Fifty Writing Tools If you are a writer, or an aspiring writer, you might benefit from some of these tips. Although sometimes geared towards journalism only, most are generic enough for everyone. I'm hoping they will help me.

Curious George: Learning Vacations Any monkeys been on any learning vacations? Like this one for book-lovers or this for gourmet cooks and um, even something for those who are into moose photography or ukeleles . How about picking one randomly from this 100 page (PDF) catalog at Chautauqua, the grand-daddy of summer course madness. more inside

Resources for the budding Mycophagist/logist. Also don't miss Tom Volk's Fungi! Well, probably not his own. Um.

Prelude to Journey to the Center of the Earth. Next month, Japanese scientists plan to start drilling 4.3 miles (7 km) under the ocean floor to reach the Earth's mantle. The effort, as part of an international drilling research program, hopes to not only recover core samples but also to find exotic bacteria. The project promises to overshadow Mohole, a similar effort that consumed $36 million in the early 1960s and fell far short of expectations.

The History behind Billy Joel's "We didn't start the Fire" - finally, we can all know what "British Politician Sex" means, whether we want to or not. more inside

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/101577 The perfect thing for a summer evening, when you don't want to heat up the kitchen! The first one and this one use the traditional chick-peas and lemon juice; the third one uses black beans and lime juice. They're all divine.