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.

Ten ways to trick out your new Wordpress blog
A nice how-to article from Lifehacker, showing ten ways to customize and increase the power of your brand-new Wordpress blog. Nothing astounding here for veterans, but a nice look at all the easy resources available for Wordpress for those who don't know much about blog customization.

Best Buy creates standalone 'ebook' section in their stores
Yet another sign that electronic book readers are on the cusp of going mainstream -- Best Buy, the largest tech retailer in the United States, has started creating standalone sections in their thousand-plus stores for such devices, and by the end of the year will be selling not only the latest Sony Readers but also the popular European "iRex" readers as well. Will this finally force the proprietary-obsessed Amazon to open up their Kindles a little bit to things like the popular EPUB format, and the loading of books from other stores besides Amazon? We'll see, I guess.

Irving Kristol would puke in disgust at the state of contemporary conservatism
Yet another great article prompted by the recent death by Irving Kristol, considered by most as the founder of neoconservatism, on how the movement actually started as a violent reaction to the fascism and racism of Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia in the 1930s and '40s. As Foreign Policy magazine points out here, it's bitter irony that the movement these brave Jewish refugees founded has devolved into the exact racist, fascist, mob-mentality hate group that they spent their lives railing against. A national embarrassment, and a huge black stain on the otherwise relatively clean timeline of American history.

Giant hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure found in farmer's field
Just in case you haven't heard about this yet, one of the biggest self-contained collections of lost Medieval jewels and gold was found last week in a farmer's field in Birmingham, England -- at least 1,350 items all told, found by an unemployed amateur using a simple metal detector. Yowza!

Ten ways to f-ck with TechCrunch's new press embargo policy
For those who don't know, industry blog TechCrunch has adopted a new policy regarding press "embargoes" (that is, voluntarily sitting on tech news until a company says it's okay to talk about it) which is p-ssing off PR agents left and right; namely, they're no longer going to honor them, and will instead print news about upcoming industry developments as soon as they learn about them, whether that company wants them to or not. Here, full-time PR professional Robert Scoble presents ten easy tips for f-cking with this new policy, including shutting out TechCrunch from announcements altogether, promising exclusives to their competitors in exchange for honoring the embargo, and simply announcing new developments straight from your company blog and skipping the press altogether.

Gapers Block looks back on legendary Chicago club Medusa's
Local arts and entertainment guide Gapers Block put up a great long article last week, taking a loving look back at the old Chicago danceclub Medusa's, one of the first and biggest places in the '80s and early '90s to feature such industrial music as Ministry, Skinny Puppy, KMFDM and more. The irony? It was an underage club, which ironically became much more popular during its height than most neighborhood clubs that sold liquor.

Bush wanted to withhold Medal of Freedom from "witchcraft promoter" JK Rowling
Unbelievable: New evidence has surfaced that proves that George W Bush tried to withhold the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Harry Potter creator JK Rowling, because of her books "promoting witchcraft." It's like a bad dream now, the fact that we had such a ridiculously superstitious fool actually leading this country for nearly a decade; it seems almost unreal now that it actually happened.

Do small presses need stronger brand identities?
A thought-provoking editorial from one of the contributors to lit website The Millions, on how it's more important than ever anymore that small publishers establish a strong "brand identity" -- that is, to implant in the public's head an unshakeable, easily understood idea of what they stand for and what kind of literature they publish, not only through editorial policy but even such simple things as consistent font usage among titles and the like. In the fractured world of the arts we now live in, he argues, this is one of the biggest ways that a small press can legitimately compete against the rapidly imploding mainstream industry, is by creating an idea in their customers' heads that those customers will turn back to again and again, every time they think, "Gee, I'd like to read another book about [fill in the blank]."

Because of corruption, there are now six unelected "caretaker" senators in the US
Unbelievable -- corruption in the US Congress is so high right now, a full six out of our 100 senators are unelected "caretakers," appointed by their state legislatures because of the previous senators being impeached for various douchebaggery. It boggles the mind.

How copyediting actually works
An extremely insightful article from tech writer Scott Berkun, on how exactly the process of "copyediting" works, which if you don't know, is a wholly separate thing from what a paid full-time editor at a publishing company does. If you don't know the difference, or fail to appreciate this hard-working, underpaid wing of the publishing industry, you should definitely read this.