Does our music cut us off from the world?

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Has the iPod made us anti-social?

PUERTO GAITAN, Colombia — “I don’t have any problems firing everyone I need to fire,” Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez thundered in 2002, as he began purging state oil company executives who had mounted protests against him. Months later, nearly 20,000 oil workers, from petroleum engineers to geologists and managers, had been fired. But with the company under the president’s tight control, production has swiftly fallen and Venezuela has slipped from the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter to the 11th. Read full article > >

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Venezuelan oilmen find opportunities in Colombia

The false-start rule that saw Usain Bolt disqualified from the World Championships 100m final could be high on the agenda when IAAF officials meet on Sunday.

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IAAF to discuss false-start rule

Tributes are pouring in from the world of golf – and beyond – following the death of one of the sport’s true legends, Severiano Ballesteros.

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Tributes flood in for Ballesteros

England all-rounder Michael Yardy flies home from the World Cup because he is suffering from depression.

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England hit by Yardy withdrawal

Lyricists work their magic from the world around them, like anybody else. And that means that they often mention the technologies of their day. Given my interests, I can’t help but track these references, and I’ve finally decided to start sharing them with you. Here, we see Talib Kweli’s “Mr. International” from his new album, Gutter Rainbows . Here, he’s got the internal mad/iPad/sad rhyme reinforcing the iPad as an elite, luxury item for the world traveler. You can hear his delivery below. When I’m in commuter traffic I’m never worried or panic First class travel I’m flying Virgin Atlantic I’m already checked in I’m ready to settle in Going places I’ve never been I get my Rosetta in Racking up the sky miles and getting them upgrades And you hate the only place that you visit is upstate Don’t be mad cause I’m writing this rhyme on my iPad Don’t be sad cause tomorrow I’m catching the flight back

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Tech in Lyrics: The iPad and Talib Kweli

Apparently the hoity-toity attendees of this weekend’s Harvard-Yale football would rather the stands stay quiet than allow the vuvuzela to sound throughout the stadium. Over 2,000 of the ubiquitous (and obnoxious!) horns from the World Cup were ordered…

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Vuvuzelas Banned At Ivy League Game

Officials from the world’s 20 biggest economies promised Saturday to refrain from a currency war and to give emerging economies more say at the International Monetary Fund.

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G-20 Vows to Avoid Currency War and to Share I.M.F. Power

Mourners from the world of politics and academia will pay tribute at the funeral of Scotland’s national poet Edwin Morgan.

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University funeral for Scots poet

Mourners from the world of politics and academia will pay tribute at the funeral of Scotland’s national poet Edwin Morgan.

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University funeral for Scots poet

Short tattoo stories illustrated by Swiss creative lab Happypets At a moment when tattoos are so common that even full sleeves rarely trigger a second look from passersby, a new large-format ‘zine called “Ink” captures the current shift in permanent art appreciation. The output of publishers KesselsKramer in collaboration with Swiss designers, HappyPets , the limited-edition book shares insight through fictional short stories on why people choose to permanently mark their body. Often unusual or hilarious, the stories are as diverse as the tattoos themselves. From the world’s most precise tattoo artist to the drug-fueled Southeast Asian holiday tattoo, each story is the creation of an emerging writer (including a few from KesselsKramers itself) and is accompanied by a one-off illustration from Happypets. The 250-copy run sells online from Bruil & van de Staaij for $80 and ships internationally.

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Ink