Link dump: June 2, 2006 (low-on-the-tech edition)

Tidbits for today:

Web users to ‘patrol’ US border

Texas will provide web cams that will allow web users to keep an eye on its border with Mexico. I wonder if, say, Washington will do that to its border with Canada which is far, far more sieve-like.

An Official California Wine? Not So Fast, Senator

One California state senator proposed declaring zinfandel the official wine for the state. Though not the most popular wine sold in the state, it’s certainly American and Californian in ways that cabernet sauvignon, merlot and chardonnay are not.

Whatever happened to the superheroes of old?

The BBC looks at the role of superheroes in society.

Being a Black Man: At the Corner of Progress and Peril

A new, year-long series from the Washington Post examining the conditions of black men in America.