Science magazine celebrates its 125th anniversary with several articles discussing the "125 big questions that face scientific inquiry over the next quarter-century."

Exciting Links For Boring Days In No Particular Order

Christopher Hayes discusses the Coingate scandal in Ohio and what it means to the Democratic Party in this Nation article.

In this New York Review of Books article, Elizabeth Drew discusses corruption in Washington. According to Drew, "unprecedented corruption—the intensified buying and selling of influence over legislation and federal policy —that has become endemic in Washington under a Republican Congress and White House. Corruption has always been present in Washington, but in recent years it has become more sophisticated, pervasive, and blatant than ever."

The New York Times explains how identity theft works in this article.

I just participated in the 2005 MIT Weblog Survey. The Survey is being conducted by the MIT Media Laboratory "to help understand the way that weblogs are affecting the way we communicate." If you have a blog and are interested in participating, follow this link.

Michael Crowley explains why golf is the ultimate symbol of Republican corruption in this Slate article.

The story of Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham and the sale of his house has taken a few unexpected turns. This San Diego Union-Tribune article explains how the investigation of the growing scandal is focusing on a defense contractor called MZM Inc. and two more members of Congress.

How did Mark Felt, the anonymous Watergate source that Woodward and Bernstein called Deep Throat, escape detection by the F.B.I.? As this Nation article explains, Mark Felt was "in charge of finding the source of Woodward and Bernstein's Watergate scoops. In a twist worthy of le Carré, Deep Throat was assigned the mission of unearthing--and stopping--Deep Throat."

According to this Los Angeles Times article, while gas prices continue to rise in the United States,

"Today about 40 percent of all the fuel that Brazilians pump into their vehicles is ethanol, known here as alcohol, compared with about 3 percent in the United States. No other nation is using ethanol on such a vast scale. The change wasn't easy or cheap. But 30 years later, Brazil is reaping the return on its investment in energy security while the United States writes checks for $50-a-barrel foreign oil."

Neal Stephenson discusses the latest Star Wars film in this New York Times op-ed column:

"In sum, very little of the new film makes sense, taken as a freestanding narrative. What's interesting about this is how little it matters. Millions of people are happily spending their money to watch a movie they don't understand. What gives?"

Fred Kaplan explains what's really in the Downing Street Memos in this Slate article.

Thanks to the internet, you can now keep track of movies long before production has started. Done Deal lists scripts and pitches that have been bought by a Hollywood studio, while Query Letters I Love gives examples of scripts that hopefully will never be bought by a Hollywood studio.

Are you having trouble keeping track of all the Republican scandals? The Carpetbagger Report provides this helpful summary of revelations about the Bush White House just from last week. As the blog explains, "Any one of these stories could prompt congressional hearings, investigations, and massive media attention. They won't, of course, but they could."

This San Diego Union-Tribune article will help you get an early start on next week's Republican scandals:

"A defense contractor with ties to Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham took a $700,000 loss on the purchase of the congressman's Del Mar house while the congressman, a member of the influential defense appropriations subcommittee, was supporting the contractor's efforts to get tens of millions of dollars in contracts from the Pentagon."

"President's George Bush's decision not to sign the United States up to the Kyoto global warming treaty was partly a result of pressure from ExxonMobil, the world's most powerful oil company, and other industries, according to US State Department papers seen by the Guardian."

A new book called The Rock Snob's Dictionary and its associated website, Snobsite.com were created to provide information on Rock Snobs and the music they love. I haven't read the book, but the website is amusing. This page explains who the authors consider a Rock Snob and the history of Rock Snobbery. This page includes excerpts from the book.

Joshua Foer discusses what its like to survive being struck by lightning in this Slate article.

In this American Prospect article, Michael Tomasky explains why, on everything from David Rosen to Mark Felt to Pol Pot, conservatives try to rewrite history to their advantage.

Follow this link to play Pac-Mondrian.

"Pac-Mondrian closes the perceptual distance between fine art and video games by combining Piet Mondrian's Modernist masterpiece 'Broadway Boogie Woogie' with Toru Iwatani's classic video game Pac-Man."

The Ohio Workers' Compensation Bureau invested $50 million in two rare coin funds controlled by a Republican Party fund-raiser. Now $13 million of the state's investment is missing along with more than 100 of the rare coins. The Toledo Blade broke the story and provides extensive coverage in this article. This New York Times article gives a shorter summary of the scandal.

Here are three articles with more information on yesterday's announcement that Mark Felt was the secret source who provided the Washington Post with information on the Watergate scandal. First, Bob Woodward finally tells the story of his relationship with the source he called "Deep Throat" in this Washington Post article. Second, this New York Times article discusses the intrigue behind yesterday's announcement. Finally, in this Baltimore Sun article, John Woestendiek explains who was right and who was wrong in guessing "Deep Throat's" identity.