February 2012
2 posts
6 tags
On Newsweek’s Covers, Sex vs. Iran
Newsweek’s Tumblr debuted a new feature called “also-rans” today, showcasing cover ideas that didn’t make it to print. All are different visual takes on “The Politics of Sex,” based on Andrew Sullivan’s story on the contraception culture wars. This is what sits on American newsstands right now:
And, for the sake of contrast, this is the current cover of...
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“When Iyal is distressed, Chancer is distressed. Unlike Iyal, Chancer knows what...”
– From The New York Times, more evidence that dogs are the best.
June 2011
1 post
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Ross Douthat:
Weiner famously aspired to be mayor of New York. Rumor has it that Eliot Spitzer does as well. Neither man will probably ever hold that office, but right now Spitzer has a better case than Weiner — because unlike Weiner, when he disgraced himself he actually resigned.
Uh, no. Right now, Ross, Spitzer has a better case than Weiner because Spitzer’s scandal happened three...
May 2011
2 posts
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April 2011
4 posts
3 tags
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“Even one high-profile break with conservative orthodoxy would’ve had a...”
– Ezra Klein
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“You risked your life, but what else have you ever risked? Have you risked...”
– Tom Robbins, Another Roadside Distraction Hmm. [Via @kristinadeckert.]
March 2011
3 posts
3 tags
“NPR and its programming often veer far from what most Americans would like to...”
– Eric Cantor, majority leader, on the House floor today Heard this today (on NPR — IRONICALLY) in the car and burst out with a “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” So much to call into question about this quote. “Often”? “Far”? “Most”? Meanwhile, “Nearly...
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WatchWatch this. This is America, our America, and these are our neighbors, with barely any ends to make meet. Childhood poverty is about to reach 25 percent in the U.S. A QUARTER of all American children will soon be living in poverty, feeling like they’re to blame, studying under vehicle dome lights and living in cheap motel rooms, able to describe in great detail what it feels like to go to...
February 2011
7 posts
2 tags
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“When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of...”
– From Punxsutawney, it’s Phil Connors. So long.
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Petey Pablo’s “Show Me the Money”
Occasionally I get obsessed with songs that are so completely uncharacteristic of and outside my musical taste, I can’t help but share it with the world. This is one of those times.
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One reason I won’t like the new Gawker
Gawker’s long-awaited redesign began rolling out today, starting with, appropriately enough, io9. The new look is meant to place emphasis on big stories, especially the ones Gawker and its daughter sites break themselves. OK, fine, I guess? I mean, I can’t remember a whole ton of stories that have originated from Gawker (Gizmodo’s iPhone 4 leak and Deadspin’s Brett Favre...
1 tag
I am, of course, a sucker for just about anything...
January 2011
12 posts
Reminder: PBS, 10 p.m.! →
2 tags
I’m afraid someday my brain is going to get...
Can you imagine that? More importantly, can I?
First, I’d be forever convinced that I’m 56 years old with five kids and 10 grandkids, or that I’ve used shotguns and garden rakes to kill zombies, or that I’ve spent time running around a cruise ship shooting bad guys with Nash Bridges and when I jumped into the water I had forgotten how to swim AND suddenly become blind. I...
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These two slayed me last night
radarina:
It takes a lot to make me LOL (literally laugh out loud) while I’m watching something alone, but Parks and Rec — especially the dynamic pairing of Andy Dwyer and Ron Swanson — was firing on all cylinders last night.
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America in the age of primitivism →
“Forget Democrats and Republicans. What America needs is two new parties: The Regressives and the Modernists”
I really like where Michael Lind is going with this piece, because it speaks to something I struggle with on a daily basis as a sort-of treehugger: Not being a scourge on the earth while also enjoying and taking advantage of the comforts that come with making a decent living...
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HELVETICTOC →
Enough said.
[Via @tanyadillyn]
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“This is America, where a white Catholic male Republican judge was murdered on...”
– Mark Shields (via azspot)
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“Even if the gunman’s motives are never truly known, the splattering of so much...”
– Timothy Egan examines abuse of the first two amendments.
