Bangkok Post : POST BAG Meddlesome as ever (Bangkok Post - Thailand's English news)

With Thaksin's latest push to receive a royal pardon, it is as clear as ever that Thaksin cares about himself more than the stability of Thailand. Let's hope that nobody feels sorry for him.

Flaming Bubbles (NPR)

In case you forgot to pick up some sparklers for the holiday weekend, don't despair. Ira Flatow and a team of backyard science experts explain how to (safely) make firecrackers, smoke bombs and even an Oreo-fueled rocket, all while learning some basic scientific principles.

Cotes du Rhone Announces 'Celebrate Summer the French Way' July 4th - 18th (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)

Cotes du Rhone proudly announces "Celebrate Summer the French Way," a two week celebration of French cooking and Rhone Valley wines in collaboration with Maitres Cuisiniers de France Restaurants.

The fragrances of Summer 2009 (Manila Standard Today)

The last couple of months have seen many fragrances get an update to become identified with the season (Summer 2009). Many brands are launching limited-edition variations of their most successful perfumes.

More talent than sense (The New Statesman)

When John Updike died in January – of lung cancer, aged 76 – it was received as dreadful news by most of his readers. Updike was still producing novels and stories at a dazzling rate; he was still granting interviews and grinning for photographers.

Flipping sides on flair (Las Vegas Weekly)

This is going to be hard for me to say: Flair … is … dead. Or, if it is not, maybe it should be. Like spandex, it had more than its fair share of time on the radar.

Life's a bitch (Las Vegas CityLife)

IF you like to spice your theatergoing with a dash of mystery and danger, Ernie Curcio's double-bill of Unfinished and Sundrops is just the ticket. Finding the Katherine Gianaclis Park for the Arts involves locating an unmarked parking lot on an unlit side street. Follow a winding path and you're at the back of a deceptively small house, beneath the seedy ramparts of Sportsman's Royal Manor. ...

A Kiss of Haggis (Metro Silicon Valley)

YOU'VE GOT to love a restaurant that has the sense of humor and temerity to serve haggis on a stick. Haggis, in case you don't know, is a beloved Scottish dish made from, among other things, sheep organs and oatmeal boiled inside the animal's lungs.

Masters Of Reality: Erster Albumtrack online. (Visions)

"Wir waren vorher noch nie zusammen in einem Raum und auf 'Alfalfa' hört man das". Das Wüsten-Konglomerat über ihr neues Album. Am 21. September erscheint "Pine/Cross Dover" und das es überhaupt dazu kam, haben Masters-Of-Reality-Fans Labelchef Ed van Zijl und seiner Frage "Habt ihr Lust, ein weiteres Album aufzunehmen?" zu verdanken. Die Antwort erfolgte in Form eines langen Studioaufenthalts, ...

Book Review | Absinthe & Flamethrowers: Author argues that limited risk-taking makes life more of a blast (The Columbus Dispatch)

Just a few days until the Fourth of July -- when we all like to hear things go whoosh and ka-blam. Two books that put me in the mood for rockets' red glare are George Plimpton's classic Fireworks: A History and Celebration (1984), and Jim Paul's shaggily artful book Catapult: Harry and I Build a Siege Weapon (1991).