Daily Office: Friday

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¶ Matins: Bart Centre of New Hampshire is candid about his motivation in starting up the  service that he calls Eternal Earth-Bound Pets, which promises care for pets left behind by the Raptured. (Bloomberg; via 3 Quarks Daily)

¶ Lauds: Our favorite baritone in the whole world, Thomas Meglioranza, is interviewed by Linda Richter, at Classical Singer. We can’t give you any music here, but we can call attention to Tom’s superb diction, which makes everything that he sings a story.

¶ Prime: Here’s hoping that Jon Meacham is cheered by Felix Salmon’s good reasons to buy Newsweek from the Post Co.

¶ Tierce: The fascinating thing about Jonah Lehrer’s piece on underdogs, and why we root for them, concerns referees, who quite conspicuously don’t! It appears that referees are stoked by cheering crowds.

¶ Sext: At The Awl, Graham Beck rather impudently compares his whiskey chocolate chili to Picasso’s most recently-sold painting.

¶ Nones: The Economist puts it very well, with a starkly unflattering picture of the Greek political system that joining the Euro zone may have put to an end. (via The Morning News)

¶ Vespers: John Self not only writes about but displays the ten volumes of Penguin’s Central European Classics series. What a delightful reading list to polish off all once, if only one were still in school. In particular, Mr Self has been reading Slawomir Mrozek’s The Elephant.

¶ Compline: Catherine Lutz talks about her book, Carjacked: The culture of the Automobile and Its Effect on Our Lives, with Melissa Lafsky, at The Intrastructurist. One point that’s hammered home nicely: there’s really nothing you can do that’s anywhere near as dangerous as driving around in a car.