I can't resist plugging a couple things that I read while enjoying my brief respite from work:

A few days ago, I finished Cross-X, a fantastic book about a white Kansas City reporter who embeds himself on an all-black urban high school debate team for a season (and ends up sticking around for more). A must-read for anyone interested in race issues, education, debate — or smart, compelling narratives.

Are we driving elephants crazy? I had this New York Times Sunday Magazine story kicking around my house for months, and finally read it yesterday. I had no idea that elephants were so like humans. Did you know that they sit vigil over their dead, and revisit their remains even years later? And that we're giving them post-traumatic stress disorder?