Saturday, July 07, 2007

How I spent my vacation

To me, a truly successful vacation involves lots of reading, and this was no exception. I didn't actually read any books this time around (I've been in more of a news/sports mode lately and am taking forever to get through my current book even though I really am enjoying it). Anyway, if anyone cares, here are some things I enjoyed (warning, some of them are long):

Fareed Zakaria in Newsweek on what we lose when the U.S. turns inward.

David Von Drehle in the Washington Post Magazine on honoring a loved one's final wish.

Even if you don't like hockey (which I don't, and neither does the author) or Canada (which I do, and so does the author), this running diary of the NHL draft by Bill Simmons from ESPN.com was amusing. [CLARIFICATION: It's not that I don't like hockey, per se--the one Washington Capitals game we went to was a blast--but I just can't really be bothered to follow it. Maybe it's a California thing, even if the current NHL champs happen to hail from SoCal...but does anyone there really care?]

Joel Stein of the LA Times on how future decisions about going to war should be made.

Joel Achenbach in the Washington Post on why a little doubt and uncertainty isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Lisa Takeuchi Cullen in Time on the family dog's loss of status once a baby comes along.

Gene Weingarten in the Washington Post Magazine on silly little neighborhood spats blown out of proportion.

Peter Hitchens in The American Conservative (not a normal read for me, but was linked to it from elsewhere) on a visit to Iran and why we shouldn't necessarily get too worked up about the situation there. (As a side note, we had Spanish friends who vacationed in Iran a couple of years ago--crazy Europeans!--and absolutely loved it, especially because of the hospitality. Which is not to say that we're planning a trip anytime soon...)

Nightmare stories in the NY Times about funny/scary experiences with housesitters.

And I haven't read it yet, but am looking forward to reading this Q&A with Tony Gwynn (the San Diego Padres legend) and Cal Ripken Jr...