More explosions in Egypt.

The next version of Windows has been given an official name: Windows Vista.

This is, of course, a preposterous appellation.

I’m guessing that Microsoft intends to connote the following definition of vista within the minds of PC users

“An awareness of a range of time, events, or subjects; a broad mental view.”

But a vista is also “a distant view or prospect, especially one seen through an opening, as between rows of buildings or trees.” The question in this case is who has that view: the Windows user or Microsoft. “Longhorn” was bad enough, suggesting “long shot” — as in Microsoft trying to encourage PC users to upgrade their OSes when most are wedded to Windows 2000. But is it entirely a good idea for Microsoft to use a word that insinuates distant results rather than functionality? This is a bit like conjuring up an image of a beautiful mountain that one cannot climb — which has been, for the most part, my experience with Microsoft products.

Who were the marketing geniuses who came up with this?

• The real podcasts worth listening to? The sexual ones.
• Sophie Kinsella learned to bake bread while researching her latest novel. Sadly, neither the recipe nor samples of Kinsella’s bread are being offered with the purchase of a book. Come on, Sophie! Think bigger!
• The cult of reclusive authors is examined by the Cape Times: specifically, Cormac McCarthy and John Twelve Hawks.
• Forget the loss of a family member or the end of a bad relationship. A website has been set up to cope with the real grief of our age: helping Harry Potter fans to cope with plot revelations in the latest book.
• Apparently, pigs can fly.
• Ann Coulter has been caught plagiarizing. Apparently, the sentence “We should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity” was originally published in White Power Monthly. (via Moby Lives)
• And finally, a non-porn narrative film that portrays real sex. One more reason to like Michael Winterbottom: authenticity instead of faux Hollywood orgasms.

Via the Millions comes the scoop on Kurt Vonnegut’s next book. A new collection entitled A Man Without Country (Seven Stories Press), will collect “short essays and speeches composed over the last five years and plentifully illustrated with artwork by the author throughout.”

New York Post: “Cutler, meanwhile, knows exactly how Haobsh feels….’She has to realize that her window of opportunity is very small. She needs to get out there, interview. She needs to make sure people don’t forget about her. As an author, it’s a good career move,’ Cutler adds. ‘She’s making a name for herself and even though she was anonymous before, she’s somebody now. And it depends on how good-looking she is, I hate to say this but if you’re going to have your picture taken, it helps.'”