The new issue of Bidoun is out — the 18th installment of the New York-based quarterly that covers art and culture from the Middle East; as always, its pages brim with content that examines creative endeavors from Beirut to Baghdad, Cairo to Punjab, without the slightest hint of exoticism; the print magazine is a pleasurable object to handle, although a selection of content is available online, including interviews with Lebanese comic collective Samandal, Turkish curator/publisher Banu Cennetoglu, and the founder of the Baghdad Country Club, who spoke with STOP SMILING editor-at-large Alexander Provan.

The question of how to remember or acknowledge the passing of Robert Strange McNamara, who served as defense secretary from 1961 to 1968 and was a primary architect of the Vietnam War, remains hazy. One qualified voice on the subject is the filmmaker and inquisitor Errol Morris, whose 2003 film The Fog of War offered a rare glimpse into the conscience of a global figure who had withdrawn from public life, armed only with his own judgments and assertions — “McNamara in Context,” the latest entry from Morris’ column on the New York Times site, opens the discussions (click here for more on Morris’ 2006 cover story in STOP SMILING); meanwhile, the front page of the Times offered a meticulous obituary, written by Tim Weiner (who appeared as one of the interview subjects in our 20 Interviews issue back in 2007 — click here for more) ; and Fred Kaplan of Slate charted McNamara’s rise to prominence, concluding with an acknowledgment that during his retirement the former “whiz kid” was prone to “misremembering” vital statistics and consequences of his actions while serving as defense secretary.

Another product of Gary, Indiana has passed away: The great Oscar-winning actor Karl Malden, who shined in such classics as A Streetcar Named Desire, Birdman of Alcatraz, The Cincinnati Kid, Patton — and perhaps most notably On the Waterfront, in which he played the persuasive priest — died at age 97 in Brentwood, California. In addition to his storied career on stage and screen, he was also remembered as the spokesman for American Express who for decades delivered the signature phrase, “Don’t leave home without it.” Malden leaves behind a remarkable career.