Get yer culture here!

So, I was reading a bookseller news letter today which talked about how certain sites lure their readers back daily with frequent updates, and one of the non-book-related sites he cited (no pun intended) was the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Apparently, every day they feature a new piece from their collection. Today's featured work of art is a steel saber, inlaid with gold, from the Ottoman Empire. See?Pretty. I'm going to add the Met to my side bar of interesting links to check often.

And speaking of my sidebar, I did a little more housecleaning, and moved my favorite authors' blogs to a special section. I still intend to check up on them just as often, and hope you will too, even though they're not on the blogroll. But, you know? They deserve a special place.

And finally, speaking of authors, sad news: Mickey Spillane died yesterday. Renowned as the creator of Mike Hammer, who may be the protypical hardboiled detective, Spillane also apparently spent time in the 1940s writing for Batman, and had a wholly interesting life. Go read about it, and then pick up a book. Try this one, with an introduction by Max Allan Collins.