Apparently MA is doing voter registration at Dunkin' Donuts. If you're not familiar with New England, this may not make sense, but it's really ridiculously perfect.

Awww. In 1988, Obama gave a stranger in an airport $100 so she could get to Norway (with her two suitcases) to be with her new husband.

States' Actions to Block Voters Appear Illegal

TNR thinks it's over. I'm not even letting myself think that. I guess I'm more superstitious than I'd thought.

Sarah Palin's "folk" problem. I think Meacham gets at something I've been thinking about various candidates during this whole election cycle - WHY do we want a "normal" person to be president (or VP, or whatever)? I don't WANT the president to be just like me! I want a president who is smarter than I am and wiser than I am and braver than I am and more thoughtful than I am and better than I am in pretty much every way possible. And yes, I guess that's basically the definition of "elite." I want the people in charge to be elite. Isn't that the whole point?

And here's a TNR profile of Palin.

The lead federal prosecutor of the Weathermen objects to people trying to link Obama to Ayers. Good for him.

Daily Reading (10/08/08)

Culture

Spare Me the Sermon on Muslim Women

Possibly the best banned books display ever. (Thanks for the tip, Kate!)

Economics:

Some background on the crisis in Iceland.

Politics:

Yes We Carve - Barack O'Lanterns. Hee.

Yes We Can (Hold Babies) brings the political cuteness. Aww.

Peggy Noonan on the VP debate.

The New Yorker endorses Obama. Not that we're surprised or anything.

Daily Reading (10/1/08)

Arts and History

The correspondence between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell has been published.

Russian Court Rehabilitates Last Czar

Economy

Cities are having to cut back or stop necessary projects because they can't get financing. This really is affecting everyone. It's not just a "big business" thing.

Five Alternative Bailout Plans

Politics

New DC gossip blog: Unattributable

Bill Kristol on how McCain can win.

The New Yorker has (another? didn't they do this already?) very interesting profile of Cindy McCain.

The Shrewd Persona of Meghan McCain

Spin Doctors Work Their Voodoo

Biden's strategy: Go easy on Palin

The Wars of John McCain

What's the matter with Canada?

And it's a theme! What's the matter with Michigan?

Daily Reading (9/23/08)

Non-Political:

Google at 10

The Importance of Educating Girls

Interesting profile of Maurice Sendak

Women in Saudi Arabia love Oprah.

Political

In case there wasn't enough to worry about right now, don't forget about Somalia!

McCain and the POW Cover-Up

You know who we really need during this economic crisis? Eliot Spitzer.

Six Brazilian politicians are on the ballot as "Barack Obama."

Something weird is going on with a GOP mailing in Florida, but it's not clear exactly what.

Daily Reading (9/5/08)

Until the election, I'm going to break these posts up into political and non-political sections so that those of you who are sick of politics can skip that easily.

Non-Political:

E-books don't furnish a room.

Bookstore Maps

Political:

Congressman Westmoreland calls the Obamas "uppity."

Robert Reich on the vetting process.

Parsing 'Community Organizer'

From the Anchorage Daily News: Governor is stonewalling the Troopergate investigation.

The Death of a Taboo

Did James McCain break the law by appearing on stage?

Yglesias on hockey. Hee.

Well-written and well-thought-out blog post: Comparisons are odious.

Palin put the jet up on eBay, but it didn't sell there.

Daily Reading (9/4/08)

America's Most Dangerous Librarians

History of concert etiquette

Dear Dept. of Homeland Security: Please don't use Wikipedia as evidence in court.

On Palin and the RNC:

Attacks, praise stretch truth at GOP convention. Yay for fact-checking!

The Unusual Challenges Palin Faced in Alaska

Megan Carpentier liveblogs Whitman and Fiorina, Romney, Giuliani, and Palin.

Gloria Steinem: Palin: Wrong Woman, Wrong Message

From the XX Factor:
Cruel and Unusual
I'm Depressed Now (Yes - vicious! That's a word I was trying to think of.)
Mainstreaming the Mean Girl
Sarah Palin's Political Eros

Daily Reading (9/03/08)

The strange resurrection of John Kerry

The incomparable Megan Carpentier liveblogs Lieberman. And Fred Thompson.

Interesting comparison of Obama's and McCain's memoirs

The Washington Post has a nice preview of upcoming fall books.

