Caleb Crain Elaborates
Surely you remember our note about Caleb Crain’s new book, The Wreck of the Henry Clay? (He noticed us!) If you don’t remember the story, then briefly: it’s a collection of…
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Everything that can’t be categorized but is still wonderful!
Evening Cocktail
It’s been a hot day, so have a cold one. The nation’s first public library was founded on this day in 1731, when Benjamin Franklin and fifty associates pooled their…
Morning Coffee: Science Edition
Hey there July, how are you today? Steven Pinker picks his three favorite pieces of science writing for 3quarkdaily. (via Metafilter.) Bacteria as psychedelic art piece. Scientists have developed a…
Why Starting a Book is Hard
“As soon as we feel that the writing we are contemplating matters, our defensive system kicks in, and our fear that we can’t think well enough raises its ugly head.…
Evening Cocktail
Hope it was as beautiful today in your town as it was in mine. Had dinner yet? Dear Pork: I am in love with you. [I Made That!] An Infinite…
Counterfeit Smokes
“On first approach, Yunxiao seems like any other Chinese backwater caught in an uneasy industrial transition. Faded advertisements line the downtown streets, where motorcyclists wearing bamboo-frond hats vie for paying…
Morning Coffee
It sure is hot these days. Wired on the personhood of whales. A famous person has died. DJs buy own music using stolen cards. The coolest bridge in the entire…
Evening Cocktail
A word of explanation: because the Morning starts with Coffee, the Evening starts with a Cocktail, served promptly at half-past six by your attentive host. You can imagine the cocktail…
Welcome to the Night Shift
I’m an insomniac, and many times these past few months I’ve checked this site at three or four in the morning, and found that nothing had appeared since the previous…
When Pigs Fly
The e-ticket I held in my hand entitled me to board two airplanes, which I did. I flew all the way from Cairo International Airport to the glitzy city of…
Morning Coffee
Investigative linguist discovers first known use of “Ms.” in print. (via @randomdeanna) Kush, sleep support for your breasts. An interview with Nic Brown, author of Floodmakers. Disappearing on sex weekends,…