LongReads Round-Up Volume Fifteen

What!? It's been nearly a month since my last update? How did this happen?

#Animals

Owls are so hot right now http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/science/long-cloaked-in-mystery-owls-start-coming-into-full-view.html?pagewanted=all

#Comedy

Louis CK and modern comedy http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/02/louis-ck-our-gogol.html

#Education

Indonesia has one of the worst education systems in the world www.aljazeera.com/programmes/101east/2013/02/201321965257154992.html

Some Christian homeschoolers want to study evolution, don't believe Adam rode dinosaurs in the Garden of Eden http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/03/old-earth-young-minds-evangelical-homeschoolers-embrace-evolution/273844/

#Feminism

Political commentator Zerlina Maxwell recently went on Sean Hannity's show to promote educating boys and men about consent and rape culture. Since then she has received death and rape threats from men and women who don't believe there is a need for educating men about stopping rape. Two pieces: a response to harassment on xoJane, and Maxwell's points on education on Ebony

http://www.xojane.com/issues/zerlina-maxwell-receives-rape-and-death-threats-hannity#

http://www.ebony.com/news-views/5-ways-we-can-teach-men-not-to-rape-456#

Margo St. James was a seventies pioneer in protecting the rights of sex workers and providing health care services to them. Her thoughts on minority criminalzation and feminism after forty years http://bitchmagazine.org/article/forty-years-in-the-hustle-sex-work-margo-st-james-interview-activism-coyote

#Film

Has the Hollywood machine squashed inventive storytelling in modern film? Short answer- yes http://www.newrepublic.com/article/books-and-arts/magazine/107212/has-hollywood-murdered-the-movies

#Health

Buying drugs on the internet: http://nplusonemag.com/i-m-waiting-for-my-ups-man

The pharmaceutical/insurance/medical complex is exploiting all of us www.healthland.time.com/2013/02/20/bitter-pill-why-medical-bills-are-killing-us/print

#In France

Gerard Depardieu, French icon, is changing citizenship to escape new super taxes http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/02/25/130225fa_fact_collins?currentPage=all

#Language

How language affects our concept of time and saving: http://blog.ted.com/2013/02/19/saving-for-a-rainy-day-keith-chen-on-language-that-forecasts-weather-and-behavior/

#Literature

Academic texts need to be as well written as entertainment pieces http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/02/15/on_writing_well

An account of a symposium on the works of Allen Ginsberg http://www.litkicks.com/Topics/NaropaReport.html

Making me very excited to read more George Saunders http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/magazine/george-saunders-just-wrote-the-best-book-youll-read-this-year.html?pagewanted=all

A new collection of fairy tales shows male characters getting the same kind of torments Sleeping Beauty and Snow White found themselves in http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2012/03/long-lost-fairy-tales.html

A hundred years of women writing about their feelings and being told they're frivolous http://therumpus.net/2013/03/the-ghost-of-mary-maclane

Two of Renata Adler's books are back in publication http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/03/welcome-back-renata-adler.html

Italian author Francesco Pacifico writing about sex, purity, and Catholicism in his new novel http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2013/03/12/underwear-life-an-interview-with-francesco-pacifico/

#Music

Nina Simone's activism through music http://www.good.is/posts/remembering-nina-simone-as-a-siren-and-powerful-civil-rights-activist

All Hail Queen Beyonce http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/02/her-highness.html

#National

Is Marco Rubio the answer for Republicans? http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/02/19/marco_rubio_not_ready_for_prime_time_republican_foreign_policy?page=full

About the (lack of) training a member of the Foreign Service receives: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/02/19/sink_or_swim_state_department_training?page=full

Ways Obama wants to model after Germany: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/president-obama-wants-america-to-be-like-germany-what-does-that-really-mean/273318/

#Photography

A woman documents scenes of spousal abuse and then is reamed in a misreported article: http://www.salon.com/2013/03/01/dont_blame_the_victim_or_the_photographer/

#Religion

The Pope's butler did it! http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201303/spy-in-the-house-of-lords-march-2013?printable=true

#Technology

Its possible that a big part of the Republican loss in the presidential campaign was due to out of date or totally absent social networking and tech base  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/magazine/can-the-republicans-be-saved-from-obsolescence.html

After reading this article, I had a nightmare about a teenage boy watching me through my webcam http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/rat-breeders-meet-the-men-who-spy-on-women-through-their-webcams/

Bring on the modified chicken blobs! http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/opinion/sunday/dont-be-afraid-of-genetic-modification.html?_r=0

#Television

After mainlining two seasons of Homeland, I assuredly agree with this http://www.salon.com/2012/12/15/tvs_most_islamophobic_show/

Are all the heroines of modern TV crazy? http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/magazine/tvs-new-wave-of-women-smart-strong-borderline-insane.html and my response: http://sailorbaby.tumblr.com/post/45241524615/semi-serious-thoughts-on-television-response-to

#Travel

A skeptical trip to Disney World in the seventies: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1971/01/02/1971_01_02_052_TNY_CARDS_000299445?currentPage=all

#War on Terror

An early piece from The Atlantic about preemptive arrests and thought crime http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/10/prophetic-justice/305234/?single_page=true

On NDAA and domestic terrorism: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/02/201321710236780782.html

