Souzek Republic: A Week's Pickings

A Week's Pickings

Here's a short list of accumulated links that I've been meaning to point you all toward:

"0wnz0red", by Cory Doctorow: I'm late getting on the Doctorow bandwagon but only because this is the first piece of his that I had read. This short story is very cool science fiction: well-imagined technology used in a plausible and familiar way with mindblowing repercussions. Next stop, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom [via brilliant corners].
How to Speak and Write Postmodern: If you've ever suffered through some unnecessarily obfuscated postmodern text, you'll have a good laugh at this [also via bill].
"The Reason Why", by George McGovern: George McGovern is weary of the war too, but he channeled that weariness into an intelligent and well-argued personal essay. I know, same old, same old.
The Secret of Mona Lisa's Smile?: A good article on the history of and conditions surrounding DaVinci's great work. To think that the subject was perhaps with child when painted just seems to fit for me, although I can't explain why. It gives the painting a kind of depth that I never imagined in it before. Warning: there is a chance that this reaction is the direct result of a current personal situation [via the morning news].