Newsletter 802

Best of the Moment

The Reality Of Anti-Blasphemy Laws

Hussein Ibish | Daily Beast | 3 October 2012

"Anti-blasphemy laws inevitably lead to the arrest and persecution of religious minorities, including children, in order to 'protect sensibilities' of religious majorities." Such laws are about authority and control, not respect Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/reality-anti-blasphemy-laws)

Karen Russell | GQ | 3 October 2012

A year ago, a famous Spanish matador received one of the most horrific injuries in the history of bullfighting. Amazingly, he survived the severe facial goring. Even more amazingly he's now back in the bullring Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/blind-faith-one-eyed-matador)

Why Your Car Isn't Electric

Maggie Koerth-Baker | NYT | 2 October 2012

Technological advance is a messy and unpredictable process. Winners and losers can be determined by all sorts of factors, including unlikely ones. As was the case with the early electric car industry Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/why-your-car-isnt-electric)

Gaffe-Checking The Debates

Michael Kinsley | Bloomberg | 2 October 2012

What is a gaffe? "The theory is that the gaffe is actually the voice of the politician’s subconscious. A good test of whether you’re in the presence of a genuine gaffe is whether the speaker would take it back if he or she could" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/gaffe-checking-debates)

Diary: Philby In Beirut

Tom Carver | LRB | 4 October 2012

Travels in the footsteps of Kim Philby, who spent seven years in Beirut before defecting to Moscow. Wrote for The Economist, freelanced for the British secret service, drank heavily, ran off with a friend's wife, kept a pet fox Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/diary-philby-beirut)

10 Words You Literally Didn't Know You Were Getting Wrong

Taylor Houston | Lit Reactor | 3 October 2012

You can almost guarantee that when someone says the word "literally" they mean "figuratively". In honour of Joe Biden's repeated offences against the English language, here are 10 common mistakes and confusions to avoid Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/10-words-you-literally-didnt-know-you-were-getting-wrong)
(http://www.amazon.com/Best-of-FiveBooks-2011-ebook/dp/B007GAM6RC?tag=thebro-21)

FiveBooks Interview

(http://thebrowser.com/interviews/jonathon-green-on-slang)

Jonathon Green on Slang

It’s dirty, grubby and doubting. And us at our most real. The lexicographer takes us inside the world of “rough, truthful language” from rhyming slang and cant to the streets of Baltimore and an etymology of the f-word Read on (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/jonathon-green-on-slang)

Featured Special Report

(http://thebrowser.com/reports/steve-jobss-legacy)

Steve Jobs's Legacy

He was a giant of American business, driving Apple to become the most valuable company in the world. But how should we remember Steve Jobs? Read on (http://thebrowser.com/reports/steve-jobss-legacy)

Reader Recommendations

@joespring What happened on Manaslu? Excellent in-depth story by Devon O'Neil of @ESPN_Ski t.co/z2uXhFL1 #longreads #longform #browsings (https://twitter.com/search?q=#browsings) More like this (http://thebrowser.com/browsings)

Book of the Day

Book of the Day (http://thebrowser.com/recommended/terror-dream-by-susan-faludi)

The Terror Dream by Susan Faludi

Maria Sveland says (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/maria-sveland-on-feminism) : “This is the book she wrote about how terrorism started a backlash against women. I think she is the most important female writer working now” FiveBooks Archive (http://thebrowser.com/fivebooks/archive)

Quote of the Day

Le Corbusier, on drawing (http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/10/03/the-architect-says-a-compendium-of-quotes-quips-and-words-of-wisdom-from-iconic-architects)

"I prefer drawing to talking. Drawing is faster and leaves less room for lies"

More quotes (http://thebrowser.com/quotations)