The CIA wrongly captured and tortured a man as a terror suspect http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/dec/13/cia-tortured-sodomised-terror-suspect

LongReads Round-Up Volume Fourteen: LongWeekend Edition

#Art

What its like to be an “art minion” working in the studio of a well known artist: http://theclustermag.com/blog/2013/01/making-someone-elses-art/

#Comedy

An interview from last year with Aziz Ansari http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-aziz-ansari-20120912,0,19600,full.story

#Education

A group of New York anarchists met and organized through a progressive adult education program: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/01/the-strange-story-of-new-yorks-anarchist-school/266224/

“Democratic schools,” where students of all ages intermingle and hold voting rights in school and administrative decisions, are examples of radical education communities: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/12/no-teachers-no-class-no-homework-would-you-send-your-kids-here/265354/

The democratic school in Britain, Summerhill http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools/summerhill-inside-englands-most-controversial-private-school-772976.html

#Energy

The way people around the world relate to weather and temperature directly affects their use of energy and productivity: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/magazine/what-does-it-mean-to-be-comfortable.html?_r=1&

#Essay

Repetitive, short-lasting labor brings a state of meditative transcendence http://thenewinquiry.com/blogs/the-beheld/the-impermanence-of-beauty-work/

100 Ways to Say I Love You: http://www.themorningnews.org/article/how-to-say-i-love-you

#Feminism

“If we're going to be honest with ourselves and our daughters, shouldn't we be teaching them early how utterly fucked the world still can be for women, instead of promising the moon and watching them hit the roof?” http://jezebel.com/5984059/you-cant-empower-girls-without-a-reality-check

#Film

Soderbergh on retiring from filmmaking, art, and Fancy Feast: http://www.vulture.com/2013/01/steven-soderbergh-in-conversation.html

“Kill Your Darlings” is all about the early years of the Beat poets: http://www.hitfix.com/awards-campaign/kill-your-darlings-director-on-the-fearless-daniel-radcliffe-and-ben-fosters-flaming-finger/  (see below article under #Literature)

#Health

Living with autoimmune diseases in an age that emphasizes capitalism and productivity http://theclustermag.com/blog/2013/01/how-to-be-a-person-in-the-age-of-autoimmunity/#

The ethical and economical weight that comes with “donating” eggs: http://www.salon.com/2013/02/03/selling_my_eggs_to_make_rent_partner/

It’s the fiftieth anniversary of Sylvia Plath’s death, and public stance and reaction to mental illness is still evolving: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/02/youll-love-her-shes-crazy.html

#Labor

Is it weird to include an article on the issues of unpaid internships under the tag I usually reserve for migrant workers and exploitation overseas? I don’t know. http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/02/unpaid-internships-are-a-rich-girl-problem-and-also-a-real-problem/273106/

#Literature

Murder, homosexual love triangles, and the Beat poet who never was, Lucien Carr. http://magazine.columbia.edu/print/1220  (felt really maudlin after the end quote, “a literary lion who never roared.”)

Is Junot Diaz confronting harmful masculinity in his literature, or perpetuating it? http://politic365.com/2012/11/24/junot-diaz-and-the-cult-of-revolutionary-machismo

One of my favorite poems, “Aristotle” by Billy Collins http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/176050

Robert Bolano’s tips for writing short fiction: http://theparisreview.tumblr.com/post/42433729872/roberto-bolano-on-writing-short-stories-via

#Music

Tegan and Sara on their newest album and indie vs. pop music: http://www.spin.com/articles/tegan-sara-january-2013-cover-story-heartthrob?page=0

Maya Rudolph is in a Prince cover band called Princess: http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2013/02/princess-maya-rudolph-prince-tribute-band 

Rio’s funk music scene, once tangibly interwoven with community, has changed and dimmed since government intervention has “pacified” high risk neighborhoods: http://theclustermag.com/blog/2012/05/ta-tudo-errado-the-future-of-funk-in-a-pacified-rio/

Frank Ocean should have won every Album of the Year countdown, awards show, amateur music blog post round up, in my opinion: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/magazine/frank-ocean-can-fly.html  

The Postal Service has released a new track. Your one song to listen to this week. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-postal-service-releases-first-new-song-decade-20130211,0,6620089.story

#National

Forget political blogs and national printernet magazines, for the recap of the State of the Union address I’m sending you to Autostraddle: http://www.autostraddle.com/state-of-the-union-recap-heres-what-hope-change-look-like-in-obamas-second-term-156627/

This article on the struggling US postal system made me feel strangely patriotic: http://www.esquire.com/print-this/post-office-business-trouble-0213?page=all

TNR’s interview with President Obama as he begins his second term in office: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/112190/obama-interview-2013-sit-down-president#

Reading is an act of humanization and shared experience. Teju Cole critiques President Obama’s drone warfare in light of his situation as a “man of books:” http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/02/a-readers-war.html

Examining the Department of Justice’s legal theory behind drone warfare: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/02/05/death_by_loophole?page=full

#Religion

Who is the pope now? I have no idea. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/johncassidy/2013/02/good-riddance-to-pope-benedict-he-was-a-disaster.html

#Sexuality

Rape culture and sexual pressure is trickling down and affecting teens and children: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/sex/9828589/Children-and-the-culture-of-pornography-Boys-will-ask-you-every-day-until-you-say-yes.html

