sunday short stack

"To care only for well-being seems to me positively ill-bred. Whether it's good or bad, it is sometimes very pleasant, too, to smash things." - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

• RIP Forrest J. Ackerman, although I hope my friend is correct: you will rise from the dead as a zombie or have some mad scientist put your brain in another body, so we'll be seeing you soon.
• A BeTaMaXMaS
• Preview Who We Were: A Snapshot History of America!
• The blog Daily Routines collects the obsessive compulsive behavior of "writers, artists, and other interesting people" (via Maud Newton).
• Improve your brain.
• The gethuman database reveals how to bypass the robots and speak to an actual human customer service rep.
  
• The Readerville Journal has an excellent recurring feature of Most Coveted Covers and The Book Design Review has Favorite Covers of 2008 (via Condalmo), while The Designer's Review of Books focuses on design between the covers.
• Where is your username registered?
• From the Random department: The baby from Nirvana's Nevermind is now Shepherd Fairy's intern.
• EveryBlock is a newsfeed for your block. Really.
  
• The New Yorker will publish new Mark Twain this month.
• Moving to New City To Solve All of Area Man's Problems
• From the WTF department: Cruise and Beckham families merge in bizarre wedding ceremony.
  
• If you're in New York, here is a handy guide for your indie bookstore holiday shopping.