A few bits

Over at Barnes and Noble, George Pelecanos picks three favorite books, none of which I have read, but one of which is on my shelf.

On the same site Ezra Klein reviews a book on immigration. There was a point where people were expected to be well versed in all major political topics, but I find it really hard to have reasonably well informed thoughts about all the world's pressing issues. Global warming, the national debt, trade, health care reform, immigration. Man it is hard, which I why I suppose politicians avoid detailed plans as you need some base understanding in order to digest what they say. The next immigration oriented book I will read will not be a policy tome but the nightmare travel book The Devil's Highway.

This is amusing. On a related note, the Watchmen trailer is much more impressive on the big screen that on YouTube. I suppose this could be said for every trailer ever made.

Dan Simmons follows up his recent historical fiction effort, the Terror, with the Dickensian Drood. This looks quite a bit like the glorious Meaning of Night.

I finally heard the Brazilian band CSS. This song reminds me a bit of Devo or maybe some other New Wave band which eludes. Now that I listen again, it is not Devo, but something else c. 1980.