Keel-billed Toucan. Photo by Walter Kitundu In the opening sentences of 100 Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez describes the fictitious piece of northern Colombia where the seven generations of his narrative will be set: "At that time Macondo was a village of twenty adobe houses, built on the bank of a river of clear water that ran along a bed of polished stones, which were white and enormous, like prehistoric eggs. The world was so recent that many things lacked names, and in order...

The 48 species of "backyard birds" competing in the #WorldCupOfBirds You may be aware that there is a soccer tournament happening right now. In my Brooklyn neighbourhood, it's downright unavoidable. There are roving bands of fans in matching jerseys, every restaurant is festooned with flags, and the borough's official "fan city" is only a few blocks away from my apartment. You may not know that there is another tournament underway, one to determine the world's best "ordinary" bird. This...

Every three years, a strange bureaucratic ritual plays out in the U.S. Copyright Office. Organizations, law school clinics, trade associations, academics, companies, and individuals file mountains of documents to request (or oppose) limited exemptions to 17 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1), a prohibition on circumventing the digital locks that control access to copyrighted works. The requests are mundane and quietly extraordinary. Permission to break a digital lock in order to repair your tractor....