Below are simple links to other interesting stuff I've come across on the web in the last day or two; they may or may not concern literature or photography, or indeed the arts at all. You can click here to learn more about how I compile this list and what software I use, if you're interested.

The interesting anti-saga of 'Casablanca's Paul Henreid
Fascinating long article in Christian Science Monitor follows the checkered career of Paul Henreid, who most famously played Victor Laszlow in 'Casablanca.'

At the heart of the Britney Spears tragedy could possibly be $125 million
Why does the daily drama with frazzled, mentally-imbalanced pop star Britney Spears keep continuing? The NYT reminds us why: because somewhere between $50 and 125 million is at stake.

Amsterdam is finally cleaning up its red-light district...kinda
And the funny thing is that it isn't for moral reasons, but rather that the Russian mafia has increasingly taken over in the district in the last ten years, dramatically increasing sex-slave crimes and violence.

Close to being banned in EU, Microsoft finally releases public APIs
Did you know that Microsoft is only a few steps away from being completely banned in the entire EU for anti-trust violations? In desperation, they've finally released public versions of all their programming interfaces, for free open-source use.

LOST theory: Ben has an evil twin?!
I know, I know, there are a lot of crazy "Lost" theories out there; but this one is truly fascinating, plus is backed up with a lot of circumstantial evidence from past episodes and viral-marketing material.

Dude mistakes Madonna photo for lost Marilyn Monroe image, holds national press conference
Wow, there's certainly some red faces for you, especially after the guy claimed in public that he and a team of experts had spent four months authenticating it.

Urb: "Chicago has most pretentious music scene in entire US"
Then again, they're based out of Beverly Hills, so what does -that- say?

Holy crap, Lawrence Lessig may run for Congress
Founder of Creative Commons and enemy of the telecom industry is seriously considering a Congressional run; click through for all the details.

Make your own ambient computing device
Are you a fan of those physical devices that can be hooked up to the internet, so that they'll glow or change color when (say) a new email comes in? Here are instructions for building one yourself.