Books: A "myspace" for readers

GoodReads: Not that anybody needs another social networking site, but this one's just for readers and the books they've read...and want to rate, review and share. <http://www.goodreads.com/>

Art School Video: Franz Ferdinand 's "All My Friends" (YouTube)

Bunuel meets Warhol in Franz Ferdinand's cover of LCD Soundsystem's All My Friends:

Good Eatin': Watermelon, the Fruit That's Really a Vegetable

"The watermelon is of the Cucurbitaceae (or Gourd) family. It's origin, Africa, was established by David Livingstone (noted missionary explorer), in the 1850's. He found great tracts of watermelon growing wild in the Kalahari desert of Africa. Cultivation by man dates back at least 4000 years to the Egyptians." -- from the website of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.

Customs: Interment

Happened to be doing some research on caskets and discovered this: The National Museum of Funeral History (you knew there had to be a National Museum of Funeral History, because, whatever the topic, as the Visine ads have it, there's a museum for that). Check out the fantasy coffins, like the Mercedes, above. <http://www.nmfh.org/>

Astronomy: Night Sky Planner (Jet Propulsion Library)

"The Night Sky Network is a nationwide coalition of amateur astronomy clubs bringing the science, technology, and inspiration of NASA's missions to the general public....Your one-stop planning resource for astronomy events....Find out why the full Moon is not the best time to see craters and how to make more exciting observations at other times of the month." -- from the website. <http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/>

Conspicuous Consumption: The celebrity contract rider (The Smoking Gun)

On a show I did with him years ago in Detroit, the great rhythm and blues singer James Brown drove us nuts by only getting in one kind of limousine. If by mistake you sent a Lincoln instead of a Caddie (or maybe it was the other way around), no "Hardest Working Man in Show Business."

If you want to know how pampered some of the richer entertainers can be, visit Backstage Pass, provided by the equally hard-working folks at The Smoking Gun. A section examines the contract rider, the part of entertainers' agreements that makes it known what they expect at venues where they are performing. Contract riders include specifications on stage design, sound systems, lighting setups, and other professional matters, but also artists' wish lists -- from transportation and billing to dressing room accommodations and meals. In some cases, a promoter will bravely refuse a demand (crossing out the request on the document), though stars usually get what they want (it's how they know they're loved), whether it’s clean boxer shorts (Jane’s Addiction), prune juice (Kansas), or an arrangement of tulips, roses, gardenias, and lilies (Janet Jackson).

“Over the past couple of years, The Smoking Gun has published excerpts from the backstage riders of a few dozen performers. But that assemblage has not been extensive enough for demanding TSG visitors, so we’ve gone out and obtained loads of new riders. So many, in fact, that our backstage collection now covers a whopping 142 acts–everyone from Frank Sinatra and the Rolling Stones to Kenny G and KC & the Sunshine Band.”

Some examples:

Limp Bizkit: Need dressing rooms with an apartment “vibe.” And, remember, the lights “MUST BE DIMMABLE!!!”

Snoop Doggy Dogg: Security is a must (he’s gotta watch his back); atmosphere, vanilla ice cream, and dinner rolls are also important - hey, a Dogg’s gotta be comfortable up in that shiznit. But when it comes to “very important” matters, only one thing qualifies - a Sony PlayStation.

Paul McCartney: “Very fond of flowers,” won’t travel in a stretch limousine with leather seats, and will not stand for backstage furniture made of any animal skin or print (even if it’s of the artificial variety).

The Sea: Everything You'd've Wanted to Know about Coral Reefs If You'd Thought to Ask

Coral Realm is "a community of members from more than 60 countries and 48 states that come together to share a passion for coral reef marine life....learn and see more!" -- from the website. <http://www.coralrealm.com/>

Americans Who Tell the Truth

Painter Robert Shetterly has published a book of portraits of 50 Americans who have stood for what he calls “the promise of America,” presenting them in a series of paintings with their names and an apt quotation scratched into the paint. His selections, equally divided between men and women, range from the iconic -- Martin Luther King, Jr., Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Emma Goldman, Dwight David Eisenhower -- to the worthy and interesting -- child peace activist Samantha Smith, political columnist Molly Ivins, author Frances Moore Lappe (Diet for a Small Planet), education writer Jonathan Kozol. From an eloquent introduction to the biographical comments on each entry, this gallery of writers, politicians, rabble-rousers, troublemakers, scientists, celebrities and activists will inspire not only the youthful readers for whom it is intended, but anyone in this leaderless nation. The publisher has made a curriculum available for classroom teachers. <http://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/>

Africa: Interactive Map

Here is an extremely handy interactive map of Africa from Vanity Fair providing basic historical and cultural data about each nation on the continent, plus links to other sources of information: <http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/africa/map>