#Technology

A new app allows for privacy of messaging and file sharing, disregarding government commands for “back door” access: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/02/silent_circle_s_latest_app_democratizes_encryption_governments_won_t_be.single.html

GoodReads book recommendation and ranking service is the new book club in the digital age: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/books/goodreadscom-is-growing-as-a-popular-book-site.html

Aziz Ansari talking about social media and texting effecting relationships: http://www.avclub.com/articles/aziz-ansari-candid-about-love-elusive-sadly-ephem,92476/

#Television

Connie Britton is in the prime of her acting career when most actresses are considered “aged out” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/magazine/connie-britton-is-a-late-bloomer.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&smid=tw-nytmag&&pagewanted=all

I just really like an article all about Duck Tales http://www.avclub.com/articles/ducktales-invented-new-animated-wonderlandthat-qu,92324/

#Theater

Theaters repeatedly favor white (the unmarked) actors, even in cases where characters are designated to be people of color: http://jezebel.com/5980419/many-major-theaters-believe-in-color-blind-casting-except-when-it-comes-to-people-of-color

LongReads Round-Up Volume Thirteen (aka The One All About Girls)

#Crime

Is there a scientific cure to pedophilia? http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/01/14/130114fa_fact_aviv?currentPage=all

#Development

Jared Diamond reviews Why Nations Fail, surveying economic policies, centralized governments, and natural resources along the way: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/jun/07/what-makes-countries-rich-or-poor/?pagination=false

#Feminism #Literature

1993 article by Deborah Tannen about "marked" and "unmarked" in literature, in that to be female is to always be marked or derivative of the norm, which is male. Sadly, Tannen misses the mark (no pun intended) in how this also relates to intersectional forms of oppression such as race or sexualty. http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/tannend/nyt062093.htm

An argument that there is still a need and purpose for female-centric anthologies of literature, and other specially designated spaces: http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/review/CR_532_Spahr_Young.pdf

#Health

Two part investigation into the troubling trend in labiaplasty and cashing in on physical insecurities:
http://www.guernicamag.com/daily/kirsten-oregan-labiaplasty-part-i/
http://www.guernicamag.com/daily/kirsten-oregan-labiaplasty-part-ii/

Elizabeth Wurtzel, author of Prozac Nation, on mental health and self help, and being disillusioned with life: http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/01/elizabeth-wurtzel-on-self-help.html

Obligatory "how can I relate this to Girls" response article: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/01/what-would-hannah-horvath-make-of-elizabeth-wurtzel.html

#Journalism

Catching up with former executive editor of GOOD on social media, and internet publications http://therumpus.net/2013/01/saturday-special-the-rumpus-catches-up-with-ann-friedman/

#Literature

This excellent interview with poet Megan Kaminski provokes a dialogue about women's place in the modern literary canon, and offers an abundance of further readings: http://www.themillions.com/2013/01/topographies-of-desire-the-millions-interviews-megan-kaminski.html

Ethics in reading literature in an ever-globalizing age: http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?type=&id=1244&fulltext=1&media=#article-text-cutpoint

Interview with James Franco about his poetry chapbook and his literary endeavors in general: http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?type=&id=1237&fulltext=1

Fan Girl interview with Margaret Atwood: http://therumpus.net/2013/01/the-sunday-rumpus-interview-margaret-atwood/

A series of links on New Narrative, modern female authors, and what is "women's literature," anyway:

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2010/08/all-the-sad-young-literary-women/61821/

http://nplusonemag.com/female-trouble

http://thenewinquiry.com/essays/the-semiautobiographers/

Hannah Horvath's bookshelf: http://www.themillions.com/2013/01/ten-books-to-read-now-that-hbos-girls-is-back.html

Celebrating the anniversary of literary theory text Exercises in Style, with a new edition:

http://therumpus.net/2013/01/exercises-in-style/ 

http://www.themillions.com/2011/09/staff-pick-exercises-in-style-by-raymond-queneau.html

Jeffrey Eugenide's advice to young writers, winners of the Whiting Award, and a response from The Millions:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2012/12/jeffrey-eugenides-advice-to-young-writers.html 

http://www.themillions.com/2013/01/jeffrey-eugenidess-killer-advice.html

#Obituary

A round up of links after young internet and free access activist Aaron Swartz's suicide last month:

http://www.economist.com/news/obituary/21569674-aaron-swartz-computer-programmer-and-activist-committed-suicide-january-11th-aged-26-aaron

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/technology/aaron-swartz-internet-activist-dies-at-26.html?_r=0

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2013/01/20/the-tragedy-of-aaron-swartz.html

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/why-did-the-justice-system-target-aaron-swartz-20130123

http://www.infodocket.com/2013/01/12/tragic-news-internet-activist-and-developer-aaron-swartz-dead-at-26/

#Religion

How the internet is shaping (and dissolving) fundamentalist religions: http://www.salon.com/2013/01/16/religion_may_not_survive_the_internet/

#Science

Rookie interviews Neil deGrasse Tyson, maintaing its position as coolest publication for girls in print or online:  http://rookiemag.com/2012/07/an-interview-with-neil-degrasse-tyson/ (I love when she asks, do you ever get really overwhelmed by the universe?)

