Last month, I drew your attention to a great title: Working IX to V : Orgy Planners, Funeral Clowns and Other Prized Professions of the Ancient World. (See that earlier item here.) I also mentioned that the author would be appearing on NPR. Now that interview has been posted, along with an excerpt from the … Continue reading After IV

Have you ever wondered why soda comes in round containers while milk comes in square ones? No, I hadn't either until the question was posed in an article at Design Observer.The answer--that milk's squared containers mean more efficient use of refrigerated space during transport and display, while a soda can's round shape is easier to … Continue reading Why & Wherefore

Daniel B Smith reviews Annie Dillard's latest novel The Maytrees at slate.com, and it's a rave: "At times, The Maytrees acts like vintage Dillard: It contains gorgeous, meticulous descriptions of the outdoors that springboard into the Platonic ether, into meditations on devotion, loss, and time. ... The result is one of the most lucid and … Continue reading Thumbs up for Annie