Battle of Charleston Harbor, Panoramic View

English: First Battle of Charleston Harbor. "Panoramic View of Charleston Harbor. -- Advance of Ironclads to the Attack, April 7th, 1863" Line engraving published in "The Soldier in our Civil War", Volume II, page 172, with a key to individual ships and land features shown. U.S. Navy ships present are (from left to center): Keokuk, Nahant, Nantucket, Catskill, New Ironsides, Patapsco, Montauk, Passaic and Weehawken. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Photo #: NH 59269. Online Image: 107KB; 900 x 350 pixels. Nederlands: Eerste slag bij Charleston Harbor

link: File:First Charleston Harbor.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

Illustration by Viera Bombová (1932 - 2005)

Viera Bombová (1932 - 2005) was a Slovak illustrator. Along with Albín Brunovský, she studied graphic design and illustration with Vincent Hloznik in the 50s. She won awards at the "Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava" in 1967 and 1969.

link: A Journey Round My Skull: Forgotten Illustrator - Viera Bombova

5th Ave. and 23rd St., New York

link: File:Looking up 5th Avenue from 23rd Street, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views 2.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

# Original source: Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views. / United States. / States / New York / New York City / Stereoscopic views of parades, holidays and events in New York City (Approx. 72,000 stereoscopic views : 10 x 18 cm. or smaller.) digital record # Location: Stephen A. Schwarzman Building / Photography Collection, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs # Catalog Call Number: MFY Dennis Coll 91-F182 # Record ID: 624219 # Digital ID: G91F182_044F

Bomb in Kirkuk as US Departs

Up to 40 people have been killed in a bomb blast in the northern city of Kirkuk, just hours after US troops withdrew from Iraq's towns and cities.

A further 100 were wounded as the car bomb was detonated in a crowded market in the central Shurga district of the city on Tuesday.

Dr Sabah Mohammed al-Dawoudi, a local doctor, said: "All of the killed and wounded are civilians, among them women, children and men.

"The explosion happened at the peak time for shopping."

The attack came hours after Iraqi forces formally assumed responsibility for the capital, Baghdad, and other cities as the midnight deadline for the US to hand over control passed on Tuesday, six years after US-led coalition forces invaded Iraq.

link: Al Jazeera English - Middle East - Kirkuk bombed amid US pullout

The Tragic Saga of the Packing Noodle

While Burchard was experimenting with refrigerator insulation, he came up with a novel way of molding low-density foam. The foam wasn't a very good insulator (in other words, not useful to him at the time), but he was impressed by how light and strong it was. He realized that he could use it to improve upon the packing peanut. Burchard shaped the new material into rough- textured lightning bolts of foam that locked together to stay put under the weight of heavy, priceless objects. He christened his creation Expans O Fill and in 1998 sent it to Michigan State University's School of Packaging for independent testing. It trounced all seven competitive products, transmitting up to 90 percent less shock and cushioning four times better than the packing peanut. Five years later, 3M bought the design, renamed it the Packing Noodle, and rolled it out in 2004.

Even though the Noodle was a vast improvement over the peanut, "they didn't sell well," says Carter Swift, a brand manager at 3M. "They were just too different." The Noodles came fitted together in compact, shrink-wrapped blocks. Retailers loved them because they took up such little shelf space. But consumers didn't understand that the blocks broke apart into hundreds of Noodles. In June, Burchard's brilliant idea was discontinued, and once again we're left with only God (and a few lesser earthly products) to protect our precious cargo.

link: Packing It In: Why the Foam Noodle Couldn't Cut It in the Protection Racket

A Critique of Impure Tweeting: Alice Hoffman and the Critics

Fortunately, as Alice Hoffman's weekend meltdown suggests, the form is still thriving -- in 140-character nuggets. Smarting from a so-so review of "The Story Sisters" in the Boston Globe, the prolific novelist tweeted her fury to the world. She came out swinging, calling reviewer Roberta Silman "a moron," quickly moving on to "idiot," then expanding her repertoire to dis the newspaper and the city of Boston itself. But the real jaw-dropper in Hoffman's two dozen plus tweets on the subject was her suggestion that "If you want to tell Roberta Silman off, her phone is [Silman's phone number and email address]. Tell her what u think of snarky critics."

As of late Monday morning, Hoffman's Twitter account -- and with it, her petulant tweets -- have disappeared. Did she have a pang of remorse about her actions, or a fear of a lawsuit? She issued a statement through her publisher that read, "I feel this whole situation has been completely blown out of proportion. Of course, I was dismayed by Roberta Silman's review which gave away the plot of the novel, and in the heat of the moment I responded strongly and I wish I hadn't. I'm sorry if I offended anyone. Reviewers are entitled to their opinions and that's the name of the game in publishing. I hope my readers understand that I didn't mean to hurt anyone and I'm truly sorry if I did." (Who better than Diana Joseph, author of the recent memoir "I'm Sorry You Feel That Way," to point out that Hoffman's "I hope my readers understand that I didn't mean to hurt anyone and I'm truly sorry if I did" is a pretty passive-aggressive statement? Why is she apologizing to her readers but not to Silman? "Hoffman is still too perturbed about the review, still kicking and screaming that it 'gave away the plot,'" said Joseph on Monday. "Translation: It's Silman's fault. She made me do it.")

link: Hey, authors, don't tweet in anger! | Salon Books

Outsourcing the Horse Meat Trade

Not many people realize slaughtering horses for meat has been big business in the U.S. for generations. Yet in recent decades, public sentiment, matched by state and local laws, has risen against the practice, and in 2007 the last three U.S. horse slaughterhouses were shuttered. Since 2005, Congress has also withheld U.S. Department of Agriculture funding for horse-meat inspections to prevent new abattoirs from opening in states where horse slaughter is still legal. No federal law, though, forbids U.S. horses from being sent to slaughterhouses across the border. Which is exactly what has been happening in the two years since horse slaughter stopped here. The number killed in Canada and Mexico doubled to 49,000 in 2007 and rose to more than 72,000 last year, according to trade data.

link: Horses to the slaughter | Salon

Obama Wines and Dines LGBT Constituents

"I know that many in this room don't believe that progress has come fast enough, and I understand that," [Obama] said. "It's not for me to tell you to be patient, any more than it was for others to counsel patience to African-Americans who were petitioning for equal rights a half century ago."

That may have helped buy him some, well, patience. "He acknowledged the sense of frustration and disappointment and disillusionment that many in our community have been expressing -- very justifiably so," said Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, who attended the event with her 13-year-old son. By making clear he knew he had disappointed many supporters, Obama won a chance to persuade them that he'd follow through with action. The administration has also been more open to hearing from gay and lesbian activists in recent weeks, Kendell said. "He acknowledged without condescension, without defensiveness, the fact that there was a sense that we had expected and been hoping for more ... I do believe, and feel comforted, that part of his value system includes full equality for LGBT Americans."

link: Obama woos LGBT leaders | Salon News