30 October 2007: Afternoon

  • At the expense of taxpayers and good governance, John Murtha has enriched his "hard-luck hometown" with billions.
  • Despite a Yale degree, Prozac Nation's Elizabeth Wurtzel finds it hard to dismiss her past while searching for a law career.
  • A report from the not-soon-to-be-infamous Gladwell/Gopnik "burn the Ivy League" debate.
  • Despite a lack of FDA approval, "it's inevitable that there are large numbers of clone progeny in the food supply."
  • Decapitation is, in most instances, associated with a decline in IQ. The dubious rise of neurolaw, or those who blame the brain.
  • Images from the inside of advertisers' brains and offices.
  • Complaints after State Dept.'s video to improve America's image abroad employs Canadian national treasure.
  • Belgian federal police employ blind officers to spot clues sighted detectives don't see.
  • Inside the algorithm AT&T and the NSA use to uncover "guilt by association" telephone plots.
  • Op: As a species, we're failing at estimating our threats. Thus, I'm dressing up as a melting polar ice cap.
  • In today's feature, Nicole Pasulka reviews the month in costume news.
  • Nine last-minute costumes you can artistically craft from junk; Ric Griffith's pumpkin house wins artsy Halloween contest hands-down.
  • Tehran museum keeps $5 billion worth of western masterpieces in a bunker locked away from public view.
  • Print for tonight's commute: How to understand Islam.
  • See also: How to stay in one of Chicago's fanciest penthouses for $10/night.
  • A tribute to Fup, resident cat at Powell's Technical Books, now departed.