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You are what you read
ChicagoTribune.com/news/showcase/chi-0306120068jun12.story
What do you tell your friends you're reading? Something Kafkaesque, no doubt, or at the very minimum the Atlantic Monthly. I lie my head off just so people won't think I'm a complete nerd when I rattle off all those computer books and magazines. Everyone loves lists, and the Chicago Tribune has come up with its best and worst magazines, writers and features. It's a chance to start a real literary debate.
File under X
www.ExoPolitics.org/Study-Paper2.htm
Extreme views are always interesting, or vexing, the further your own beliefs are from their core. Take the Iraq war, for example. Some are convinced it was all about oil; others say it liberated the Iraqi people. Or maybe it was the work of manipulative space aliens. I kid you not. This essay is well put together, replete with attributions, and just hovering on this side of sanity.
Plates of blue
Road house food is the stuff your momma would feed you when she was too busy on other projects. And the best place to acquire such sustenance can only be that most wonderful den of the reality: the diner. Not a modern plastic imitation of a diner but the real thing. By The Way magazine's Web site is devoted to the subject. If you're on a quest for a place that serves a real meal, this might be your guide.
Bubble trouble
How are your teeth? Maybe they're not actually your teeth at all. Maybe you spent the '70s chewing away like a demon and building up your bubble gum card and sticker collection. Can't say I'd blame you, because this particular series is quite entertaining in a disposable kind of way, of course. Here you'll find a collection of a series that wasn't on my radar. It parodies everyday products (Wheaties are Weakies, for example) in a way only a cartoonist can. Most are worth a click and a chuckle.
Help, for a change
What's the one thing that's really bad about owning a new Mac? I'll take "Not knowing how to use it" for $500 please, Alex. If your switching-from-Windows plans are in jeopardy, all is not lost. This free site will hook you with volunteer Mac addicts who want to be your big brother or sister and coax you into the cult of Steve Jobs. There's a community rating system for mentors. The currency seems to be little transparent Apple logos, and the quality of undying love from both the party faithful and the new people. It almost makes you want to buy a Mac, eh?