Link roundup

1. I highly recommend The Dala Horse by Michael Swanwick. Imagine a post-apocalyptic Dora the Explorer adventure. (Or A Dora the Explorer episode taking place in Dan Simmons's Ilium world.) It's part of the best of Tor 2011 collection that's a free download at Amazon.

2. This is a very good cat animated gif. Via.

3. Why is the Ace the high card?:

The use of the ace as the highest card in the French deck gained more widespread acceptance as a result of the French Revolution. Examples of the ace being a high card include the game Hearts.

The promotion of the ace symbolised the removal of the nobility (especially King Louis XVI) and the promotion of the common man. In addition to this move, the traditional court card imagery of the nobility had the crowns removed so as to give human personifications to chosen democratic ideals (Liberté, Egalité and Fraternité). Upon the rise of Napoleon to Emperor, royalty became more popular once more and the royal court was re-established on the imagery of the cards. Napoleon commissioned an artist to depict a more historically-correct court, but the move proved unpopular and the medieval court figures were quickly reinstated.

4. "Meet The Convicted Felon Who Defrauded The NFL, Made Reggie Bush Ineligible, And Funded The Saints' Bounty Program."