During my first reading of "Robinson Crusoe" as a child, I knew that I wasn't meeting an action figure, but a mortal touched by the prosaic realities of the sickbed.

WSJ: Fiction as Authentic as Fact | Robinson Crusoe | Daniel Defoe | Masterpiece by Danny Heitman

Dredd's partner, an anxious rookie named Cassandra, doesn't wear a helmet, since it would scramble her psychic powers, so she is played visibly, as well as audibly, by Olivia Thirlby, who succeeds in investing an action figure with affecting fear, impressive courage and a commitment to justice that serves as Cassandra's compass.

WSJ: Dredd 3D | How to Survive a Plague | End of Watch | Trouble With the Curve | Vivid Dredd 3D Makes Rival Thrillers Look Flat | Film Reviews by Joe Morgenstern

The fairgrounds were full of duct-tape sculptures, such as a 20ft-tall Mr Potato Head toy, a Transformers action figure, and an old-fashioned red viewfinder.

BBC: In Ohio, duct tape designs take centre stage

He once sat on a loveseat with Nancy Pelosi, a left-wing demon to many Republicans, in an advertisement backed by Al Gore, an even more fork-tongued figure, to call for action against global warming.

ECONOMIST: The Republican nomination

The key for gun control proponents is to figure out how to turn people's willingness to take a single action in a moment into an effortless and sustainable long-term commitment.

CNN: One way to defeat the NRA