#Sexuality

How the sexual revolution has developed since the 1980s: http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?id=1252

Growing up with Judy Blume: http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?type=&id=1201&fulltext=1

#Technology

You've got a friend in the world wide web, the new hub of social activism, do-gooders, and Likers:  http://nymag.com/news/features/internet-nice-2012-11/index1.html

#Television

Girls is back, and so are all the articles about HBO's most talked about twenty minutes a week: http://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/lena-dunham-february-2013#_

Emily Nussbaum writing about Girls and the tradition of provocative young women in literature http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/television/2013/02/11/130211crte_television_nussbaum?currentPage=all

Elaine Blair on the (oft non-titilating) portrayal of sex on Girls last season: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/jun/07/loves-lena-dunham/?pagination=false

#Travel

Ploughshare winning essay on living in Jerusalem and attempting to understand Israel/Palestine issues as an American: https://www.pshares.org/read/article-detail.cfm?intArticleID=9725&src=longreads

Three essays from poets living in Gaza: http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?type=&id=1205&fulltext=1

LongReads Round-Up Volume Twelve

#Comics

Interview with the author of a historical account of Marvel Comics: http://www.theawl.com/2012/12/the-long-twisted-history-of-marvel-comics-a-talk-with-sean-howe

#Crime

Growing up with an adopted older brother and convicted murderer http://www.xojane.com/it-happened-to-me/larry-swartz-murderer-adopted

#Business

How Starbucks revolutionized coffee culture, and might be bringing the same popular oomf to tea http://www.themorningnews.org/article/a-spot-for-tea

How Walmart used bribes to get building permits in illegal zones n Mexico http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/18/business/walmart-bribes-teotihuacan.html?_r=0

Disney brand runs everything http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2012/05/09/500-disney-iger/

#Essay

Shelia Heti writing about why bother socializing http://www.sheilaheti.net/whygoout2.html

Emily Gould on "lady blogs," emotional women, and validity of said emotional women as writers http://www.emilymagazine.com/?p=837

The female writer's fear of being alone, the pursuit of solitude and self satisfaction outside of relationships http://thenewinquiry.com/essays/the-lonely-ones/

Making and keeping friends in late young adulthood http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/faqs-re-friendship-in-your-20s/

Forgot just how much I love Rookie for a minute. Perennial goodie of an essay for the teenage girl inside of you http://rookiemag.com/2012/01/how-to-not-care-what-other-people-think-of-you/

#Fashion

Tavie Gevinson, child fashion blogger to culture pulse point (and masthead leader of Rookie) http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/09/20/100920fa_fact_widdicombe?currentPage=all

#Feminism

J. Jack Halberstam talks about the dissolution of traditional gender roles, and genders themselves, and how feminism needs to move beyond polarizing vagina/penis platforms http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?type=&id=981&fulltext=1

After Volume Eleven’s n+1 takedown of The Atlantic, I read this piece by LA Review of Books entitled “Is The Atlantic Making Us Stupid?” talking again about gender issue/”women’s interest” pieces http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?type=&id=918&fulltext=1

#Film

Interview with Mel Brooks http://www.avclub.com/articles/mel-brooks-on-how-to-play-hitler-and-how-he-almost,89843/

Interview with Corey Feldman http://www.avclub.com/articles/corey-feldman-on-child-actors-his-favorite-roles-a,89648/

#Health

On mental health, medical services responsibilities, and quality of life:

http://gawker.com/5968818/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother 

http://www.xojane.com/issues/a-response-to-i-am-adam-lanzas-mother-from-a-doctor-in-the-trenches-i-am-adam-lanzas-psychiatrist 

http://www.vice.com/read/the-right-to-die-is-the-right-to-live-0912348-v19n12?Contentpage=-1

Fertility trials and culturing the skills of waiting http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/6694/

#Language

A former DMV employee and self educated linguist endeavored to create the most precise and logical language ever http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/12/24/121224fa_fact_foer?currentPage=all

#Literature

Short fiction by Rebecca Schiff http://nplusonemag.com/men-against-violence

The opening lines of this interview with VS Naipaul are basically the best http://www.tnr.com/article/110946/vs-naipaul-the-arab-spring-authors-he-loathes-and-the-books-he-will-never-write#

Another great interview with Martin Amis http://www.vulture.com/2012/07/in-conversation-martin-amis.html

A historical literary moment, when the father of vampires met the father of American poetry http://www.neh.gov/humanities/2012/novemberdecember/feature/when-bram-met-walt

The Morning News finishes its year-long series on modern Russian Literature with this excerpt and interview with Mikhail Shishkin http://www.themorningnews.org/article/mikhail-shishkin

Review of Oprah: Gospel of an Icon that takes “followers of Oprah” to a new level  and explores the pseudo religious impact of Oprah in viewers’ lives.  http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?id=1142&fulltext=1

#Music

The fusion of rap music and traditional Mongolian music http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2012/10/2012103113231574635.html

Jay Zhttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/t-magazine/the-house-that-hova-built.html?_r=3&

Music round up that speaks to the soul http://rookiemag.com/2012/12/from-the-soul/

#Obituary

White girl privilege aside, I appreciate this piece by Lena Dunham http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/06/lena-dunham-remembers-nora-ephron.html

