2 April 2009: Afternoon By The Morning News — 02 Apr 2009 Sweden's parliament votes overwhelmingly to legalize gay marriage. Holder cites prosecutorial misconduct in Alaskan Sen. Ted Stevens's corruption case, dismisses conviction. Stunning, recent photos from Afghanistan. Eminent Australian judge faces two years in jail for lying about a speeding fine. W.W. Norton kicks off National Poetry Month with new Poems Out Loud site, featuring streaming oration. German board game Settlers of Catan explodes in popularity across the U.S.--and at this rate may unseat Monopoly. From TMN's Matthew Baldwin: the Good Gift Games Guide. As recession topples competitive video-game leagues, seasoned champs go back to working retail. Notes on the semicolon-shaped island of San Serriffe, a terrific prank from the Guardian in 1977. John Mellencamp recalls the day the music biz died--aka, the advent of SoundScan. Yet another study that says office-loafing--e.g., Twittering during work hours--is good for productivity. Simon's teacher recently banned Star Wars talk, except at recess, because debates over plot points had gotten too vociferous.
