How wonderful it is to hold a not-too-outdated copy of the New Yorker, leaf through it, looking at the cartoons, and then read carefully all there is to read in there... I don't get to do this often, since they don't sell the magazine here; I have to rely on the kindness of friends who send me a relatively old New Yorker or two every now and then... (Thank you, Julinka!!!)

The August 1 issue Mishah borrowed from work, while his editor was on vacation, and I felt like I was the first person in the world reading it, very happy. Much of the stuff I read can probably be found online, too - but it's a very different sensation to be reading a print edition. I still keep getting surprised, though, at how thin the New Yorker has grown after 9/11.

One story that I can't find online is about Sri Lanka, a very interesting, in-depth piece that I'll quote from later today, when Mishah makes a copy of it for me: the magazine itself has returned to Mishah's work because the editor's back from vacation today...