Is Google Chrome a Web browser or an operating system?

It seems that John Le Carre's son has started writing.

A history of the Booker prize.

In search of Roland Camberton. (No, I hadn't heard of him either, but it's interesting.)

The Henry Ford of literature. (Nope, hadn't heard of him either.)

Palin links:

Levi Johnston, Bristol Palin's boyfriend, is heading to the convention to be with the rest of the family. His mom sounds delightfully normal.

Mayor Palin: A Rough Record

Aides say Palin was vetted on Wednesday. (Yes, a week ago.) Apparently this was one of the questions in the VP interviews:

If Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean announced that he was holding a news conference with a mystery person to reveal damaging information about the candidate, who would they most fear it would be?

If Wright was an issue, then Palin's pastor should be an issue, right? Palin was at church a few weeks ago when her pastor said that terrorist attacks in Israel were God's punishment of the Jewish people who have not converted to Christianity.

A lobbyist Palin hired has ties to Ted Stevens and Jack Abramoff.

It looks like Palin was not a member of the Alaska Independence Party. Her husband was, but I'm not convinced that matters.

How Palin is portrayed in the tabloids.

Daily Reading (9/2/08)

The more things change... A great Didion essay from 1988 on political conventions.

Sarah Palin on Issues (An archived site from when she ran for governor.) And here are some quotes and sermons from her pastors.

Sarah Palin's mother-in-law may vote for Obama.

John Dickerson's headline says it all: Palin's candidacy is fun to cover but raises serious questions about McCain's judgment.

More on the secessionist party Palin may have joined.

An interesting take on Patty Hearst.

Uh, wow. The City Clerk's office in Wasilla says it has not been asked for any documents concerning Palin's term as mayor. Vetting? What vetting?

Oh, and here's a refreshingly fast-based (if dry) profile of Palin.

Eek! There's going to be a new Madeline book. Not sure how I feel about that.

The Final Days of the Presidency of George W. Bush

Daily Reading (8/27/08)

An analysis of Maya Soetoro-Ng's name. (That's Obama's sister, if anyone missed her speech last night.)

One assassination plot foiled. Let's hope and pray that that was the only one.

A new cat fashion blog: The Catorialist

A great essay by Arthur Krystal on the literary essay. I'd never heard of Krystal before, but I'll definitely be reading more of him.

An interview with Molly Friedrich about being a literary agent.

Top 10 Endangered Languages

Daily Reading (8/22/08)

Compelling and thought-provoking essay: Pinched: The Day I Took My Family to a Soup Kitchen

And on a lighter note, pretend IMs from VP hopefuls.

A new study shows that fewer Americans want to mix religion and politics. That makes me happy, not least because my political views don't line up very well with those of most members of my Church.

Fascinating: realtime emergency and disaster map.

Top 10 Literary Gypsies What about the ones in... Emma, is it? Oh, and here's the Top 10 Literary Virgins, although some of those selections seem a bit dodgy.

Anne Enright on naming characters.

In celebration of Enid Blyton.

A new-to-me blog, Jane Austen's World, has an interesting exploration of hot chocolate in the 18th and 19th centuries. Mmm, hot chocolate...

An interesting profile of Persephone, a publishing house dedicated to "forgotten" women writers. I wonder if they're available Stateside? Must look into that...

Apparently Penguin (the publisher) is starting some sort of dating site for reader. Huh. I might actually try that... Oh, and here it is. But maybe UK-only? Hm.

A fun post about book abuse. And another about book addiction. And, huh, another. Please seem very concerned about this all of a sudden.

A new book review site: LitMob.

Daily Reading (8/19/08)

The Education of John McCain

Interesting article on lace-making in Massachusetts. I have the novel it talks about out from the library, but haven't started it yet.

Ann Patchett on book publicity and touring.

An interesting look at Broadway orchestration.

It's His Party tells us about Obama's focus on building the Democratic Party.

Daily Reading (8/15/08)

Andrew Sullivan, of all people, notifies us of an iPhone (and iPod Touch) app for knitting! I downloaded it but haven't used it much yet - looks like it has potential.

Time Warp Wives - women trying to live in the past. With the benefit of the Internet. Fascinating. Hmm... none of them seem to have kids. I wonder if that's just a coincidence or what?

Heeee! The secret Obama e-mails.

Jackson Browne is suing McCain for using his song without permission.

