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Bookmarked: "Drawing, for many people, is that phantom skill they remember having in elementary school, when they drew with great relish and abandon." - from Line by Line, the New York Times' new how-to drawing blog.

Tibetan butter tea, the most elusive tea of all.


Image:  Make a comic book from a single sheet of paper.

“I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart. I am. I am. I am.” - Sylvia Plath

The Apiary Corp. published a literary magazine! If you're in Philadelphia next weekend, stop by Light + Honey, our multi-arts magazine release party.

'So much depends on the second bottle.' -  Pithy, practical tips on ordering wine.

Attention proponents of extraterrestrial colonization - Charles Darwin's early experiments in terra-forming a success!

Image: Japanese shell divers.

Insect eggs up close.

The next time someone asks you for change, give them your credit card instead.

"Take the American reissue of my fourth novel Game Control – a wicked, nasty novel about a plot to kill two billion people overnight... Yet what cover do I first get sent? A winsome young lass in a floppy hat, gazing soulfully to the horizon in a windblown field." How women writers get sold short.

Advice From a Cartoon Princess

Occupation envy: My Kushy New Job embeds reporter in Amsterdam coffee shop where he discovers that selling weed is actually just as shitty as every other service industry job.

Miniature pencil carvings.

A brief history of the origins of writing.

Fun fact: the German family that owns Trader Joe's also owns Aldi's. The backstory on your favorite gourmet grocer, with  bonus appearance by Barry Schwartz touting the paradox of choice (again).

Image: pictures of people reading

"Because of the program's failure to focus on high-level offenders, critics say it's causing fewer immigrants to share information with police that can help solve cases or prevent future crimes." Why cracking down on illegal immigrants may actually be worse for public safety.

Umm

A new species of micro-frog has been discovered in Borneo (raising the important question of how many old species of micro-frogs we already know about. Also the question of why no one's ever told me about micro-frogs before today, especially if they consider themselves to be my friends). How could something so small blow my mind so hard? Seriously, I'm having a tough time accepting or conceptualizing the bittiness of this little booger.

P.S. Micro Frogz would make an awesome animated kids series. Internet, make it so.

nobody

"Even the most famous poet is still a nobody to most people."

--wish this article by Brian Spears were longer. Good links tho.

Cold War

Janelle Monae.