Here’s a fast and easy fun set of rules — gleaned from Hollywood and alien experts — that you can follow when extraterrestrials are breaking down your door or coming through the air vents.
Lots of us can be considered hippies for one reason or another — like going solar. Which hippie classification are you?
A silent killer lurks undetected in millions of homes across the United States, and winter is its peak season. Find out what you can do to stop it.
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longreads:
[Fiction]
Since she’d arrived in America and got divorced, Ilona Siegal had been set up three times. The first man was not an ordinary man but a Ph.D. from Moscow, the friend who’d arranged the date said. When Ilona opened her door, she’d found the Ph.D. standing on her front steps in a pair of paper-sheer yellow jogging shorts. He was thin, in the famished way of grazing animals and endurance athletes, with folds of skin around his kneecaps and wiry rabbit muscles braiding into his inner thighs. Under his arm he held what, in a moment of brief confusion, Ilona took for a wine bottle. But when he stepped inside she saw that it was only a litre of water he’d brought along for himself. Their plan had been to take a walk around a nearby park and then go out to lunch. But the Ph.D. had already been to the park. It wasn’t anything special, he said. He’d just gone jogging there. He didn’t like to miss his jogs, and since he’d driven an hour and a half out of his way to meet her he’d got in a run first. Ilona poured him a glass of grapefruit juice and listened to him talk about his work at Bell Labs. He reclined in his chair, his knees apart, unaware that one of his testicles was inching out of the inner lining of his shorts. Ilona stared at his face, trying not to look down.
“Companion.” — Sana Krasikov, The New Yorker, Pen/O. Henry Prize 2007
See more #longreads from Pen/O. Henry Prize winners
Great long read from our October 3, 2005 issue.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lukejnPK431qf4hl5o1_400.jpg)
[Fiction]
Since she’d arrived in America and got divorced, Ilona Siegal had been set up three times. The first man was not an ordinary man but a Ph.D. from Moscow, the friend who’d arranged the date said. When Ilona opened her door, she’d found the Ph.D. standing on her front steps in a pair of paper-sheer yellow jogging shorts. He was thin, in the famished way of grazing animals and endurance athletes, with folds of skin around his kneecaps and wiry rabbit muscles braiding into his inner thighs. Under his arm he held what, in a moment of brief confusion, Ilona took for a wine bottle. But when he stepped inside she saw that it was only a litre of water he’d brought along for himself. Their plan had been to take a walk around a nearby park and then go out to lunch. But the Ph.D. had already been to the park. It wasn’t anything special, he said. He’d just gone jogging there. He didn’t like to miss his jogs, and since he’d driven an hour and a half out of his way to meet her he’d got in a run first. Ilona poured him a glass of grapefruit juice and listened to him talk about his work at Bell Labs. He reclined in his chair, his knees apart, unaware that one of his testicles was inching out of the inner lining of his shorts. Ilona stared at his face, trying not to look down.
“Companion.” — Sana Krasikov, The New Yorker, Pen/O. Henry Prize 2007
Great long read from our October 3, 2005 issue.
Fear factor a black mark against the darkest of cats
Dark and mysterious with piercing eyes, black cats have long been considered underdogs in the competitive pet adoption market.The cats are more difficult to place for adoption, some shelter owners say, because they tend to fade into the shadows while more colorful animals stand out, and because their black coats and bright eyes make poor pictures that get passed over by adopters looking online. And then there are the ancient stigmas of bad luck and witchcraft.
Cities that have stood the test of time have more than just the scars of history; they show the influence — positive and negative — of human civilization. The oldest cities in the world boast beautiful architecture and amazing stories, yet remarkably few ancient cities stand today.
12 oldest continuously inhabited cities
Scientists discover ‘jealous’ hermaphrodite shrimp that murder each other
The shrimp are only vulnerable to attack right after they have molted, when their skin is too thin to survive assault.
11/11/11: Will your consciousness change on this auspicious date?
Thousands will gather for ceremonies, trance dances and video projects around the world, and several Facebook pages are marking the date. Many numerologists, metaphysicists, psychics, occultists and conspiracy theorists will be watching for signs of a broad humanistic awakening, even a portal opening into a new dimension, as some experts predict a major “shift in consciousness.”