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WatchFor a little while there, this commercial disappeared and I (stupidly) thought, Hey, maybe Toyota and their marketing people have killed this ad campaign because they realized how ridiculous and tasteless it is in the midst of an awful recession to have a snotty, skinny jeans-wearing kid calling people “lame” because they’re not driving a brand new 2011 Toyota Highlander...
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‘Give me a second, dog!’
Discovered tonight: Yet another win for commas.
(See also: “Let’s eat, Grandma!”)
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A Twimerick
When posting to Twitter in haste A challenge with which you’ll be faced Is writing sublime In so little time With proper words in proper place.
(Or something like that.) (Re my last tweet.)
December 2010
10 posts
5 tags
Let’s all overreact to a dumb decision that...
So this USA Today article uses the phrases “launch an investigation” and “begun a probe” to describe how the NFL and the New York Jets are reacting to yesterday’s stupid split-second decision by assistant coach Sal Alosi. Really? Investigations and probes into what made the man stick his foot out and trip a Dolphins player? The answer is simple: it’s in our...
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“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible...”
– Albert Camus (via lindseyburrows) After 72 consecutive hours of snow, I needed this reminder.
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“We all know how this goes: If you awake from a coma, and you don’t immediately...”
– Chuck Klosterman on “Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead,” and how we might feel “strangely informed about what to do” in the case of a zombie apocalypse. I especially like that last sentence, a wink at Jefferson’s “pursuit.”
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E Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren breaks his... →
Let’s take a moment here and remind ourselves that sports is not real life and athletes are not meant to be role models for our kids and that it’s unrealistic for us to hold them to some sort of perfectly moral ethical standard because they make such a high-profile living. OK? OK. As a dog lover, I agree with EVERYONE that Vick’s past transgressions are nothing short of...
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“We’re an institution that values integrity, and then asks other people to...”
– Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
ESPN: ‘Believeland’ →
Yet another insufferable story about a down-and-out, blue-collar, “proud” Rust Belt city that “used to be,” where people’s moods match the ebbs and flows of their beloved sports teams and yet SOMEHOW everyone manages get out of bed and go to work every day.
Spare me.
November 2010
18 posts
3 tags
Yet another old geezer totally dismisses (and... →
Seriously, shut up, John Vogl. I clicked on your Buffalo News blog piece to read about a Sabres faux-controversy and was treated also (instead, really) to your bitter little diatribe against Twitter. What the hell, dude? I had absolutely no reason to dislike you until I read this, but you’ve let the actions of a few douches speak for an entire community, and that grinds my gears.
Really,...
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TLC’s disclaimer for ‘Sarah Palin’s Alaska’ …
… and this 100 percent true (though it doesn’t explain why I’m watching this show at length):
This program contains material that may be disturbing to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.
Indeed.
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Yo, established media Tumblrs: Give it a rest,...
I remember thinking back when I first created this Tumblr (almost 11 months ago now) how cool it was that the established media saw potential in this platform for a different, more casual kind of engagement with their readers. This was also, of course, when Newsweek, with Mark Coatney at the helm, was basically the only one around these parts. Newsweek showed that Tumblr could serve a host of...
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“And, you know, politics aside, the success of Sarah Palin and women like her is...”
– Tina Fey’s censored Palin joke, told during her Kennedy Center acceptance speech Sunday night. (via motherjones) I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: She really is just the best.
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Airing dirty laundry stained with sour grapes...
It’s an exciting and confusing time for venerable Newsweek, what with its merger with The Daily Beast and all, and that excitement and confusion has been compounded by higher ups like Steven Colvin making major announcements without alerting his newly combined staff first.
OK. Yes, this is a terrible way to handle such a situation. Staffers in any company, much less one whose main purpose...
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“Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what we would do if the stars only came out once...”
– Paul Hawken
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Imagined conversation between NORAD skywatchers(?)...
Person 1: Have you reached the Pentagon yet?
Person 2: No, our communications systems are down because of all the 24/7 news channels reporters have been calling, e-mailing, texting, instant-messaging, G-chatting, radioing and telegraphing us, DEMANDING ANSWERS about what that was.