Story Lab - December 19, 2010 - December 25, 2010

What's a little Christmas competition?

Do you (or your friends and family) have a Christmas tradition that involves competition of some sort? Gin rummy tournaments? Talent shows?

By Washington Post editors | December 23, 2010; 2:52 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Christmas in Washington
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Above the Russian Law

Sergei L. Magnitsky, 37, a married Russian yuppie, was a well-off political dissident. But when he made the mistake of accusing police of a huge tax fraud, he apparently breached an extremely sensitive wall, and got arrested. As he awaited...

By Ian Shapira | December 23, 2010; 7:54 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Story Picks
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Unusual Christmas tradition? Tell us.

The Washington Post wants to write about your unusual Christmas tradition. We are looking for families and churches in the D.C. area that have really unusual traditions and practices to mark the holiday. We're looking for people comfortable with letting a reporter and possibly a photographer come visit, even today or in the next few days.

By Washington Post editors | December 22, 2010; 12:51 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Christmas in Washington
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Proving Santa is real, one iPhone app at a time

All the technology skeptics who think the Internet and its devices are sapping our attention spans and killing our memories now have a new reason to loathe digital culture. In one of The Wall Street Journal's classic "A-Hed" front page...

By Ian Shapira | December 22, 2010; 8:31 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Story Picks
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Story pick: The death of email

I've always wondered how often emails nowadays begin with an apology. For instance, I wrote a college friend in early November. She replied, 17 days later. "Sorry it took me so long to reply," she began. Then, after deep consternation...

By Ian Shapira | December 21, 2010; 8:32 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Story Picks
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John McPhee on writing leads

John McPhee knows how to lure readers into his stories. Even if those stories are about the seeming monotony of truck drivers, McPhee, a Princeton writing professor and New Yorker magazine writer, can get you right away. In Saturday's Wall...

By Ian Shapira | December 20, 2010; 9:28 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Story Picks
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