Sunday Reading: The Power of the Unpronounceable

I view the eruprtion of Iceland’s volcano and the ensuing chaos as a metaphor for all things difficult this week. Here are a few of them:

• If only solving the problem of the ash cloud over Europe were as easy as learning how to pronounce Eyjafjallajokull.
• If you’re going to Israel in the near future, don’t take your iPad.
• James Shapiro settles “the Shakespeare authorship question” in his new book, Contested Will, but forgets to ask why he’s the most doubted genius in history.
• Plot-twist: The members of the Donner Party weren’t cannibals.
• American parents hate books about sexuality.
• Goldman Sachs, America’s poster child of financial success, should be reasons #1-100 why financial reform is needed because of they in which it defrauded America.
• It’s pretty difficult to deny evolution when you find the remains of hominids who used to eat raw meat and swing and trees but looked like humans.
• The UK will have a new prime minister by the end of this year, and it may not be who you expect.

Video of the Week: “Fiesta de Locos,” by Calle 13. Calle 13 was one of the many bands highlighted this past week at Coachella as part of the rising popularity of rap-rock bands that are as feisty as they are high-impact.