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.

Vatican: "It's okay to believe in space aliens"
Too funny to pass up: This week the Vatican officially announces that it's spiritually okay for Catholics to believe in space aliens, since after all they would still be God's creatures if they turn out to actually exist. Whew! Glad that's settled!

Onion: "It's true, Ministry's last Chicago shows really sucked"
I mentioned a couple of days ago how industrial-music veterans Ministry are about to disband, and how their last Chicago shows (where the band started) were apparently disappointing; the Onion AV Club today confirms this, in their usual devastatingly funny and smartass way.

How are modern Middle East youth dealing with their hormones?
A fascinating article in the New York Times looks at contemporary teens in the Middle East, and all the various games and rituals they've devised to combine their budding hormones with their Islamic faith. (Via Jon Taplin.)

Robert Rauschenberg has died
One of my favorite artists when I was in college, Robert Rauschenberg (most influential during the Mod and Pop movements of the '50s and '60s), died this week from heart failure at the age of 82. RIP.

US home forclosures rise 65 freaking percent in April
Looming national economic meltdown? What looming national economic meltdown? Where did you learn such big words, little boy?

Chicago cops hid fellow cop's on-the-clock cocaine addiction for three years
Unbelievable. No, wait, not unbelievable -- business as normal for Chicago cops, is what I mean. Business as normal.