Headlines from October 18, 2012

To economists’ surprise, housing is turning around fast: Home builders are ramping up and foreclosures are falling.
At a June conference call, Romney advised business owners to inform employees which candidate they should vote for.
The think tanks speak: Romney’s deduction caps and proposed tax cuts won’t add up to his promised savings.
If today’s candidates can’t spar like Lincoln and Douglas, we shouldn’t have to endure the debates. #opinions
Jon Huntsman: Neither Obama nor Romney are choosing the correct foreign policy power levers.
Tonight at the Waldorf-Astoria, the candidates will attempt to be in the same room without attacking each other.
The authors only obliquely address what I think of as the “F-U Theory” of Yard Signs.
The clear winner in Tuesday’s debate was Veronica De Souza, who pounced on the “Binders Full of Women” quip. #memes
Jimmy Kimmel asks people who they thought won the presidential debate—four hours before it started. #video
Why do you wear that dumb hat? The Lincoln-Douglas town hall debate.
The University of Phoenix, the largest for-profit university in the U.S., to close 115 locations.
Aphex Twin brings his remote-controlled orchestra to London. #video
Robots at work and play. #photos
The very people who most need the mental exercise of slang are those who most resist it. #language
Korea’s writing system wins World Alphabet Olympics.
Twenty-five years ago this week, Baby Jessica ushered in the cable news era. #tv
Reality of war pervades daily life in Damascus with a sense of inevitability.
Apparently there’s no limit to idiotic, would-be jihadis prepared to be fooled by FBI stings.
George W. Bush is said to have enjoyed his grilled-cheese sandwiches with Kraft singles and white bread. Presidential eating habits.
Pursuits of the idle: Bush makes pet portraits, Napoleon played chess.
Bloomberg starts super PAC to support politicians who favor gun control, stronger schools, same-sex marriage.
Fashion blogger recounts the day that Wes Anderson asked if he could borrow a pair of boots.
Fascinating obituary for Norodom Sihanouk, intermittently a monarch.
Short documentary about Madron FC, one of Britain’s worst soccer teams. #video
Vehicles left in airport parking lots to be offered up for short-term loans.
Mapping Elliott Smith’s Brooklyn. #tmn
Modern maps turn the user into the center of the world; the only place to get lost is in Google Maps HQ.
Google publishes photographs of its colorful data centers.
Tutorial on how to comprehend vastness, and why you don’t measure your height in billions of nanometers.
Kickstarter of the week: “Sorry, We’re Closed,” Marshall Sokoloff’s journey to photograph disappearing America.
See also: Pictures of deserted zones around Palm Springs.
The corpse which you see here is that of M. Bayard. Notes on the invention of satirical photography.