Very nice review of Tracy K. Smith’s Life on Mars in this Sunday’s Times, which says, “As all the best poetry does, ‘Life on Mars’ first sends us out into the magnificent chill of the imagination and then returns us to ourselves, both changed and consoled.” Smith’s “MY GOD, IT’S FULL OF STARS” appeared here in October.

Yep, it’s exactly what the headline says: a cover of the Cars classic apparently shot at this weekend’s Reading Festival. Big thumbs up from this corner. [Via]

For those of you who enjoy this sort of thing, good news: There will be three new episodes of “Absolutely Fabulous” this year in celebration of the show’s 20th anniversary, which, man, is there anything that is not 20 years old anymore?

“I told my girlfriend I had the notion to write my own NYC-based version of ‘Good Night, Irene,’ and her roommate sent me the link to your post on The Awl, ‘Twenty Three Versions of What May Be the Last Song You’ll Ever Hear.’ That spurred me on to write version #24. I’m a singer-songwriter living in Brooklyn, NY, and like most folks, I was sitting in my apartment yesterday as the storm rolled in. After I re-wrote the lyrics & recorded a simple solo-acoustic version, I got the idea to send it out to a bunch of my fellow NYC musicians, figuring they were also sitting in their apartments, drinking beer & watching the weather channel.”
 — The Reverend John DeLore put the weekend’s weather to good use.

“Two members of staff at a private security firm have been sacked after an electronic tag was put on an offender’s false leg. Christopher Lowcock, 29, wrapped his prosthetic limb in a bandage and fooled G4S staff who failed to carry out the proper tests when they set up the tag and monitoring equipment at his Rochdale home. Lowcock could then simply remove his leg — and the tag — whenever he wanted to breach his court-imposed curfew for driving and drug offences, as well as possession of an offensive weapon.”

“Couples who share a bottle of wine over dinner are putting their lives at risk, according to a report. The middle classes are unwittingly becoming ‘risky drinkers’ by regularly having wine with their evening meal, significantly increasing their susceptibility to conditions such as cancer and stroke. These ‘suburban tipplers’ rarely get drunk, never binge drink and are not heavily dependent on alcohol, but they are still putting their lives in jeopardy. And because women’s alcohol tolerance is lower than men’s, they are at greater risk than their partner if they each drink half of a bottle of wine. In total, some eight million adults are putting their health in serious danger by drinking alcohol at levels above official ‘safe’ guidelines, the report by think tank 2020Health claims.”
 — I guess the lesson here is drink alone.

Photo by Yuri Arcurs, via Shutterstock

Remember bird flu? It’s coming back! And this time it’s mutated! Can a vaccine-resistant swine flu 2.0 be far behind?

I know, I know, we’re all upset that Hurricane Irene failed to shear the city in half and bring the death and destruction so widely predicted. You could see it on the faces of the young people out to brunch at whatever neighborhood restaurants were open yesterday — they were denied their Blackout moment. Most of us didn’t even lose power! Is it even a storm if you sleep through it? They’ve even got the subways mostly running again, so you probably have to go to work. And, sure, there’s some bad flooding and stuff in the suburbs, but, really, when all you’ve got to complain about is how badly the media and local authorities overstated the dangers, you really don’t have much to complain about at all, and what fun is that? Well, I have some good news for you: Future hurricanes will be much worse. Know hope.

Photo by David Shankbone

What are you still doing here? Haven’t you heard? Big storm’s a-comin’! You should be out right now panic shopping! Few of the preparedness guides I have seen thus far have addressed this matter with sufficient import, so I will bring it up: Do make sure you are well stocked for alcohol. People tend to forget to check the liquor cabinet while they load up on bottled water and crackers, but believe me, if you are trapped in your apartment for a couple of days the LAST thing you want to do is go into convulsions because you neglected to pick up an extra handle of Wild Turkey. Also, remember to get a decent selection of mixers. Sure, you can drink things neat in a pinch, but why should you have to? Be ready! You’ll thank me later… IF WE LIVE. Anyway, go, shop, do, etc. But before you head to store, why not print out some of this fine Awl content to read by candlelight as the world crumbles around you?

• A Q&A; With Rooftop Farmer Annie Novak

• Murder, Suicide And Mayhem In Brooklyn Heights

• Ken Auletta Dominates Alec Baldwin in East Hampton

• Case History Of A Wikipedia Page

• Enough About These Hackers And Whistleblowers! How Is Herr Schmitt, The Cat?

• Will eBooks Keep Writers From Writing?

Good luck, all. Hopefully we’ll see you back here on Monday.

Photo by Cory Cartwright, via Shutterstock

“Graffiti courses targeting senior citizens are inspiring Germany’s older generations to learn the art of spraying. Some see the endeavor as a good way to bridge the generation gap. But others go rogue with their new hobby, tagging city streets using skills learned in class.”