Astounding chart in the latest edition of online comic xkcd.com, showing all the various interactions that take place in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Click here to go check out a much larger version.

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.

Half the Congress members in charge of military spending are under ethics investigations
Wow.

Moderate Republican forced out of state political race by radical nutjob wing of GOP
You keep asking for proof that the radical nutjobs have taken over the Republican Party? HERE'S PROOF THAT THE RADICAL NUTJOBS HAVE TAKEN OVER THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

Huge fascinating article about new "Complete Bloom County" collection
Aint It Cool News has a huge interview up right now with Scott Dunbier, editor of the new geek wet dream "The Complete Bloom County" hardback series, as well as the guy who convinced Berke Breathed to green-light the project to begin with. They cover all kinds of topics here, including the struggle to track down these thousands of old strips, why Breathed was so hesitant about doing the project in the first place, and how the old Reagan jokes stand up 25 years later.

Jordan becoming new center for big-budget Middle East films
Last week I posted an article on how the liberal Middle Eastern country of Jordan is rapidly becoming the hub in that global region for internet startups; and now here's another article on how it's becoming the new hub for big-budget filmmaking as well, for the same reason as before, that the secular liberal government does almost no censoring of the creative teams who actually do work in that country. The more I read about Jordan, the most fascinated I'm becoming; I wish I could afford to visit and check out the place myself.

NC GOP Congress candidate wants to repeal 1964 Civil Rights Act
No, seriously, that's exactly what North Carolina Republican Congressional candidate George Hutchins is calling for right on the front page of his website, because of the insidious "social engineering" he claims is embedded in the Act, forcing "unfair privileges based on race." Yes, this guy has a real shot of actually winning the election. Welcome to the post-Obama Republican Party. Hey, moderate conservatives, are you ashamed enough yet to actually do something about these people? How much more is it going to take?