#Politics

How American tragedies affect presidencies (and how Obama reacts to tragedy) http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/12/17/a_president_we_can_believe_in

Interesting piece on the inside logistics that helped pass gay marriage bills in several states http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/12/the-gay-marriage-plot-inside-this-years-other-high-stakes-campaign/265865/?single_page=true

In a time where America is rife with gun control debates, a journalist steps behind the counter of a gun store http://www.gq.com/news-politics/big-issues/201209/gun-shopping-gq-september-2012

Ta-Nehesi Coates writing about race and the presidency, and the pressure of acceptable blackness http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/09/fear-of-a-black-president/309064/1/?single_page=true

Multiculturalism, liberalism, and questions of identity http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/nov/22/freedom-diversity-liberal-pentagram/?pagination=false

#Sexuality

Why Uganda's aggressive anti-gay laws have roots in American culture http://harpers.org/archive/2010/09/straight-mans-burden/?single=1

James Deen, America's sweetheart porn star  http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?id=1021&fulltext=1

Famous women talking about their first times http://rookiemag.com/2012/03/absolute-beginners/

Why you should never fake an orgasm (enjoyed the comment-versation about the heteronormative tone of the article as well) http://rookiemag.com/2012/02/a-real-good-time/

Attempts at online dating http://www.lrb.co.uk/v34/n20/emily-witt/diary

#Spirituality

Last month Rookie magazine's theme was Belief. A few of my favorite articles included building an altar, a conversation between atheists, and reconciling religion and feminism:

http://rookiemag.com/2012/12/anatomy-of-an-altar/http://rookiemag.com/2012/12/beyond-belief/http://rookiemag.com/2012/12/a-holy-allianc/

#Technology

How a Reddit query sparked a film treatment http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/03/ff_reddit/

Forget cloud storage. Theoretical extraterrestrial storage is where its at. http://www.themorningnews.org/article/interstellar-hard-drive

Chemical weaponry developed in the Cold War http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/12/17/121217fa_fact_khatchadourian?currentPage=all

#Television

Sarah Nicole Prickett relates Alan Sorkin’s The Newsroom to the creeping fears of the fading “great American male” legacy http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/television/how-to-get-under-aaron-sorkins-skin-and-also-how-to-high-five-properly/article4363455/

LongReads Round-Up Volume Eleven

#Economy

Evaluating welfare programs in Britain that have now lasted an entire lifetime http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/politics/2012/11/cradle-grave

Into the holiday shopping subconscious http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-27/why-holiday-gifts-receive-more-ughs-than-oohs-.html

#Family

Essay http://therumpus.net/2012/11/osiris/

Community surrounding a woman who embarks on single motherhood http://therumpus.net/2012/11/the-we-of-single-motherhood/

#Feminism

Suzanne Venker’s job is telling other women they shouldn’t have jobs: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/11/24/war-on-men/

Excellent response article from Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/post/the-war-on-men--straw-feminism-101/2012/11/26/0ae5c158-37da-11e2-b01f-5f55b193f58f_blog.html

Another response from CNN http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/29/living/war-on-men/

Devious straw feminists will burn your bras http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=341 #comics

Mary Miller has a hard time getting along with women http://therumpus.net/2012/11/i-am-sorry-women/

The panic of women’s issue think pieces, and sexism in journalism  http://nplusonemag.com/the-intellectual-situation-issue-15

#Film

Review of Rust and Bone  about an affair between a kickboxer and a legless orca trainer http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2012/11/rust_and_bone_starring_marion_cotillard_reviewed.html

New Vinterberg film on small town hysteria and false accusations http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2012/11/hunt-film-about-society-thrall-its-children

El Médico won the New York International Latino Film Festival award for best documentary, about a Cuban doctor who also wants to be a reggae star http://therumpus.net/2012/11/the-rumpus-review-of-el-medico-the-cubaton-story/

Attica Locke on writing for Hollywood vs writing fiction and post racial America  http://www.themorningnews.org/article/attica-locke

The karmic outlook of Bill Murray http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/movies/bill-murray-star-of-hyde-park-on-hudson.html

#Health

A company in Denmark has developed programs to employ autistic adults for specialized tasks http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/magazine/the-autism-advantage.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&

Forget diamonds. Jellyfish are forever. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/magazine/can-a-jellyfish-unlock-the-secret-of-immortality.html?ref=magazine&pagewanted=all

#History

Essay on the Oracle of Delphi http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/voices-in-time/deconstructing-the-oracle.php?page=all

#Humour

Ideas for the “traditional bride” to honor her “traditional background” http://therumpus.net/2012/11/funny-women-91-shower-gifts-for-the-traditional-bride/

Who needs a fictional apocalypse when we're living it? http://www.themorningnews.org/article/a-funny-thing-happened-on-the-way-to-the-apocalypse

#Literature

Publishing off the grid of the mainstream cultural hotspot (is Brooklyn mainstream hip now?) http://www.themillions.com/2012/11/dispatch-from-the-edge-of-literary-culture.html

The cultural retreat of Catholic writers http://www.themillions.com/2011/11/where-have-all-the-catholic-writers-gone.html

On Evelyn Waugh's conversion to Catholicism in life and literature http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2012/11/evelyn_waugh_as_catholic_novelist_brideshead_revisited_and_helena.single.html

