Hand Study, 2012, by Giovanni Garcia-Fenech. (Image courtesy of the artist.)

• Siri versus Furby. (@jadabumrad.)
• The Oxford Dictionary word of the year for the U.S.: GIF.
• What global warming will mean for L.A. Stop watering those lawns, people.
• Photo Essay: Jeddah Diary, a chronicle of women’s lives in Saudi Arabia.
• This exhibition of Civil War photography at the Huntington Library in L.A. looks pretty dang amazing.
• The gamification of the Israel/Gaza conflict. Appalling. (Time.)
• Paul Goldberger provides an essential overview of Norman Foster’s renovation plans for the New York Public Library.
• Gossipy reads: Gagosian testimony.
• The art that drones inspire.
• The Day in Art Merch: Gabriel Orozco tequila, in limited edition bottle.
• Wonder why those sunflowers look brown? Turns out Van Gogh’s yellow pigments were unstable.
• The science and art of listening.
• How to live without irony.
• Cloning endangered or extinct animals: an activity that doesn’t appear to understand that animals are part of an entire ecosystem.
• Teen talk as music.
• A round-up of the best covers of songs by the Velvet Underground & Nico.