Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.
1. Decades later, a Cold War secret is revealed
By Helen O’Neill | Associated Press | Dec. 25
“The scale, ambition and sheer ingenuity of Hexagon KH-9 was breathtaking.”
2. The Non-froofy Side of Wine: A Drinking Man’s Intro to Wine
By Jack Busch | The Primer | September 2011
“Red goes with what? Fish? You can’t serve what in what glass? Wine can be damn intimidating. We proudly introduce a new series that will give every beer and whiskey drinker out there an excellent primer to the world of wine.”
3. How NOT To Kiss
By Judy McGuire | The Frisky | Dec. 26
“For your edification, I have rounded up the different varieties of bad kissers and broken them down by the traits they share with members of the animal kingdom.”
4. A woman who teaches men to weld provides other life lessons too
By Matt Stevens | Los Angeles Times | Dec. 26
“An associate professor at Los Angeles Trade Technical College, Lisa Legohn relies on candor and toughness to reach her students.”
5. Cuba wraps up dramatic year of economic change
By Paul Haven | Associated Press | Dec. 25
“A year that President Raul Castro described as make or break for the revolution is ending after a dramatic flurry of once-unthinkable reforms that are transforming economic and social life.”
6. 7 Mind-Bending Facts About Dreams
By Jeanna Bryner | LiveScience | December 2011
“Why do some people have nightmares while others really spend their nights in bliss?”
7. Mosquito Menace
By C. Claiborne Ray | Q&A :: The New York Times | September 2009
“This summer I was bitten alive by mosquitoes, but my dog didn’t seem to be. Do dogs get mosquito bites?”
8. Challenging Chavez
By Luis De Valle | Activate :: Al Jazeera | September 2011
“In a country divided between those who see Chavez as a hero and those who see him as a dictator one man is speaking out.”
9. A Tit Bit Nipply
By Forrest Wickman | Explainer :: Slate | Dec. 20
“Why do nipples harden in the cold?”
10. Madrid train bombings
Witness :: BBC News | March 11
“Bombs planted on Spanish commuter trains and detonated at the height of the morning rush hour caused chaos in Madrid.”
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Stillness of Heart 