Afghan kittens

Even US Marines like kittens.

Daniela Caride of Taildom reports on a mission led by Marines to transfer pet cats from Afghanistan to the United States: "Brian Chambers found Kiki and his sister, Bones, at only 3 weeks old. Their mother had disappeared and the kittens were left alone to fend for themselves."

Expect to see kittens in the sequel to Fear of Beauty. In fact, a set of yellow tabbies opens the book, and they're based on experiences with Rosebud, shown above, in New York City, circa 1979.

Ding dong

Reason to be thankful that Laashekoh has no cell phones: 

The Wall Street Journal reports that people load special ringtones on phones in case the Taliban stop them and check. "The growing popularity of Taliban-safe phones highlights the increasing sense of insecurity across Afghanistan - and in particular in Kabul," writes Dion Nissenbaum and Habib Khan Totakhil.

We can control what we show, we can hide what we know. But does that change how we think?

Connections

Books allow strangers and those who are already very close to discover deeper connections. The inscriptions provide clues into the feelings behind these connections.