The “scandal” at the center of Percy’s National Book Award boils down to a misinformed article http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2012/11/_1962_national_book_awards_scandal_the_story_behind_the_moviegoer.single.html

I love Kate Zambreno, I love Kate Zambreno, I love Kate Zambreno http://therumpus.net/2012/11/the-sunday-rumpus-interview-kate-zambreno/

The history of queer literature http://www.themillions.com/2012/11/the-march-of-progress-is-never-neat-merle-miller-and-on-being-different.html

Bonus: 50 Queer Writers of Color http://zahrawithaz.livejournal.com/12471.html

Tracking the effects of university literary theory classes in literature http://nplusonemag.com/the-theory-generation

The Post Catastrophe novel http://nplusonemag.com/the-end-the-end-the-end

Review of Edmund Love’s 1958 memoir on living on the streets and the eccentric transients of the NYC subway system http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2012/11/29/twilight-people-subways-are-for-sleeping/

The Millions rounds up some of the NYTimes top 100 books and reviews http://www.themillions.com/2012/11/the-notables-2012.html

#Music

When Kathleen Hanna mentions Kathy Acker calling her an idiot for being a one dimensional feminist and Hanna owning up and I totally fangirl over it all http://www.avclub.com/articles/kathleen-hanna-on-bikini-kill-being-feminist-icon,88912/

Discovering an extensive collection of recorded performances of the Grateful Dead http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/11/26/121126fa_fact_paumgarten?currentPage=all

Sufjan loves Christmas, has feelings about commercialization, made a GIANT boxed cd set about it http://stereogum.com/1201912/deconstructing-sufjan-stevens-and-christian-music/top-stories/lead-story/

Eighteenth century essay on the transcendence of harpsichord music http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/voices-in-time/synesthesia.php?page=all

Who is the greatest rapper of all time? http://www.theawl.com/2012/11/andre-3000-vs-biggie

Best of Lists are the Best http://www.spin.com/articles/best-albums-2012 

#Politics

The Hillary Dynasty http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2012/11/hillary-clinton-2016.html

What does American democracy really mean?http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/preamble/feast-of-fools.php?page=all

#Religion

Statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury regarding sexual violence against women and the Church's responsibility http://www.newstatesman.com/lifestyle/2012/11/more-prayer-faith-communities-response-sexual-violence

Explaining the big step back for progressive religious leadership http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2012/11/the-fear-of-women-as-bishops.html

What's the queer student at a Christian college to do? Also, underground LGBTQ support groups. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-southwick/is-there-hope-for-queer-s_b_1829246.html (can speak from experience as an ally of the fledgling group at Grove City College, its a rough, less than Christian loving road to inclusion and support)

Church leadership is patriarchal because the Godhead trinity is patriarchal http://diannaeanderson.net/?p=1255 #sexism 

http://killingthebuddha.com/mag/confession/reading-the-st-louis-edicts/

Moderate Muslims are not an exception to the rule http://killingthebuddha.com/mag/dispatch/dear-america-moderate-muslims-exist/

#Sexuality

A frequenter of Australian brothels assembles the most memorable exchanges http://therumpus.net/2012/11/things-women-have-said-to-me-in-brothels/

Roxanne Gay writes about the complicated world of oversexualized children, especially girls http://therumpus.net/2012/11/eleven/

#Technology

“The iron Phone” and other battlegrounds in the kingdoms of Wester-net http://www.economist.com/news/21567361-google-apple-facebook-and-amazon-are-each-others-throats-all-sorts-ways-another-game

Hacking the cyberwar between Syrian government and revolutionists http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/82480-the-hackers-of-damascus

#Television

“[The Bachelor] is this generation’s Stanford Prison Experiment.” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/magazine/the-life-lessons-hidden-in-reality-tv.html?ref=magazine&pagewanted=all

#Travel

Underground supper clubs hosted out of Los Angeles apartments are another evolution of the aging restaurant model http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/12/03/121203fa_fact_goodyear?currentPage=all

Partaking in the 685 mile dog sled race across Russia’s tundra http://www.themorningnews.org/article/twilight-on-the-tundra

LongReads Round-Up Volume Eight

#Art

Some trippy art for your Monday morning: http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/11/03/llewellyn-mejia-draws-your-nightmares-on-peyote-art/

#Astrology

Evolutionary astrology: http://www.realitysandwich.com/evolutionary_astrology #reincarnation

Astrology and sexuality: http://www.realitysandwich.com/mars_neptune_orgasm_addiction_sharing_sexual_energies

Give in to Mercury in Retrograde this month http://galadarling.com/article/10-magical-ways-to-make-the-most-of-mercury-retrograde

#Booze

Presidential drinking habits: http://www.themorningnews.org/article/four-more-beers

50 American Gins: http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/american-gin-renaissance

#Comics

Interview with Glyn Dillon about his new graphic novel and small press publishing: http://www.tcj.com/the-now-of-glyn-an-interview-with-glyn-dillon/

Three interviews with Theo Ellsworth, author of Capacity and upcoming The Understanding Monster trilogy. His work is partly trippy surrealism, partly exploration of the artistic subconscious, partly reminiscent of my favorite Outsider artist, Adolf Wolfli. Amazing black and white pattern and texture work.

