Celebrity Caricature in America
The National Portrait Gallery does caricature. Its collection is incomplete though—no Jeff Wong. Yet.
Wes Phillips
Oh Snap!
Frederick Crews' Follies of the Wise puts the boot to Freud, creationism, and "peacemaking scientists" who attempt to reconcile science with "improbable claims that are in principle empirically testable."
Don't Necessarily Blame Your Folks
Portly? Could be your genes. Beautiful? You may be a genetic lottery winner. Your personality, though, that's probably 80% your fault.
Let's Turn It on its Head!
Maps with South on the top. Antipodal revenge?
11 Days Left
Just a reminder that there are only 11 days left until Talk">http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html">Talk Like a Pirate Day.
It Would Probably Be Cheaper to Just Staff the Stores
Business Week writes about the increasingly sophisticated measures stores are using to prevent shoplifting. Okay, but when I was in retail and I took inventory control classes, the experts said the most effective anti-shoplifting measure was the phrase, "Can I help you?"
Writing Hacks
Scott Berkun has written a nice essay on writing—or more specifically, on overcoming writer's block. He leaves out the one that usually works for me: Work for an editor you don't want to disappoint. Of course, spending the money before you get the check works, too—although apparently not for everyone.
More Synaesthesia
Did Kandinsky hear his paintings?
Christgau's Rock of Ages
What a shock, a hard-hitting Slate article—on Robert Christgau's firing, no less. Jody Rosen's appreciation of Christgau is spot on: When he's good, he's brilliant, but he does have some seemingly inconsistent blind spots.
Haldane: On Being the Right Size
J.B.S. Haldane isn't a household name here in the US, but he ought to be. This essay is one of his best.