The Most Anticipated Chess Match In Decades Is Off To A Disastrous Start | Business Insider – Interesting. I wish I was good at chess.

The Norse Mythology Blog: TOLKIEN’S HEATHEN FEMINIST, Part One | Articles & Interviews on Myth & Relgion – Fascinating blog post on Eowyn, tying her character to Valkyries and other elements of pre-Christian mythology. Very cool, and it made me reconsider Tolkien’s feminist bonafides. Be sure to read through part two, as well as the comments. (And now I need to find an e-book of Iceland’s Eddas saga…)

Nine revamps Catch Up TV with Jump-In – Woohoo! This is what I’ve been working on at work for four months. We’re starting to get some attention…

Ester, Chippendale | Grab Your Fork: A Sydney food blog – Our anniversary is coming up, so I asked the Snook where he wanted to go for dinner. “Maybe somewhere new or trendy?” So I went with the tried-and-true formula: look through Terry Durack’s latest reviews. Every place he rates is either taking off or just about to. So I booked us in at Ester, which has the added benefit of being in our very own neighbourhood of Chippo. And lo and behold two days later, Grab Your Fork has posted her review. This seals it. Now I really can’t wait to go!

not martha – Washington Outdoor Women’s Weekend – This sounds fun. I wonder if there’s anything like it in Australia. (Though I suspect I would also have difficulty with the sleeping bit.)

‘Ender’s Game,’ its controversial author, and a very personal history – Grantland – I still haven’t decided if I’m going to buy a ticket, boycott, or cheat and protest by downloading. I suppose it’s all moot, in that I suggested my Mom buy my little brother Joey the original book recently. I should have given him mine.

Laurie Anderson’s Farewell to Lou Reed | Music News | Rolling Stone – Whoa. I saw them altogether a few years ago at Sydney’s Vivid Festival, which they programmed that year. The end of this piece made me cry.

Two straps on a backpack or one strap: What’s cool? – Class of ’95 here, and I definitely one-strapped all the way through high school and college. At some point afterwards though, I switched to two-strapping. Now I feel weird when I don’t have backpack weight evenly distributed!

Ahhh, Movember. While some women may scoff, I do love a well-groomed manly ‘tache. And there’s none that I like better than the Snook’s. You should donate to his page and convince him to keep it year ’round!

Ever, Jane: The Virtual World of Jane Austen by Judy L. Tyrer – Kickstarter – A MMORPG set in Regency England where you take down your enemies with gossip rather than guns. Interesting! I wonder if I can play as a Caroline Bingley type and wear turbans and look down on people for being excessively tan. I also love the backer rewards, especially the $10,000 level which earns you the title of Earl in the game (and associated estate), along with an actual handknitted Regency-style item from one of the developers. Very cool.