http://www.brokenfrontier.com/lowdown/p/detail/talking-dreams-with-theo-ellsworthhttp://www.tcj.com/the-theo-ellsworth-interview/http://www.newsarama.com/comics/understanding-monster-theo-ells.html

A new anthology of queer comics is coming out (pun TOTALLY intended) http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/11/01/rediscovering-comics-queer-history-an-interview-with-no-straight-lines-editor-justin-hall/

Preview of an ongoing crowd funding project for the graphic novel Elysium, about a social media platform that lets you communicate with your dead loved ones (and causes the apocalypse) http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/11/09/elysium-online-indiegogo-preview-crowd-funding-watch/

#Crime

The author was a hitchhiking teen and possibly escaped a serial killer http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201211/truck-stop-killer-gq-november-2012

Rhonda Roby works as a forensic scientist identifying the dead in cold cases, serial murders, and during 9/11 http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/D_Magazine/2012/November/Rhonda_Roby_Naming_the_Dead_at_Ground_Zero.aspx

#Design

Innovative design in the home of an architect http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/11/lessons-from-a-surprise-visit-to-richard-rogerss-house.html

#Development

A round up of critiques regarding journalist Nicholas Kristof and the Savior Identity: http://postwhoreamerica.com/nicholas-kristof-half-the-sky-all-the-credit/

Factory labor in Cambodia has all the trappings of unions but no outcomes: http://truth-out.org/news/item/8307-the-fashion-industrys-perfect-storm-collapsing-workers-and-hyperactive-buyers

Another critique of development and aid work that uplifts workers to “savior” status: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/

How NGOs have failed Haiti: http://www.thenation.com/article/170929/ngo-republic-haiti

#Election

I love this fist pump of optimism after the 2012 elections http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/11/hippies-wander-into-the-lions-den-maul-lions/264921/

Talking about the white vote for Romney http://www.thenation.com/blog/171093/bad-news-about-white-people-romney-won-white-vote-almost-everywhere

Gifs of Karl Rove’s meltdown http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/11/time-karl-rove-took-fox-news-decision-desk/58777/

What a second Obama term means for the rest of the world http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-20233941

The GOP needs an accessible, moderate charmer to reestablish the party… but finding that seems unlikely http://www.tnr.com/blog/plank/109864/why-the-gop-needs%E2%80%94-wont-get%E2%80%94its-own-bill-clinton

#Fashion

Interview with the Rodarte sisters: http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2012/03/rodarte-201203

#Feminism

Roxanne Gay writes about being a bad feminist: http://www.vqronline.org/articles/2012/fall/gay-feminism

#Film

Could the internet have garnered cult support for the biggest film failure in history? http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/movies/2012/11/would-the-internet-have-rescued-heavens-gate.html

#Food

Hanging with Aziz Ansari and eating everything http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7776162/qa-parks-recreation-star-aziz-ansari-kanye-west-favorite-foods-more

The legend of the Burger in the West http://gearpatrol.com/2012/10/26/the-oral-history-of-in-n-out-burger/

Traveling to Sichuan to eat the best the region has to offer http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/badaily/2012/04/sichuan-travel-story.html

I’m a Ramen Hack Genius. This is for the neophytes: http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/03/ramen-hacks-30-easy-ways-to-upgrade-your-instant-noodles-japanese-what-to-do-with-ramen.html

#Health

David Sedaris goes to the dentist. That’s all you need: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/04/02/120402fa_fact_sedaris?currentPage=all #essay

Manipulating soldiers’ diets to fight off depression: http://www.eatingwell.com/print/15781?page=show #science

#Literature

The critical theory of the ghost in literature: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2011/jun/17/hauntology-critical

Excerpt from a new novel by Jennine Capo Crucet: http://www.guernicamag.com/fiction/magic-city-relic/

Interview with daytime lawyer/part-time author Charles Yu http://www.themorningnews.org/article/charles-yu

Charles Yu’s review of IQ84 by Haruki Murakami http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?id=17

Interview with John Sayles http://www.themillions.com/2011/10/robert-birnbaum-in-conversation-with-john-sayles.html

New short story by Alice Munro http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/nov/02/the-eye-alice-munro-short-story

The case for David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green to be taught as the new Catcher in the Rye http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2012/11/schools_should_replace_catcher_in_the_rye_with_black_swan_green.single.html

How publisher and literary taste maker Malcolm Cowley shaped New York http://www.vqronline.org/articles/1982/autumn/shi-malcolm-cowley/

Review of a new collection of Adrienne Rich’s poetry http://www.tnr.com/book/review/poetry-adrienne-rich-eavan-boland

#Religion

The frustrations of religious conservatism felt by those who share the religion http://www.guernicamag.com/daily/jennifer-sky-faith-and-politics-in-the-sunshine-state/

The monster of atheism might be “Gawd” http://www.realitysandwich.com/neo-atheism_demiurge

Our economic system needs to be spiritually restored: http://www.realitysandwich.com/waxing_sacred_economics_charles_eisenstein

An essay from the eighties about the rise of “feminist spirituality,” including goddess worship etc http://ww.utnereader.com/the-new-feminist-spirituality.aspx

Thinking about possession and writing: http://www.granta.com/Online-Only/Necessary-Daemons

Alexander Chee writes about Tarot http://www.themorningnews.org/article/the-querent

