Nor their beautiful dogs  

1. Two quick hits. First, Zadie Smith's poweful and persuasive essay on writing fiction is here and has probably convinced me to finally read her novels, which have been sitting unread on my shelves for some time.

2. If I were a teacher of art or literature, I would probably use this vignette on the first day of class. (Make sure you read to the second page.) What a fascinating and bizarre exercize, especially given the fact that the directors don't consider themselves artists. There's another rather odd treatment here, but kudos to the Times for using that page turn so effectively.