The Atlantic remembers Solomon Burke.

• Celebrity treatment in a Chinese jail means that Xiaobo would be served individually served meals instead of “a portion of food cooked in a large pot for many prisoners.”

• Stephen Elliott on the San Francisco coffee wars.

• Andy Borowitz is doing two free live shows tonight.  Here are the details from an e-mail he sent out:

As a special thank-you to Borowitz Report readers, I’ve scheduled two last-minute free shows Tuesday night October 12 in New York.  They’re being presented by my good friends at the New Yorker and Showtime at the fabulous Showtime House, 70 West 45th Street in New York.  The  two shows will begin at 7:30 and at 8:15  They’re going to be very small and intimate shows, so if you want your free tickets, RSVP as soon as possible to events@newyorker.com.