“Neighbors,” “Eat, Pray, Crib” and More in our Monday Link Round-Up

Vermont Studio Center (photo by Ester)

+ R-rated Seth Rogen and Zac Efron comedy “Neighbors” threw a wild keg party and chased “The Amazing Spider-man 2” out of the top spot this weekend, bringing in $51 million. Even more valuable: Dana Stevens gave “Neighbors” a thumbs up, so it’s safe for thinking people everywhere.

+ Good news for Aaron Sorkin fans and people who are thinking of trying out treadmill desks! Turns out walking-and-talking, or walking-and-working, doesn’t impair performance.

+ OpenRoad Media has published a top 12 list of Best Residencies and Fellowships for Writers, featuring Yaddo and MacDowell of course as well as some lesser known ones all around the country. Good timing: Alexander Chee is in the midst of his Amtrak Residency right now. I’ve done two writers residencies — one at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and one at the Vermont Studio Center, plus the Summer Literary Seminars program in Lithuania. Either I’ve been extremely lucky or one can’t go wrong with time and space to write, plus community. Each one of those programs has changed my life.

+ Longevity gene also makes you smarter. Try singing that to the tune of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit.” You know: “One gene makes you smarter, and one gene makes you last …”

+ Eat, Pray, Crib. Buy bestselling author Liz Gilbert’s fantastic amazing perfect house in New Jersey, complete with Skybrary, for $999,999. What’s that? More literary house porn, you say? Compare / contrast with the Berkeley house of power couple Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon.

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