Mike

Extreme Chess

A new phenomenon is sweeping the nation. Anybody care to play a game?

Click on the picture to learn… »

The Land of No Smiles

Foreign Policy Magazine is playing host to a set of rare and arresting of pictures of North Korea taken by photographer Tomas van Houtryve who posed as a businessman looking to open a chocolate factory. See the entire photo essay… »

Imaginary Summer Reads

The Believer has a nice little article:
Short Takes On
Books That Don’t Exist
Eleven Essential, Imaginary Beach Reads for Summer
by Steve Hely
My favorite one is called The Empty Staircase by Omar Perus (translated by Richard Milner)
The late Ottoman Empire is the setting for this comedy of manners that follows the ever-failing efforts of a lecherous piano teacher… »

Eurovision Is A Sight Alright!

Every year, each country member of the European Broadcasting Union submits a song to the annual Eurovision Contest. The people vote, and a winner is declared.  It’s quite the event; just look how entertaining Ukraine’s submission was last year from Verka Serduchka. As Wikipedia describes him, “In 1990, Andriy Danylko started to create the… »