Well, you’re drunk in the alley, baby
With your clothes all torn
And your late night friends
Leave you in the cold, grey dawn


Christopher French, Heat Index, 2009

* From Harper's July 2010:

-- Percentage of Afghan police units that the U.S. military believes are capable of operating without assistance: 12

-- Chance that a new Afghan police recruit knows how to read: 1 in 10

-- Percentage change since 2007 in the number of alleged sexual assaults committed by U.S. service members: +18

-- Chances that a young Egyptian woman thinks a man should be allowed to beat his wife for speaking to another man: 2 in 3

-- Number of U.S. states in which it is legal for first cousins to marry: 19

-- Percentage of English soccer fans in North America who would fast for a week to see their country win the World Cup: 93

-- Percentage of Italians there who would: 1

* Podcast: A close listen to the post-evangelical songs of Bob Dylan.

* "The misfortune of ethics: because it knows everything better, it learns nothing." -- Elias Canetti