From The Point, an essay on idealism in Obama's America; even if Obama is as much of an idealist as the intellectual hopes, he might not be a ruler in Plato’s sense; and death is not the end: An article on David Foster Wallace, his legacy and his critics. From The Believer, what is so elusive about music that makes generation after generation of writers argue that it can’t be captured by words? Beating Bad Karma: Iran's crisis offers an opportunity for real change. New digital tools help you manage your research files — Scott McLemee gazes into "the cloud". Alain de Botton on the consolations of pessimism: In our age, as in Seneca’s, the worst is always possible; and on the sources of happiness — and woe — at nine New York jobs (and more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more on The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work and Shop Class as Soul Craft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew Crawford). The next author to (over-)react to what s/he perceives as a bad review is Alain de Botton. From IRB, an essay on book reviews as a blood sport (and part 2). The (Dangerously Close to) Archaeology of "Year One": Production designer Jefferson Sage talks about creating 10,000 years worth of history for 100 minutes of silly summer comedy.