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.

Why the EU's endless bureaucracy is actually a good thing
Interesting article on a subject I've been thinking about recently, on why it is that the most peaceful, liberal organizations out there also seem to always have the most bureaucratic levels and red tape. This article argues that such a thing actually serves a very real purpose, which is to slow up the decision-making process so much that people are forced to come up with compromises and real-world solutions, unlike a society where big changes can be made on a whim before anyone has a chance to fully complain or even understand what's going on. Of course, this was the same argument given in the early 1900s as to why Europe could never go to war with itself (because of the complex series of treaties that existed among the old royal families back then, that is), and look where THAT got us.

'Law & Order' renewed for record-breaking 21st season
This officially makes the show the longest-running prime-time drama in history, finally breaking the record long held by "Gunsmoke." For the record, "The Simpsons" is the oldest prime-time sitcom in history, also at 21 years; "60 Minutes," now 41 years old, is the oldest prime-time show; and daytime current-affairs program "Meet The Press," started way back in 1947, is the longest-running TV show in history.

NYT: "Indie-rock genres now outnumber actual bands"
Funny and interesting article in the New York Times, on how the fracturing of subgenres within indie rock in the last ten years has reached a critical mass by now, producing in some cases entire "scenes" that are born and die within a matter of months. Of course, this is ultimately good news, they argue; as I've been learning myself since starting the center's podcast, the indie-rock community is larger and more diverse than ever before, which is what prompts all these endless subgenres to begin with.

Chicago Tribune will soon cost an entire dollar per freaking day
Really? Sigh. Yeah, there's the way to hold on to your rapidly dwindling customer base.

'Avatar' -- well, at least it's p-ssing off the teabaggers
I saw "Avatar" over Christmas, and have to admit that I was awfully underwhelmed by the pure ineptitude of its script, not to mention the hundreds of glaring holes in logic seen throughout (and seriously, where is all that water coming from for those floating island waterfalls?); but as reported in the LA Times this week, at least it's serving a bit of a good purpose, making radical-right wingnut conservatives sh-t all over themselves over the film's pro-environment, anti-military, anti-Caucasian message. Hey, the longer those nutjobs' attention can be drawn away from the Obama administration, the better off we all are; I'm grateful to James Cameron for at least that, even if the movie itself is "Rudyard Kipling with Smurfs," as one astute Facebook friend put it.

Founder of Tea Party website openly caught using the word 'n-gger'
On a SIGN. That he was CARRYING. For HOURS. In PUBLIC. J-sus.

MMO player pays third of a million real US dollars for virtual danceclub
Holee sh-t. Even better, he says he's confident that he'll be able to recoup his losses within a year. Speaking as someone who played Second Life for two years, let me say that I can believe it. (By the way, the guy also admits that he first met his real-life wife at this virtual club. NEEERRRRDDS!)