Salman Rushdie knighted, to chagrin of some. Iran's foreign ministry summoned the UK ambassador in Tehran and said the knighthood was a "provocative act". Pakistan voiced similar protests, telling the UK envoy in Islamabad the honour showed the British government's "utter lack of sensitivity". Britain denied that the award was intended to insult Islam.

The Star Spangled Banner. The song, as performed by the U.S. Marine Band (mp3), the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (mp3), Jose Feliciano (YouTube), Jimi Hendrix (YouTube), Marvin Gaye (YouTube), Carl Lewis (mp3), a nervous French-Canadian girl (YouTube)... more inside

How to fly hassle-free with sex toys. If you're one of the 500,000 (half a million!) people traveling to San Francisco for this year's Pride Parade, before you pack your one suitcase of sweaters and hot pants (you'll need both) and your five suitcases of sex toys, think about the TSA for a minute. (Ugh, not like that.) Sure, uniforms are hot, and some of you may have those nonconsensual cavity-search fantasies rarin' to go, but save your fetishes for Pink Saturday and pack your sex toys with care. Otherwise, be prepared to have your expensive toy collection ripped apart by security dogs and your favorite dick detonated by the feds. Imagine arriving and having to explain, "Honey, they blew up the Ballsy Jeff Stryker 10-inch."

The problem of man boobs.

Exploring the mind-body orgasm. Q: Do you think there might come a time when orgasms really get detached from the genitals? A: It's happening right now. People have described orgasms through imagery, nose orgasms, knee orgasms.

The art outlaws of East L.A. Long before flash mobs, Gamboa began perfecting the practice of the spontaneous art action when he and three other East L.A. artists formed the venerated avant-garde performance group known as Asco, named after the Spanish word for “nausea.” Here you had, in the middle of the 1970s, four style-conscious art jesters — three men, one woman — cavorting in outrageous outfits around the streets and empty lots of East L.A., making a scene, actions sprinkled with cutting social commentary, then disappearing. A Dada daydream in Chicanoville, USA.

9 ways to simulate a panic attack. YouTube starring my favorite Muppet, Grover.

Haight-Ashbury vs. Laurel Canyon. Steel cage match. To the death. Summer-of-Love style.

Don't know much biology. A biologist replies to Kansas senator and presidential hopeful Sam Brownback's questioning of evolution.

Sharks on Prozac! more inside

Corporate capitalism sucks. (From The New York Review of Books.)

Truth, fiction and Lou Dobbs.

Wine scandal leaves Sausalito with a bad taste. Report on the arson cited in the article here.

On writing well. At the beginning of his 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell made clear that he thought the language had become disheveled and decadent. Intending shock, Orwell offered five examples of subliterate prose by known writers. But these selections don’t look as ghastly to us as they did to Orwell, because language is so much worse today.

Bill Maher on the French. (Some NSFW-type language.)

Al Gore book excerpt: The Assault on Reason. Also, a look at Gore as a stealth candidate in the 2008 presidential race.

Rudy Giuliani. Yankees fan. Selfish (and possibly criminal) hypocrite. Back in the days after 9/11, many seemed to think he walked on water. This, even though he had a long history of pecadillos. While folks are now looking at Giuliani's 9/11 performance more critically, he continues to lean on the "Rudy Giuliani, 9/11 hero" spin.

Do we "coddle" the severely mentally ill? (The New Republic, free registration req'd)

Interview with Christine Daniels. Christine Daniels is the Los Angeles Times's newest sports columnist. Well, she's not exactly new. As Mike Penner, she joined the Times 23 years ago to write about sports and became one of the paper's most respected columnists. But on April 26, Daniels told readers that Mike Penner was going on vacation and would return as Christine Daniels. Fascinating. more inside

Photos by Denis Darzacq.