Octopodial Chrome

David Rohde, a reporter for the New York Times, was held captive by the Taliban; he has now told his story. It’s an amazing read, detailing how he returned to religion, coöperated with & opposed his captors and dealt with captivity.

Of course, it’s his story in his words; no doubt there are inaccuracies of memory as well as of fact. But it is an excellent tale nonetheless, and a good example of what happens when a Westerner meets Islamic extremism face-to-face.

The Daily Mail suggests that oral contraceptives have changed women’s taste in men. It seems plausible enough to me: long-term use of hormones–particularly sex- and pregnancy-related hormones—might reasonably have interesting mental side effects.

But the current fad for baby-faced pseudo-men might also just be another one of those swings of fashion. The French ancien regime was about as poncy as it’s possible to be, without the involvement of a single hormone supplement.