7 stories to read this weekend

As you might know, I am on a bit of a “staycation.” As a result, I am spending less time in front of the computer. However, I do read a lot these days — both on and offline. Here are some stories you might find enjoyable.

• Ksenia Sobchak, the Stiletto in Putin’s side: The New York Times had a wonderful profile of this “Paris Hilton of Russia” who is now one of the leading activists/online personalities who is speaking out against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• Where silence is sacred: Pico Iyer writes about the importance of chapels and why they are the emergency rooms for the soul.
• For the Indian father of the “God Particle,” a long journey from Dhaka. S.N. Bose, a Calcutta-based physicist, is the man whose name makes up “boson,” and he was saved from obscurity by Albert Einstein.
• Vital eye for killer asteroids could shut immediately. Unpleasant news.
• Back on tracks: a 19th-century technology could be the solution for 21st century. They are talking about trains, of course.
• What will the internet look like in 2020: This is a great  thread over on Quora, which has attracted responses from across the spectrum.
• The case for a 7.8 inch iPad. I guess everyone is talking about it, so it must be happening. I liked this piece by Joel Bernstein.