From the WebUrbanist: twenty abandoned cities around the world. tjc

Both John McCain and Barack Obama react to Iran's missile test. jmj

In the Seed Salon: the original New Journalist Tom Wolfe and the father of cognitive neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga have a one-on-one about the duality of the humans / human brains (think Jill Bolte Taylor's TEDtalk), humans as "informavores," whether or not there's a "ghost in the machine," and cheating determinists. tjc

From the Writing English blog, the 25 funniest analogies as collected by High School English teachers. (thx katrina) glc

I just wish Brett Favre would go away already. jmj

An incredible, and short Times piece: the lifesaving lesson of Tim Russert. tjc

While in Williamsburg, VA on vacation (more on this tomorrow), Brooke and I met a fun-loving couple at Chowning's Tavern on our last evening in town. The husband of the aforementioned couple, Jim, drove cross country on Route 66 in a '65 Mustang convertible with his son. Here are their pictures. jmj

I know we linked to Kottke a few times recently but this is too good to pass up. And with the middle of summer upon us, there is no better time. A list of over 1000 swimming holes in the US and Canada. glc

This is - wow - what my room would look like if I didn't get married, gave up, and completely surrendered to geekdom. tjc

After over 50 years of searching, Nazi-hunters feel that they are closing in on Aribert Heim, the doctor at the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. jmj

A while back No Impact Man looked at the possibility of what's happening to gas actually happening to water. Well apparently T. Boone Pickens is banking on just that. glc

Jeez. This dude dances everywhere. I guess if I was a world traveler, I'd be dancing too. [thx Nick] tjc

Back in February, Slate magazine created the Encyclopedia Baracktannica, an ongoing collection of Slate created and reader submitted Obamaisms. Now, the editors of Slate have published a book entitled Obamamania! The English Language, Barackafied

Did you ever wonder what the opposite of a budgetary earmark is? Probably not, but here it is anyway. tjc