Why not take a break from the fire hose of Twitter and RSS and check out our weekly roundup of essential writing from around the web about technology, culture, media, and the future? Sure, its one more thing you can feel guilty about sitting in your Instapaper queue, but its better than pulling in vain on your Twitter list again. Jessica Pressler reports on Washio and the travails of companies trying to disrupt the world of laundry. Amy Nicholson considers Tom Cruises career up to and after the infamous Oprah couch moment.