Thanks to all who came out for the yard sale! We met some very cool people and caught up with some cool people we already know. It was a bastion of coolness in the middle of the heat!

If it's Monday, that means it's time for art, music and language...

Art: what do portraits tell viewers about the subject? Or the painter? Please use both sides of the paper if necessary.

Music: Classical music and MySpace may seem an odd combination, but apparently it's working out pretty well for everyone concerned. Speaking of classical music, Vladimir Horowitz took his piano everywhere he performed, and evidently the piano was akin to a corked bat in baseball. Interesting stuff.

Language: But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It's the soft glow of Google's Shakespeare database, where you can read the Bard to your heart's content. Or to your homework's requirements, whichever is more pressing.

More language: I used to be a journalism major, and then I stopped carrying my manual of style around with me and my grammar went to hell. Fortunately, the online collection of common errors in English helps a bit.