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.
1. A Critic’s Tour of Literary Manhattan
By Dwight Garner | The New York Times Book Review | Dec. 14
“Is Manhattan’s literary night life, along with its literary infrastructure (certain bars, hotels, restaurants and bookstores) fading away?”
2. On foreign policy, Kerry is Obama’s good soldier
By Donna Cassata | Associated Press | Dec. 17
“Obama seems likely to [nominate] the 69-year-old Kerry, perhaps in the coming days, to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as the nation’s top diplomat.”
3. Mayan Apocalypse: Everything You Wanted To Know But Were REALLY Afraid To Ask
By Asawin Suebsaeng | Mother Jones | Dec. 17
“So, first things first: Will the world in fact end on December 21?”
4. Daniel Inouye ‘lived and breathed the Senate’
By David Rogers | Politico | Dec. 17
“Inouye’s quiet, restrained style led some to underestimate him. But he had a wit and shrewdness, too, combined with a record of genuine heroism and compassion for the underdog, having come of age amid discrimination against Japanese-Americans even as he served bravely in World War II.”
5. ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ trailer: A deep dive
By Darren Franich | Inside Movies :: Entertainment Weekly | Dec. 17
“Is Into Darkness going to continue the recent franchise trend of killing off characters? And if it does, will it be Spock again?”
6. The fiscal cliff, in graphs and GIFs
By Dylan Matthews | Wonkblog :: The Washington Post | Dec. 17
“Once upon a time, there was a budget surplus.”
7. Juan Enriquez: Will our kids be a different species?
TED | April 2012
“Throughout human evolution, multiple versions of humans co-existed. Could we be mid-upgrade now?”
8. ‘A Bombshell on the American Public’
By James M. McPherson | The New York Review of Books | Nov. 22
“As the war took a turn for the worse in the summer of 1862, Lincoln now fully embraced the idea that as commander in chief he could proclaim emancipation as a means of weakening the enemy.”
9. Why Are 2012’s Holiday Movies So Damn Long?
By Ramin Setoodeh | The Daily Beast | Dec. 17
“In the time it takes to sit through this year’s new holiday movies, you could do a lot of other things. For example, finish all your Christmas shopping, roast a turkey, drive to the airport, and fly to Hong Kong. If you don’t believe me, just look at the numbers.”
10. The Unpersuaded
By Ezra Klein | The New Yorker | March 19
“The President’s effort at persuasion failed. The question is, could it have succeeded?”
Tell your friends!
stillness of heart 
Hi! Your comment about Star Trek gave me a chuckle. Really; they’ve already killed off his mother.
Always like a good read rec