Many reasons to be freaked out by parasites.

Zombie Animals and the Parasites that Control Them

"It might sound like sci-fi, but plenty of parasites can control the minds of caterpillars, roaches, crabs, and maybe even us. In many cases, scientists don't know exactly how these creatures achieve mind control." (From Discover Magazine)

Research that matters

Researchers at Plymouth University in England, with a small Arts Council grant, could not quite test whether an infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of typewriters could produce the works of Shakespeare. But they did see what six Sulawesi crested macaque monkeys would write with a computer over a four-week period. According to a report in The Guardian, the apes produced about five pages of text between them, mostly consisting of the letter S. According to professor Geoff Cox, the monkeys spent a lot of time sitting on the keyboard. (The Guardian, 5-9-2003)

Some of us fly, all of us fall

The Last Outlaw: "Waylon's gone, Cash has been laid to rest. But Merle Haggard stands as country's remaining black-hat rebel, the last man singing for the underdog."

Finalist, profile writing, American Society of Magazine Editors' Best American Magazine Writing, 2006. (Chris Heath, GQ)

Friday poll results

Have you ever been so infuriated, irked, offended, or exasperated by a magazine that you canceled your subscription?

• Yes: 9 votes (40%)


• Not yet: 11 votes (50%)


• I'd never do that: 2 votes (10%)

Mr. Peabody's coal train has hauled it away

Death of a Mountain: "Instead of excavating the contour of a ridge side, as strip miners did throughout the 1960s and '70s, now entire mountaintops are blasted off, and almost everything that isn't coal is pushed down into the valleys below.... I have come to Lost Mountain because in February Leslie Resources Inc. was granted a state permit to mine this ridgeline. I came here to see what an eastern mountain looks like before, during, and after its transformation into a western desert."

Finalist, reporting, American Society of Magazine Editors' Best American Magazine Writing, 2006. (Erik Reece, Harper's Magazine)

Unintentionally(?) funny headline of the week

Experts: Paranoia may be more common than thought (yahoo.com)

Tuesday coffee break: cold down there

Very cool pictures of Antarctica (and no, those aren't color gels)

Friday poll results

How much would you be willing to pay to read your favorite magazine if it began publishing only online?

• I'd pay just as much as I do for the print version: 2 votes (18%)
  
• I'd pay 75% of the cost of the print version: 2 votes (18%)
  
• I'd pay 50% of the cost of the print version: 1 vote (9%)
  
• I'd pay 25% of the cost of the print version: 4 votes (36%)
  
• Nothing: 2 votes (18%)
  

Inside Scientology

Inside Scientology: Unlocking the complex code of America's most mysterious religion. Finalist, reporting, American Society of Magazine Editors' Best American Magazine Writing, 2007. (Janet Reitman, Rolling Stone)

Tuesday coffee break

• Amazing video of a mimic octopus


• Brain slows at 40, starts body decline


• Everyday stuff with forgotten names