Headlines from November 30, 2009

Capturing military dads' surprise visits home makes for genuine tears, good press--but it's a roller coaster for families.
The White House party crashers, who were gunning for reality TV, would rather sell their story than talk about it.
Secret Service acknowledges party-crasher blunder, promises protocol changes, longer security lines.
Though plagiarism is rare in crosswords, accidental near-duplicates are surprisingly possible.
For her U.S. Open tirade, Serena Williams has been fined a record $82,500, placed on two-year probation.
There's a mix of creaky alumni, pets wearing Yale sweaters, and young parents cradling future legacy admits. A dispatch from the 126th Harvard-Yale game.
Related: The author's photos from the trenches.
Galileo, John Wilkes Booth, Einstein, and other men of note who were missing body parts.
"My guillotine isn't associated with death." Inventors of new bagel slicers continue the quest to avoid breakfast injuries.
The iPod was the invention of the decade--but is it really better than sliced bread? No, really?
Anonymous op-ed on the seedy, yet boring, side of academic competition.
A new type of battery made from algae.
Solar-powered plane has 12,000 sun-absorbing cells, ground speed of 10 miles per hour.
Five things Obama should consider while laying out his new Afghanistan strategy.
News to anticipate this week.
Instapaper for the commute: How a Cuban novelist describes the Revolution to taxi drivers.
See also: America vs. the Narrative.
Contemplating the conundrums in describing waning sexual desire in the D.S.M.
How the H1N1 vaccine is made, and why it requires so many eggs.
Brian Eno: Nothing is uncool anymore, and this is good news.
Examples of ever-present beauty in Gerhard Richter's "4900 Colours, Version II."
Metrics of very big ocean liners.
Photos: Gold-rush era ghost ship.
Environmental activists want Copenhagen to become a 10-years-later Seattle.
Fifty years afterward, a look at In Cold Blood's genesis and legacy, and the end of Capote's career.
From 2004: Why you don't want a big advance on your first novel; from 2009: First-time novelist on being panned in the Times.
Crime books to give, S.F. books to give.
Video: Friend gets lost at a Knicks game.