Bulletin Board
- The S.D. Humanities Council has selected What Is the What for the 2010 One Book South Dakota program. The Council also is adding an online forum to the program.
Blog Headlines of the Week
- American legal education — scientifically proven to be worthless, law professors jam heads up asses in response
- Read this before going out and pinching strangers’ butts at bars
Blog Lines of the Week
- “After perfume, printer ink is the second most expensive liquid in the world. It’s gotten so expensive, that it’s actually cheaper to buy a new printer with ink cartridges included than to buy replacement cartridges.”
Interesting Reading in the Interweb Tubes
- Jihadology (“Instead of lurching from one perceived threat to the next, U.S. policymakers should make a deep investment in knowing the whole world.”) (Via.)
- Who Let Pat Buchanan Out of His Padded Cell? (Actually, my reaction when I read Buchanan’s column in the local daily was wondering what planet he lives on.)
Bookish Linkage
- Perhaps I was wise to resist my “must have a Nook” urge.
- The Quarterly Conversation asked translators, publishers agents, journalists, and foreign-language authors for “the best books that still aren’t in English.” The result is Translate This Book!, available as a single web page or as a PDF.
- Foreign Policy asks its “top 100 global thinkers” for their book recommendations. The book suggested by the largest number of the top 100? Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. (Via.)
- Tired of all the year-end and decade-end “best of” lists? Then check out GoodRead’s books I regret reading.
- Or you could try the top 10 books of 1709.
- Taking SF into the classroom at Harvard. (Via.)
- A new set of awards has been established for SF and fantasy works translated into English from other languages. (Via.)
Nonbookish Linkage
- Don’t forget! Festivus is nearly upon us. Gauge your readiness with the Festivus quiz. (I scored 7 out of 10.)
- Want to know why I rarely watch TV? “Reality TV shows … were among the most-viewed shows of 2009.” I didn’t watch a single one of the top 10.
- Two print biggies bite the dust as Editor and Publisher and Kirkus Reviews are being shuttered. And one contributor reflects on reviewing books for Kirkus.
- SCOTUSblog adds an interesting feature. It is inviting those involved in a U.S. Supreme Court case to do a podcast on their argument, which will be posted once the argument begins.
- Where are the neocons today?
- Life — and interrogtion — at Guantanamo. Detainee 063 is the interrogation log of a Guantamo detainee published in real time with each entry appearing exactly seven years after it was first recorded.
- American Cultural History: The Twentieth Century (Via
- Christmas presents for the godless.
Never be afraid to sit awhile and think.
Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun