What if we could crowdfund militia? Meet Kickstriker.

Americans getting “more liberal” on gay marriage, “more conservative” on gun rights.

Controversial painting of South African president’s penis reported sold.

Thom Steinbeck answers questions about receiving letters from his dad, the author.

Related: Steinbeck letter that he sent to his son, with good advice for the lovelorn.

If you enjoyed The Art of the Steal—a review of the new/stolen Barnes Collection.

Patriots: Catch TMN’s @Rosecrans Baldwin at Harvard Book Store tonight in Boston at 7 p.m.

His voice is so high, it sounds like a ringtone.  Bieber, turning 18, challenges reporter to boxing match, then loses interest.

Ninety-five-year-old backpacker plans to see Europe this summer.

Book critic Michael Dirda—“best-read man in America”—answers questions from Reddit members.

Reviews of photo gear to transform your iPhone into a decent camera.

Great profile of the Spurs’ Tim Duncan, perhaps the greatest basketball player of his generation, arguably the most anonymous.

Turtles the size of Smart cars once roamed the rivers in what is now Colombia, preying on creatures as large as crocodiles.

Mustache maintenance tips from man with the world’s longest mustache.

Looking back at the punk-like radicalism of Donna Summer, who died yesterday at 63.

A video timeline of Donna Summer’s most memorable songs. #video

More than 100 DJ sets available for download from drum and bass legend LTJ Bukem.

Skechers to pay up for “muscle-toning” shoes that fail to live up to claims.

Scientists find those who produce more dopamine can muster greater effort when faced with unpleasant tasks.

It was very, very hard. Limbless man swims 12 miles from Papua New Guinea to Indonesia.

Abandoned bikes all over New York City. #photos

Hi-res scans and tech recreate Phineas Gage’s infamous brain injury.

Sleep, which might bring respite from the miseries of the day, becomes increasingly elusive. Judge fighting cancer defends medical marijuana.

Because in Europe poverty is a misfortune, but in America it is shameful. I wonder whether or not you can stand the shame of being poor.

Quintessential American food: the taco.

Short study of Euro-fringe currencies—the British pound, the Bulgarian lev—and how they’re absorbing anxiety.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s favorite records listed in no particular order.

FDA to weigh in on over-the-counter home HIV test this year.

Tom Waits narrates a brief history of John Baldessari. #video

Pictures of transsexuals in 1960s Paris. #photography

Part two of “Our French Connection”—TMN editor visits American places called Paris to measure current U.S.-France relations.

Related: Full story available now as an e-book for the cost of a fancy French coffee.

Economist’s report after a month of shopping in an Asian grocery store.

We assume we will be free tomorrow, because we were free today. In case you missed it, Rushdie on censorship.

Accounts of Iranian and Moroccan rappers running into political trouble.

Anti-Wes Anderson critic finds charm overwhelming twee-ness at Cannes.

Paper planes redesigned by artists.

Portraits of people enduring gale-force winds directly to the face.

Murky definition of death and organ harvesting from the “pretty dead.”

Tree music—modified record player translates year rings into sound. #video

They can’t, they don’t, they won’t stop changing the face of hip-hop, of music, and of our culture. New York Senate passes a resolution honoring Adam Yauch.

A tribute from the Muppets to Jim Henson, who died 22 years ago yesterday. #video

In a recent poll, Americans think organ donors should be compensated.

Death is bad for you. But why?

RIP Canadian penny, the latest coin to stop being minted.

Brian Leli profiles three buskers who perform in the London Underground.

Implant enables paralyzed woman to control robot arm with her mind. #video

Backpfeifengesicht: A face badly in need of a fist. Twenty-five handy words with no English equivalent.

Not everyone needs to learn to code, because coding is not a life skill. #opinion

You’re a group of incredibly well-educated dumb people. Aaron Sorkin’s commencement speech to Syracuse grads.

Collected commencement addresses from Conan, Obama, more.

Future magazine covers of Barack Obama, the first lumberjack president. #photos

European leaders may boycott soccer tournament in Ukraine due to prison abuse of ex-opposition leader.

James Lipton gives Mitt Romney tips on how to act human. #video

A blind man explains his first lesson in echolocation, how he gained long-range vision.

Hear TMN’s Rosecrans Baldwin in conversation about his new book at McNally Jackson in New York tonight.

See the doc on China’s prison factories that led to Al Jazeera being told not to report in the country. #video

The New Yorker recommends web series to check out.

Light sculptures in abandoned houses in this week’s gallery; worst type of light revealed. #tmn#photography

Dalai Lama afraid of being killed by pseudo-devotees with poisoned hair.

