• A reader’s email forms this moving, candid Andrew Sullivan post:

One of my friends actually hosted us at a nice dinner (that they probably couldn’t afford), presumably to get us liquored and then to ask to borrow money. I didn’t and now he blames me as much as anything for them having to go into bankruptcy. I can see it in his eyes when he talks to me.

• Robert Hariman studies two U.K. press photos of the Middle East and contrasts them with the U.S. press:

In this photo, there is no Arab street nor Iranian masses dominated by Mullahs and demagogues. A middle class tableau reveals that so much of what is in fact ordinary life for many people in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East is never seen in the US.

In a way, this echoes Marjane Satrapi‘s intent with her graphic novel (and then movie) Persepolis. Regular everyday life is never as exciting or intense as we sometimes imagine, even in historically war-torn regions.

• Adora Calcium‘s 30-calorie chocolate supplements have only the slightest metallic taste. Whole Foods gave out free samples this morning and I was pleasantly surprised, especially because the dark chocolate version contains no dairy, and the supplements are all vegetarian-friendly.

• Ravenswood Used Books, where have you been all my life? This claustrophobic wonder had more books than I could handle and at reasonable prices. It’s local, independent, and totally insane on the inside, definitely a place to experience as well as patronize. Also, owner Jim Mall’s blog (where that link leads) is a delight:

On an unrelated note, we are going to install a trap door under the floor of the poetry section. This will lead to the basement alligator pond. The trip wire will be triggered arbitrarily, ensnaring the beautiful as well as the damned.

The poetry section is where I found a great volume of Edna St Vincent Millay’s letters and two Everyman editions of medieval texts.* Be still my heart!

* A modern translation of Piers Plowman and a modern prose translation of du Troyes’ four Arthurian epic poems! I know, you’re already sorry you skipped down to this.

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