The "Must" List: Fact Is Stranger Than Fiction

Hey guys, nice to join you! :) pic.twitter.com/QJgd8idFOs
— Ana Ivanovic (@AnaIvanovic) August 22, 2013

*Yep. She's finally on Twitter. You can now follow and unfollow her, Hitler. 

*Buzzfeed did a superb piece on the person behind the biggest security leak in US history, Private Bradley Manning, who now prefers to be called Chelsea Manning. The article paints an intriguing portrait of a conflicted person who only believed in doing what is best for his country.

*Fantastic piece from the New York Times on tennis rebel, Li Na, and her fight against the super controlling Big Brother that is the Chinese government. 

*While I was really pulling for Ryan Gosling to be the next Batman, Ben Affleck, contrary to what many are saying online, is actually NOT a bad choice. Affleck is now rivalling Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and his buddy, Matt Damon, when it comes to having the most enviable roles in Hollywood. Affleck is also set to star in the movie adaptation of Gillian Flynn's bestselling novel, Gone Girl.

*Katie Nolan is your new sports BFF. She's witty and knows how to poke fun at herself and other people. I am now looking forward to her No Filter episodes on Fox Sports and Pardon the Contradiction. Really, look her up.

*Michael Beschloss is a must follow on Twitter for history buffs.

*These are nice problems to have: 17 Problems Only Book Lovers Will Understand. Another problem that many people would also love to have is to be too attractive to hold public office.

*Another long read recommendation: The Rock 'n' Roll Casualty Who Became a War Hero. The following parts really resonated with me:

As we walked past all the oblivious college students, their whole lives ahead of them, I thought about how astonishingly few people do what Everman did. What happened to him was so brutal, seeing success pass him by — twice. But he didn’t let that misfortune define him. Of all the guys I knew through my years in rock, a precious few made it huge. Good for them. Most never came close. Some never managed to get past the failure of the dream, but it seems pretty clear that Everman did. When I told his former bandmates what he’d been up to, they all seemed genuinely thrilled with what he did with his life — and surely a little relieved.

As we made our way along what Columbia calls College Walk, I asked Everman what it was like to be a student after all he had been through. Everman smiled dryly. “It’s anonymous. Just the way I like it.” I suggested that his unique résumé might make him just about the coolest college professor of all time. “No way, man,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t have the patience. I’ll probably just be a bartender somewhere.”