Wes Phillips

I almost called Christopher Moore the funniest writer you've never heard of, but his sales indicate that an awful lot of people have not only heard of him, but have bought his books. He's not perzackly a household name, but I'd put him in the company of Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman, and Carl Hiiassen—you know, writers whose books you save for when you need a can't-fail pick-me-up.

But Damon Krukowski, drummer for Galaxie 500, has turned his back on the touring life to teach expository writing at Harvard. But that's just his day job—he still performs music around town with his wife as Damon & Naomi.

This Hubble Space Telescope image of the face-on spiral galaxy Messier 101 (M101) is the clearest, most detailed piece of astronomy porn I've ever seen.

I guess I never really thought about the uniqueness of sand, no matter how many times I heard that expression. Microscopy made me think about it—and the corollary notion that every beach and sandpit is unique as well.

This A/V presentation from the BBC is a three-minute vacation from your day job. Wonderful pictures.

My favorite: "I will not have Henry throwing tomatoes at a spinning fan blade whilst yelling at Montjoy."

As a writer, I applaud the new essay section of the SAT, but Karin Klein got up close and personal with it by passing the test to score the essays. She discovered some interesting things about taking—and scoring—the SATs.