Oh good. The Left Behind authors have decided that Obama is not the antichrist. Just in case you were worried about that.

A fun Slate piece about weird name-change legal cases.

Daily Reading (8/12/08)

Is there a secret presidential succession plan? Scary stuff.

Real Senator in new Batman movie! Hee.

Australia is getting its first saint: Mother Mary MacKillop

The Atlantic has a interesting look into the meltdown of the Clinton campaign.

An amazing duck story. I must admit that it almost made me cry. Awww.

That cute little girl singing in the opening ceremonies? Lip-synching. Just like Singin' in the Rain, or something.

Daily Reading (8/11/08)

Opus Dei in Australia brings in a kitten to keep the Pope company while he visits. Awww.

How to watch Evelyn Waugh.

Finally, someone who agrees with me and liked Breaking Dawn! In defense of Breaking Dawn. Warning - lots of spoilers.

The ten oddest travel guides ever published.

Daily Reading (8/8/08)

Emily Bazelon on class vs. race integration in schools: The Next Kind of Integration

Has the Church missed the import of science?

Here's a fascinating article about the history of children's libraries and the publication of Stuart Little. Which I must admit I've never actually read. But now I really want to.

There's a new Little House musical! I hope it comes somewhere closer.

Salon's take on the Twilight series. (Spoilers for the first three books, but not the new one.)

Daily Reading (8/1/08)

Ever wonder where they get those little plastic numbers for gas station signs? Apparently there are companies dedicated to gasoline advertising - and everyone's ordering more 4s and 5s.

In Russia, bears are an important traditional symbol - so what to do when they start eating people?

A new solution for local food in cities: vertical farms. Fascinating.

Interesting profile of E.O. Wilson.

Sesame Street is coming out with a new Web site. It sounds pretty nifty.

The Duchess of Northumberland is creating a huge public garden.

Daily Reading (7/30/08)

Cruise ship auctions: awfully shady. Um, never would have guessed!

A look at Obama as professor.

Controversy over New York's real birthdate.

Daily Reading (7/29/08)

Kafka's papers may finally be available to scholars.

A fascinating interactive Venn diagram of Bush administration criminals.

Essay: Why I Re-Read (Thanks for the link, Penny!)

In Japan, Buddhism may be dying out.

Vaughn Williams: A Composer Forever English

A profile of Kay Ryan, the new Poet Laureate.

The Booker Longlist is announced.

Daily Reading (7/25/08)

Remember how I was upset about the disappearance of slips? I'm not making it up. I still like them!

Scientists discover what makes the Northern Lights dance.

Profile of McCain strategist Steve Schmidt. Fun fact learned therein: Schmidt and David Plouffe dropped out of the same college.

Daily Reading (7/24/08)

The Times has an interesting look at the generational shift going on among college professors.

What White House staffers make.

New Zealand court blocks bad names. Good for them!

Sullivan has the full text of Obama's Berlin speech, if you're curious.

Apparently it's a new trend for brides to "treat" the wedding party to various cosmetic procedures to make them look better in wedding pictures. Um, ew. Tacky.

Daily Reading (7/22/08)

Times Magazine preview: a slideshow of young women in the FLDS

The percentage of farmers who are female is increasing. Here are some profiles.

Why Europeans drank beer and Asians drank tea.

Daily Reading (7/21/08)

Skyy comes out with red and blue cocktails named after the candidates. Hey, I guess that would make it easier to figure out who you want to talk to at the martini bar...

Here's the full list of Starbucks that are closing. Only one in NH, and it's not one of the ones I frequent. Yay!

The Post has a very interesting series going about the Chandra Levy investigation.

Daily Reading (7/17/08)

In the "things that make perfect sense but had never really occurred to me" category: bad US economy -> less new construction -> less money sent to Mexico -> bad effects on Mexican economy.

Is Google making us stupid? (Personally, I don't think so, although I do think that the Internet is encouraging different methods and types of thought, and that if we want to keep up, say, the ability to read long books, we need to make a practice of reading long books.)

Daily Reading (7/16/08)

A fascinating story of a young woman who left a very strict Orthodox Jewish community and is trying to get custody of her daughter

Long profile of Mark Salter, McCain's speechwriter

Have you ever wondered whether harvesting corks for wine bottles is bad for the environment? Maybe it's the other way around.