Headlines from July 25, 2012

Al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists doing their best to hijack the Syrian revolution.
Mexico has only one legal gun store; American gun-control policies look insane in comparison.
When its people sparked the Arab Spring, Tunisia had the lowest firearm ownership rate in the world.
“Nominalizations”—zombie nouns that “suck the lifeblood from adjectives and substitute abstract entities for human beings.”
Eighteen-year-old, “not exactly a party animal,” asks how clubbing works.
The flight of New York’s 34th Street commuters. #video
Fun to reread at lunch (because it’s exceptional), “La Dolce Viva” by Barbara Goldsmith. #longreads
Will Smith coaxed into performing Fresh Prince theme song on British talk show. #video
America has consistently refused to dip its flag to Olympic hosts since 1936.
Banksy enters the Olympics.
Sanctions aren’t punishment if the result is to push academics to the forefront of Penn State. via #opinions
Paul Ford’s survey of creatures which foreshadow depression, and their literary origins. #tmn
Utah’s “goat man” identified as veteran hunter preparing for archery season.
Selections from a series of then-and-now portraits of every citizen of Oxford, Iowa. #photography
We do absolutely anything they ask. Anonymous Democratic legislative staffer explains the NRA’s congressional grading system.
A zoomable online map of the AIDS quilt—now too large to fit on the National Mall.
Applying Romney’s statement that a new president’s first year doesn’t count, Obama has created more than 3.7 million jobs overall.
How Sally Ride could shine a light on the Defense of Marriage Act’s callousness.
His mom had taken the medal to the dry cleaner…and had forgotten about it. Olympians lose medals with surprising frequency.
Putin still tests food for poison, Sarkozy once banned cheese, and other stories from a gathering of presidential chefs.
LA City Council unanimously decides to shut down the city’s 762 medical marijuana dispensaries.
Prog-rock legend Daevid Allen recalls meeting fan Sherman Hemsley, who died yesterday. via
On marrying a coworker who turns out to be a former rock star whose band becomes popular once more.
How the Purity Ring recorded nearly all of its new album through email. #music
A study finds awe-inspiring experiences can expand your perception of time.
When we believe we experience déjà vu or ESP, our brains are making sense of the world by locating patterns.
The Non-Expert: “Troubleshooting Your Déjà Vu.” #tmn
Annie Hall‘s New York, then and now. #photos
Omnipotence is the power to create orders, not merely the power to enforce them. Inside the mind of an IDF checkpoint soldier. #longreads