Headlines from August 27, 2009
- According to one prominent economist's Misery Index, America was the most miserable under Carter and the least under Reagan.
- Politicians continue to struggle with talking about poverty.
- Survey shows that as the recession deepened, Americans cut back on volunteer work.
- After his diagnosis 15 months ago, Ted Kennedy decided to make a "good ending"--and he did.
- Babbo server's account of waiting on Frank Bruni as the former critic adapts to civilian life.
- A visualization of time travel plots in various films and TV programs.
- Braniff International made their flight attendants change their outfits three times during a routine flight. Retro airline commercials.
- Three-time Infinite Jest reader Matt Bucher picks up the details Wallace picked up from other books.
- Bizarre account of a St. Louis doctor who went crazy, only to open up a new practice.
- For this month's "Of Recent Note," we want to know: What's your superpower?
- Video: Bobby McFerrin demonstrates the innateness of the pentatonic scale.
- British scientist develops formula for the ideal David Bowie song--includes a video, complete with fake Bowie vocals.
- Bodyshop 711's fearless geometry single-handedly ended the cubist movement in box art. The city's most valuable (and overlooked) cardboard.
- Cash-for-clunkers program soon to become dollars-for-dryers, Warbucks-for-washers, etc.
- Bob Dylan negotiating with car manufacturers to be the voice of their in-car navigation systems.
- Op: Some Italian women, long beleaguered, are starting to put up with less, even when most Italian girls want to be velinas.
- Kindness is essential to our humanity, but it is deemed the virtue of losers.
- Men with obits in Kennedy's shadow: Dominick Dunne, Richard Poirier, Larry Knechtel.
- Nuclear deterrence is like playing a game of poker in which the entire world's lives are at risk.
- Young reporter spends time with Khalifa Hakeem, once Pakistan's most influential journalist.
- Ingredients of a Slim Jim analyzed.
- Julie Powell's main guff with Julie and Julia: It misrepresented her cat.
- Summary of a case study where a patient changed sex after having a seizure.
- Profile of the star-nosed mole and its beautiful appendages.
- Instapaper for the commute: Reasonably accessible article on the status of computing's P vs. NP problem.
- Google to allow free direct access to more than a million public domain EPUB books.
- Burma's unlikely literary problem: too few fiction writers.
- Video: Interview with Manhattan van man.