Seoul’s 105-foot Lego tower marks 80 years of stacking colorful plastic bricks.

“Can you see any clippy bits?” Panel of kids explain their strange names for each Lego piece. #tmn

Graphs, charts, comparisons of the Lego gender imbalance through the years.

War crimes trial of Ratko Mladic begins, accused of crimes against humanity, deaths of 100,000 people.

Despite drug war’s unimaginably gory crimes, Mexicans are apathetic, disturbed by their attitudes.

Behind the scenes at a huge marijuana factory in an underground bunker.

Only a Greek withdrawal from the euro zone will give the country a chance to get back on its feet in the long term. #opinion

Chinese attempts to needle American ambassador backfire, thanks to Internet commenters.

Flickr helped spark the social web; Yahoo’s top-down approach killed Flickr. #longreads

Facebook’s biggest worry might be user exodus after shareholders’ impact is felt.

Please accept these terms and conditions to continue LIFE. #video

At Jedermann events in Germany, ‘everyman’ can mimic elite cyclists, helping rebuild the sport.

The Cloud Gate sculpture in Chicago is perhaps America’s most popular contemporary art work.

Read War and Peace along with TMN’s Erik Bryan and friends this summer.

Hollande to dine with Merkel in Berlin on his swearing-in day.

Part two of “Our French Connection” heads to Kentucky’s Paris and Versailles. #longreads

Related: New excerpt available from Paris, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down.

Nine days after an inconclusive vote, Greece tries again to form a government.

In the May 6 election, more than half of Greece’s police officers voted for the Neo-Nazi party.

Portraits of Civil War re-enactors. #photography

Pictures of and appreciation for “the most beautiful corn in the world.”

Reprint of Hemingway’s 1923 reports for the Toronto Star about his first bullfights.

Profile of comedian Patrice O’Neal, comic that other comics feared.

Chart of every Yahoo CEO’s tenure against the starting and ending stock price.

The myth of Chinese meritocracy, in which many senior officials flaunt fraudulent credentials.

Note: Dr. Hedgeh would like you to stop tacking letters onto the end of his name.

Belle du Jour, now known by her real name, gives tips on how to blog anonymously.

British birds made of Lego.

When you have a bank as big as JPMorgan…almost anything could count as “hedging.”

From the mid-‘70s to six years ago, Kodak operated a secret nuclear reactor beneath its Rochester headquarters.

I raised her as my own, and I knew it was wrong. 1987 NY baby snatcher faces sentencing.

Reproduction today: Wannabe grandparents help pay for egg freezing. #family

Phallic rock formations in Turkey’s aptly named Love Valley.

To archeologists, fossilized dental plaque is more interesting than fossilized skulls.

Drew Toothpaste finds the worst Amazon listings so you don’t have to.

Algorithms are just frolicking in the mountains of data that they can play with.

“It’s not a lie if nobody cares” and other lying advice from George Costanza.

A documentary from 1987: Brian Eno on Creating Music and Art as Imaginary Landscapes. #video

Fraudulent Stradivari dealer was so persuasive banks provided him with millions in return for photocopied appraisals.

Clients often ask, jokingly, whether we learn our trade in prison. Interview with a safecracker.

Related: “With Dicks in, all 6 WA congressional Democrats favor repeal of gay-marriage ban.”

Christian documents from the 10th and 11th centuries may describe the “Office of Same-Sex Union” and “Order for Uniting Two Men.”

To put it mildly, there’s something of a New Yorker feature curse going around Hollywood these days.

Former Booker T and the MGs bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn, who played himself in The Blues Brothers, dead at 70.

Chris Herring on the nonsensical “jumble” of the New York Jets’ locker room.

Records from 1859’s Great Auroral storm.

Science hopes to solve coffee cup sloshing.

Europe slips in survey of the nations people admire most—China is on the rise.

Culture war in Israel imminent with plans to end military exemptions for full-time religious students.

Photojournalist Horst Faas, who brought images of Vietnam to U.S. readers, dies at 79.

Live free or die… unless you’re a lady. A state-by-state guide to anti-choice laws so far.

Confronting Stan Lee about the injustice done to Jack Kirby by Marvel would be like grilling Mr. Peanut about the business practices of Kraft Foods.

Q&A with the New Yorker‘s cover editor on controversy and the covers that didn’t make it.

Related: The New Yorker FDR cover that never ran.

In ancient Rome, walking was a marker of culture and status.

How sex symbolism and vanity made our feet grow to look like shoes.

Pentagon releases study on studies; accountability office declares Pentagon’s study invalid.

A list of things claimed to be as addictive as cocaine and a list of things that are actually as addictive as cocaine.