A detailed overview of Depleted Uranium & Gulf War (I)
Syndrome (scroll down to July 23): Out of 722,000 who
fought, 160,000 have been granted disability--& ten
thousand have died.

A new Lojban book has just come out!

It's the Mexican "KISS"--!

Poppy Z memorializes John Kennedy Toole. (via Schism Matrix) I love the
way New Orleans writers support each other... & there's a statue of
Ignatius on Canal St.!

"-- What do you love so much about New Orleans?

It's my hometown and I love many things about it, but
to be honest, I'm not entirely satisfied with the way
I have portrayed it in my work so far. I hope I've done
a better job in my new novel, LIQUOR, but in my previous
work I feel I've been somewhat guilty of perpetuating an
incomplete stereotype: Dark, Romantic, Haunted, Lushly
Gorgeous New Orleans. That side of the city does exist,
but it's a small side and creates an inaccurate picture.
I love this city and doubt that I will ever live anywhere
else, but it isn't just beautiful and spooky - it will eat
you alive and gnaw your bones if you're not careful. I
don't mean only the crime, or the poverty, or the filth,
or the sadness - though these certainly factor in. There's
just something here that a lot of people can't take. They
visit, they see the fun parts, they fall in love with it,
they think they want to move here, they do move here and
leave after a few months because it's driving them insane.
There's a way of life here that I call Divine Stupidity,
which is the subject of John Kennedy Toole's novel A
CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES, the best book ever written about
New Orleans. Living here is very much like living in the
Third World. You have to be tough and you have to learn to
laugh at things that would enrage people living in a sane,
sensible place." --from poppyzbrite.com FAQ

Who painted the Black Paintings? (NYTimes: pockeet; pockeet)
(via ALDaily)

Of course, if you believe Global Warming is a myth, none of
this happened.