12 August 2009: Afternoon

News reports focus on the bruhaha about Clinton's husband comment, not the tough words she's delivering in Congo.

Clinton on her five hours in Goma: Overwhelmed, horrified, drained.

Instapaper for the commute: Adam Hochschild's inventory of appalling Congo crimes.

Beautiful African soil maps.

To map the brain--to draw a "connectome"--means finding paths between 100 billion neurons (probably not anytime soon).

Mean reversion is a bitch. Economic growth in China is not miraculous, and the bubble will burst soon.

Nepal offers $650 incentive if you marry a widow.

Pornography industry battered by free content, especially its "middle class."

Ringwald: John Hughes had "a heavy heart, deeply sensitive, prone to injury."

Fascinating anecdotal and narrative notes from the early '70s by J.M. Coetzee.

We actually want to read more slowly, but: How to read 300% faster in 20 minutes.

Graphic novels provide a slower, more involved reading experience, and no one should be ashamed of liking them.

Such a paraphrase, so slanderous. The best bits of "Snacks and Shit" are the labels.

Questions a stalker asks himself while staring at your bookcase.

Pictures of old rock dudes with Meg Ryan hair.