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Nature, Putting The 'Augh!' In August
by Hank Stuever, Washington Post
Getting bitten: It's worse than a paper cut, slightly better than death. Thinking you're about to get bitten: That's a little worse still. Ever been in a fourth-grade classroom when a bee flies through an open window? The screams are loud enough that teachers from other classrooms come running to see who's dead, and who can still be saved.

The Season Of My Life
by Sue Miller, New York Times
The experience of summer, more than of any other season, is interlaced with memory, so that as we live through it, we're also recalling and living in the summers of our past.

Stolen Art Can Reappear In Unexpected Ways
by Sarah Lyall, New York Times
If they are recovered at all, stolen art masterpieces like "The Scream" and "Madonna," the two Edward Munch paintings torn from the walls of an Oslo museum on Sunday, can come to light at unexpected times and in unexpected places.

Fear Itself
by Gene Weingarten, Washington Post
Learning to live in the age of terrorism.

Remembrance Of Terror Past
by David Raab, New York Times
After 34 years, I was standing once again at the house in Amman where, as a 17-year-old, I was held hostage by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

What Julia Really Taught Us
by Russ Parsons, Los Angeles Times
For those who had the privilege of knowing Julia Child, her life was a grand lesson in how to live.

And The Band Played Scared
by Jacob Slichter, New York Times
Outdoor summer concerts fueled my ambition as a teenager. When I first played them myself, I had a very different feeling: fear.

How To Read Mastering The Art Of French Cooking
by Sara Dickerman, Slate
Six recipes Julia Child would want you to make.

No Pain, No Gain
by Robin Givhan, Washington Post
Can shoe designers take the hurt out of height?

Blog Interrupted
by April Witt, Washington Post
When Jessica Cutler put her dirty secrets on the web, she lost her job, signed a book deal, posed for Playboy — and raised a ton of questions about where America is headed.

No-Rush California
by John Tierney, New York Times
Rail fans savor Amtrak's leisurely route along the Pacific.

Transparency Begets Trust In The Ever-Expanding Blogosphere
by J.D. Lasica, Online Jouralism Review
The openness of weblogs could help explain why many readers find them more credile than traditional media. Can mainstream journalists learn from their cutting-edge cousins?

Gardens In The Air Where The Rail Once Ran
by Nicolai Ouroussoff, New York Times
A team of New York-based architects has been selected to design a master plan that would transform an abanonded section of elevated freight track into a public park that would weave its way north from the meatpacking district to Hell's Kicthen, two stories above the city.

Racist Like Me
by Debra Dickerson, Slate
Why am I the only honest bigot?

Babymaking
by Amie Klempnauer, Salon
Jane and I spent 10 years discussing whether to have a child. Like many straight couples, we finally decided to leave it to the fates. But in our case the fates held a speculum, a catheter and a vial of sperm.

A Vacation With Ghosts
by Ruth Ozeki, New York Times
My first six summers were American suburban, filled with the familiar thrills of Slip 'N Slides and sprinkles, the smell of gasoline lawnmowers and the tickle of grass blades sticking to my skin. Then, the summer I was 7, my mother took me to Japan to visit my grandmother.

Style: A Pleasure For The Reader, Or The Writer?
by Ben Yagoda, Chronicle Of Higher Education
How odd it is that style in writing is so overlooked in popular, contemporary books that purport to be about style in writing.

Flag Relay
by Peter Carlson, Washington Post
For Olympians in training, flexibility is everything. Especially when it comes to citizenship.

Buyer's Remorse
by Daniel Akst, Wilson Quarterly
There are two things at which Americans have always excelled: One is generating almost unimaginable material wealth, and the other is feeling bad about it.

Don't Look For A Sign
by Mary Spicuzza, New York Times
Some New York City bars, restaurants and clubs have recently adopted the contradictory tactic of attracting business by eschewing a sign.

How Not To Buy Happiness
by Robert H. Frank, Daedalus
Considerable evidence suggests that if we use an increase in our incomes, as many of us do, simply to buy bigger houses and expensive cars, then we do not end up any happier than before. But if we use an increase in our incomes to buy more of certain inconspicuous goods — such as freedom from a long commute or a stressful job — then the evidence paints a very different picture.

To: Co-Workers Subject: Postcard From The Edge
by Philip Kennicott, Washington Post
So you've tweaked your automatic e-mail response to let me know that you are not just out of the office, but out of the office on vacation. Until Sept. 7. Thanks for the extra information. We're all just so dee-lighted to know that you're on vacation.

California's SUV Ban
by Andy Bowers, Slate
The Golden State has outlawed big SUVs on many of its roads but doesn't seem to know it.

On The Sidewalk, High Art Gets Down
by Rebecca Dana, Washington Post
A good sidewalk chalk drawing is like a good creme brulee. It takes hours of work to get the color, texture and balance perfect. And when that's finally done, you have a few minutes, maybe, to step back and admire the result before it's gone: absorbed, digested, a fragment of memory.

New Year's Resolutions, Seven Months Later
by Andy Borowitz, New Yorker
January 2nd brought a new, less arrogant resolution: "I will smoke only cigarettes I did not pay for." Unfortunately, I hadn't anticipated how easy it would be to steal them at the 7-Eleven.

The Risk Of Reading
by Mark Edmundson, New York Times
Reading is indeed nearly boundless in its promise. It can effect changes for the greatest good. But it is worth bearing in mind that reading's promise is tied up with some danger, too.