Headlines from December 15, 2008
- Reporting from the Congo continues to be a war correspondents' Everest, painting the craft as a noble, mythical undertaking.
- Found yourself hugging a Rembrandt as SWAT burst in next door? You're probably an art-crime agent.
- The country will be ruled by his slash-and-burn ideology for a long time to come. Bush's last-minute regulations may repay his benefactors.
- During Kabul speech, Iraqi journalist throws his shoes at Bush.
- "Why does Saddam Hussein sound like my old grocer in Jerusalem?" This may be Hollywood's Arab moment, and Israelis are getting all the parts.
- Video: Just Like the Movies splices footage to create a movie that feels like Sept. 11.
- "I could probably live here for $100 a month. There's a lot of gourmet shops here that throw out great food." Reasons to love New York in 2008.
- Video from Charlie White's new film, OMG BFF LOL: Mall, Bathroom, Bedroom.
- More from White in TMN Galleries: "Monsters."
- The Guardian tracks down the real people who inspired famous pop songs.
- "I don't see the kids or Diane as often as I should." From 2002, Paul Ford finds the fake people who didn't really inspire famous pop songs.
- With gifts worse than coal: the Bad Gift Emporium.
- Video: Warm holiday greetings.
- Thousands in Iraq rally for release of "shoe-bomber"; Saddam's lawyer, along with 200 more, will defend him for free.
- Of course: The inevitable online video game.
- Retrospective of video game design since 1990.
- Instapaper for the commute: Zadie Smith on her father's comedy snobbery.
- Note: Mugabe was being sarcastic when describing the cholera epidemic as "cured" last week.
- Five former Latin American presidents urge Obama to pursue free trade.
- Op: Under Obama, we'll see more lobbying, not less, and for good or for ill, it's democracy in action.
- Times op-ed contributors on how Obama can keep us safe (e.g., clear up the wiretapping mess).
- It's hard to overstate the economic impact that a new plant can have. How the auto world's "little eight" have transformed the American south.
- The news may lead you to believe otherwise, but Florida, Rhode Island, and D.C. all beat Illinois for state corruption.
- Finland's population the most promiscuous of major countries, report finds.
- Bizarre teeth of beaked male whales found to attract mates.
- This year, more than ever, people afflicted by "compulsive buying" have it tough.
- The photo that says a thousand words for us right now (see here for explanation).
- Top 10 books in Mexico last week; "Best of Asia" in 2008 for the Japan Times.
- Times analysis for David Foster Wallace's college philosophy thesis.
- Fluxus artist George Brecht dead at 82.
- A fugue for traffic in Mexico City; a paean to ghosts in Bangkok.