#Technology

Warren Ellis on living in the Science Fiction Condition http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/1/3569208/warren-ellis-futurism-new-aesthetic-social-media

Attempting to live on a self-sustaining, productive farm http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/79854-the-post-apocalypse-survival-machine-nerd-farm

#Travel

John Jeremiah Sullivan writes about conservative politics and Kentucky in this 2010 piece http://www.gq.com/news-politics/big-issues/201001/american-grotesque-john-jeremiah-sullivan-birthers?printable=true #politics

How the eighteen hundreds saw a rise in the panicked belief that the dead were rising http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/The-Great-New-England-Vampire-Panic-169791986.html?c=y&story=fullstory #folklore

Hiking Hawaii’s Big Island http://www.cntraveler.com/islands/2012/11/big-island-hawaii-hiking-adventure-landscapes-beaches-lava-fields

Essay by Vonnegut about the short-lived Kingdom of Biafra in Africa http://journeytoforever.org/rrlib/biafra.html

Living in the mining villages of Peru http://www.vqronline.org/articles/2012/fall/arana-dorado/ #feminism

LongReads Round-Up Volume Five

#Comics

Really gonna let my nerd show with this one. This is an interview of webcomic phenomenon Homestuck author Andrew Hussie by the author of the Scott Pilgrim series, Brian Lee O'Malley. I've yet to delve into the 5000 page back archive of Homestuck, but I'm well aware of the intense fans thanks to Tumblr:  http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/10/02/homestuck-interview-andrew-hussie-bryan-lee-omalley-ms-paint-adventures/

#Environment

Not for those who once had a panic attack after watching The Day After Tomorrow (aka this blog author): http://www.alternet.org/visions/wake-our-world-dying-and-were-all-denial?paging=off 

#Feminism

On bullying and the sexual fixation on breasts in the Western world: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/10/pointless-shame-the-english-speaking-worlds-issue-with-womens-breasts/263585/

#Film

Two pieces relating to the new Ben Affleck film Argo, about the CIA taskforce that staged a film company to rescue American hostages from Tehran:

First, the Wired article from 2007 that originally reported the story: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2007/04/feat_cia/

Second, the Slate piece that examines the veracity of the film: http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/10/12/argo_true_story_the_facts_and_fiction_behind_the_ben_affleck_movie.html

An interview with the director of upcoming film Sassy Pants: http://blogs.indiewire.com/womenandhollywood/interview-with-coley-sohn-writer-and-director-of-sassy-pants #Women in Media

#Health

Connecticut legislator reevaluates mental health policy that he implemented in the seventies that now affects his son's life: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/my-son-is-schizophrenic-the-reforms-that-i-worked-for-have-worsened-his-life/2012/10/15/87b74a98-eadd-11e1-b811-09036bcb182b_print.html?src=longreads&buffer_share=ceb93&utm_source=buffer #Policy

Fat? Healthy? Can it be both? http://therumpus.net/2012/10/fat/ 

The "restorative" powers of the sensory deprivation tank: http://www.theawl.com/2012/10/new-yorks-last-sensory-deprivation-tank  

#International

Vice Docs are always intense: http://www.vice.com/vice-news/crime-and-punishment-in-the-gaza-strip-part-1 #Video

Really beautiful essay on the healing women need in Pakistan: http://www.guernicamag.com/daily/humera-afridi-malala-yousufzai-and-the-bonesetters-alchemy/  #Malala

#Literature

TPR's Southern editor offers some flawless reading recommendations: http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2012/08/31/dear-paris-review-john-jeremiah-sullivan-answers-your-questions/ 

Literary Absurdity: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-love-song-of-j-alfred-capslock #AltLit

A great survey of the dark enchantments of Angela Carter: http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2012/10/17/chamber-of-secrets-the-sorcery-of-angela-carter/

Hillary Mantel's Wolf Hall was one of the best books I've read in 2012. She's revitalizing historical fiction/literature: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/10/15/121015fa_fact_macfarquhar?currentPage=all

I love mixtapes. And reading. This is a mixtape of reading: http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/a-mix-tape-of-chapters-from-novels/

Hell is Other Bloggers: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/shouts/2012/10/le-blog-de-jean-paul-sartre.html  #Humor

#MMA

Its an article on mixed martial arts that opens with a Karl Marx quote. You want to go to there: http://www.vice.com/read/fightland-weightless-history

#Photography

The rise of the studio portrait photograph: http://www.theawl.com/2012/10/the-uncanny-art-of-studio-photographys-heyday

Photo essay on love and intimacy: http://www.guernicamag.com/daily/rose-lichter-marck-circling-the-sea/

Collection from award winning embedded war photo journalist: http://www.motherjones.com/photoessays/2009/08/2nd-tour-hope-i-dont-die/01 #War

#Technology

The case for outing internet trolls: http://jezebel.com/5952522/publicly-outing-trolls-and-predators-isnt-a-distraction-its-a-solution (see last week's Gawker article revealing the identity of a Reddit contributor)

Psychiatrist Sherry Turkle talking about how the over connectedness of the internet is making us lonelier: http://www.npr.org/2012/10/18/163098594/in-constant-digital-contact-we-feel-alone-together?sc=fb&cc=nprbooks&device=iphone #LongListen