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.

Sony + Google + Libraries + EPUB = Righteous
So did you hear? Sony made a decision this week that's going to seriously change the entire nature of the eBook industry -- their newest electronic book reader, coming out later this fall, is going to be able to open the EPUB format (rapidly these days becoming the global standard for electronic books, a format that the Amazon Kindle won't accept), plus they're going to make it radically easier than the Kindle for people to load their own books besides the "official" ones from the Sony bookstore, something else that Amazon is deadset against embracing. This is then combined with the fact that Google recently posted over one million free public-domain manuscripts online in the EPUB format; and this is also combined with Sony's new commitment to partnering with American public libraries, offering thousands upon thousands more free books (contemporary ones this time) for those in cities whose libraries offer electronic books. Finally, a product to seriously compete with Amazon's draconian, Big-Brotheresque Kindle? We'll have to wait until later this fall to see; but all early signs are certainly making it look that way.

Famed 'lost' Picasso painting recovered in Iraqi soldier's home
Turns out that it had been stolen from the Kuwait National Art Museum by an Iraqi soldier, during their invasion of the country in the early '90s; he had been trying to unload it for half a million dollars, although it turns out that it's worth more like ten million.

The AV Club's guide to the work of John Waters
A nice tutorial from the Onion's AV Club concerning the oeuvre of cult film director John Waters, part of their always excellent "Gateway to Geekery" series.

TalkLikeWarrenEllis.com
Brilliant.

India is trying to make itself the new destination for international students
There's been more and more articles in the media lately about the growing "reverse brain-drain," or in other words the tendency for international students to no longer come to the United States for a decent education; and now, this fascinating article from GlobalPost.com, on the various things the country of India is doing these days, to try to pick up these international students and bring them there instead. It's not just your imagination; the US really is rapidly becoming a nation of morons, at a speed so fast it's almost unbelievable.

Report: Depression may be nature's way of helping us become better people
An utterly fascinating new report in Scientific American is arguing a theory that's going to make new-agers sh-t their pants: that clinical depression may actually be a natural response to times of great crisis in a person's life, allowing that person to concentrate on becoming a better person by taking away their desire to socialize, have sex, etc. The argument goes that intense periods of analytical introspection require a lot of energy and uninterrupted thought; when our brains become depressed, then, that might actually be a biochemical response from our own bodies to help us better concentrate on this intense analytical introspection. It's admittedly an instantly controversial theory; I'll be interested in seeing how the public in general reacts to the idea.