31 August 2009: Afternoon By The Morning News — 31 Aug 2009 Notes on where Japan's newly elected Democratic Party may take the country's economy, U.S. relations, and foreign policy. What the average person needs to know about umami. TMN's Clay Risen on the differences between American and German beer-brewing. Good, reasonably brief summary of the state of Israeli settlements, including a lexicon. Iraqi women visiting plastic surgeons in larger numbers to cope with literal and figurative war scars. To save money, more people are cutting their own hair, and hair salons make money repairing botched jobs. Traffic stops have "broad social usefulness," including catching big criminals. Instapaper for the commute: Why Texas may become the first state to officially admit to executing an innocent person. Five-year-long Stanford Study of Writing finds evidence of a flourishing literacy revolution. Federal agents fear fraud could dump stimulus money straight into mafia coffers. Our ability to collect data now outstrips our ability to maintain it for the long run. Enjoyable account of the previous Age of Wonder, followed by dicier claims about the next one. Gallery of abandoned NASA projects. Keggers of yore.
