The Digital Digest: 28/03/2011

The Best Of The Web

Literature

Fun facts about Vonnegut

In the latest instalment of its "Gateways to Geekery" series – in which readers are offered a bluffer's guide to a particular area of cultural interest – the AV club turns its attention to American author Kurt Vonnegut. It's packed full of facts for fans as well as being a great starting point for future ones. ind.pn/KVonnegut

Film

Penguins at the pictures

The first trailer for a new adaptation of Mr. Popper's Penguins, in which Jim Carrey plays a New Yorker with penguins in his penthouse, has gone online and it looks every bit as madcap as one might hope. Expect plenty of Carrey's trademark exaggerated facial expressions. ind.pn/PenguinFilm

Health

Why religion makes us fat and happy

Religious involvement had been linked to increased happiness, lower rates of smoking and alcohol consumption, and enhanced longevity. But a new study has found that those who attend religious activities are more likely to gain weight than those who don't go to church as often. Why? Time's Alice Park considers the possibilities. ind.pn/ChurchFat

Television

Reimagining The Wire

Blogger Sean Michael Robinson has reimagined cult television show The Wire as a Victorian novel. Sound crazy? It's not as incongruous as you might think. After all, The Wire's Dickensian qualities have been discussed by various commentators before. Make up your own mind at: ind.pn/VictorianWire

Science

Pate expectations

For many men, baldness still remains a scourge, but fresh insight into the role of stem cells (essentially, even though it appears as though bald heads have less hair than others, they actually just have less active hair follicles) may signal new hope for balding men everywhere. ind.pn/baldcure

Music

Follow the tweeters

Whether it's We Are Scientists' comedy tweets or Best Coast filling you in on just how much she's eating on tour, you can certainly get closer to your favourite musicians through Twitter. NME has compiled a list of 100 musicians to follow, beginning with the one and only Mr Kanye West. ind.pn/tweetingmusos

Technology

Web and flow

Last year in Wired, editor Chris Anderson argued that loading pages in a browser was passé and the future was in downloadable apps In this piece for Slate, Farhad Manjoo wonders if the web will have a place in a world full of apps. ind.pn/worldofapps