Worked sick at home again today. Lots of bug fixing—I'm really glad I decided to get DSL for my last few months here. Also took some time to surf a little tonight, and found the following delights which I share with you…

• Religion Selector—A part of the SpeakOut activism site, this questionnaire offers a slightly different twist on the usual "what's your ________ name"-style web activity. By answering about a dozen questions on various aspects of religious belief, and rating their relative importance, you will get a list of what world religions most closely match your beliefs. Each of the 26 listed faiths has a page of explanation for those who aren't familiar with it, and a list of sources for more information. I discovered, somewhat to my surprise, that Neo-Pagan came in first, with a 100% match, and New Age came before either of the Buddhist options. Guess I'm a bit more airy-fairy than I thought.
• Lynda Barry's 100 Demons—The good news is that she's only on 15 or so, so there's lots more to come. She's always been a great storyteller (look for Ernie Pook's Comeek in your local hip weekly paper), but this series is another level up for Barry—full-color, each one focused on a single topic, and startlingly personal. A new Demon appears every other Friday in Salon, and I hope when the series is done she can find a publisher to print the whole thing in full color, because I know my inkjet prints will disintegrate someday. And finally…
• Into the Forest—Not a link so much as a recommendation. I read this book and had a chance to hear Jean Hegland a few years back when the Calyx edition of this novel came out; it's one of the few books that I've read in a single sitting, and I'm not sure I have words to do it justice. It is a frightening and yet ultimately hopeful vision of the future as seen through the eyes of two teenage sisters who find themselves in the woods at the beginning of the meltdown of civilization. And while that sounds like the jacket blurb for dozens of sci-fi novels, this book works on deeper levels, tying in ecology, practical survival strategy, and the complicated emotional landscape between siblings among other things. Worth repeated re-reads.

And that, I think, is plenty for one day. Off to dreamland…