Jordan Steves on Tumblr

"My diagnosis is simple, Roger: your friends and associates are terrible and boring. Being that you..."

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 13:00:21 -0500

“My diagnosis is simple, Roger: your friends and associates are terrible and boring. Being that you are a smart and interesting guy who would distill only the finest information from any social network, the problem is the garbage going into your feed, which can only come out as garbage in your column. And that garbage is being created by the people who you choose to follow and know.”

- Alexis Madrigal, “Your Anti-Social Media Rant Reveals Too Much About Your Friends”

THIS IS INCREDIBLE.

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:05:28 -0400

THIS IS INCREDIBLE.

"It’s frustrating that the internet has cultivated that particular urgency within the cultural..."

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:47:00 -0500

“It’s frustrating that the internet has cultivated that particular urgency within the cultural conversation, one that encourages people to immediately speak out, as vociferously or hyper-analytically as possible, about any old topic that pops up in their Google Reader. Sometimes silence is best! I’m not saying say nothing if you have nothing nice to say, certainly not in most cases, at least. Criticism is good! Expressing a (well-reasoned) dissenting opinion is often admirable! But on the day that an old lady who wrote nice stories that millions of children adored? Yeah, maybe Slate doesn’t need to have a negative horse in that particular race. Or a bear, either.”

- Richard Lawson

On Newsweek’s Covers, Sex vs. Iran

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:29:55 -0500

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 the international editions:

Lisa Wade at The Society Pages has been keeping a semi-comprehensive running comparison of domestic and international Time and Newsweek covers, in an attempt to illustrate the “vicious circle” of Americans’ ignorance of global issues and the news media ceding to that ignorance by providing fluff. “The Politics of Sex” is not as fluffy as, say, “Who Needs Marriage?” or “My Life in Pictures,” but the point is the same. This week’s Newsweek covers may be worth a nomination.

"When Iyal is distressed, Chancer is distressed. Unlike Iyal, Chancer knows what to do about it. Iyal..."

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:05:53 -0500

“When Iyal is distressed, Chancer is distressed. Unlike Iyal, Chancer knows what to do about it. Iyal rages by crossing his arms, sitting down hard on the floor and screaming and kicking. Chancer unknots the crossed arms by inserting his wide muzzle through the locked arms from below, opening them up and nuzzling toward Iyal’s face, licking and slobbering, until the boy’s screams turn to tears of remorse or to laughter.”

- From The New York Times, more evidence that dogs are the best.

Ross Douthat: Weiner famously aspired to be mayor of New York. Rumor has it that Eliot Spitzer does...

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 19:32:24 -0400

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 years ago and Weiner’s scandal happened in the past two weeks.

The kid’s facial expressions are priceless.

Mon, 16 May 2011 22:51:43 -0400

The kid’s facial expressions are priceless.

Yep.

Mon, 02 May 2011 00:09:00 -0400

Yep.

bookcoverdesign: The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald design:...

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 11:41:56 -0400

bookcoverdesign:

The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
design: Aled Lewis

« mariaiguana »

Oh my.

Panda Bear — “Alsatian Darn” Song of the...

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 23:58:31 -0400

Panda Bear — “Alsatian Darn”

Song of the moment.

Only feel a chill whenever I come out from my shell
I’d surely lie if I said that I was sure that it might work out

Now, I won’t let it slide
No, I wont let it slip up

Found a way and I feel like I shouldn’t let go
Drop a bomb on the spots where my doubt streams grow
What to do when the things that I want don’t allow
For the handful of mouths that I’m trying to feed

Got to do what you’ve got to do

What weighs on my mind
So I cant get sleep at night

Say, can I make a bad mistake?
Say what it is I want to say
Say what?

Not sure I’ve ever heard a song as simultaneously haunting and joyful.

[Lyrics via SongMeanings.]

"Even one high-profile break with conservative orthodoxy would’ve had a protective effect. Imagine if..."

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:51:39 -0400

“Even one high-profile break with conservative orthodoxy would’ve had a protective effect. Imagine if Ryan had said, as Tom Coburn has, that balancing the budget means ‘my taxes are going to go up.’ Forget the fact that raising taxes is an obvious and inevitable element of a budget deal. Proposing it would’ve been politically masterful. It would’ve given Ryan cover for reforms like medicare privatization, which are, both from an ideological and fiscal point of view, more important. In the absence of any such attempt to share the sacrifice, however, Ryan’s left us with little more than a conservative wish list backed by some very funny numbers.”

- Ezra Klein

"You risked your life, but what else have you ever risked? Have you risked disapproval? Have you ever..."

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 23:43:00 -0400

“You risked your life, but what else have you ever risked? Have you risked disapproval? Have you ever risked economic security? Have you ever risked a belief? I see nothing particularly courageous about risking one’s life. So you lose it, you go to your hero’s heaven and everything is milk and honey ‘til the end of time. Right? You get your reward and suffer no earthly consequences. That’s not courage. Real courage is risking something that might force you to rethink your thoughts and suffer change and stretch consciousness. Real courage is risking one’s clichés.”

- Tom Robbins, Another Roadside Distraction

Hmm.

[Via @kristinadeckert.]

"NPR and its programming often veer far from what most Americans would like to see as far as the..."

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 21:48:00 -0400

“NPR and its programming often veer far from what most Americans would like to see as far as the expenditure of their taxpayer dollars.”

- 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 two-thirds of Americans say Afghan war isn’t worth fighting,” according to the most recent ABC News/Washington Post poll — the Afghan war, which is costing American taxpayers $300 MILLION PER DAY. Sounds like something that veers from what most Americans would like to see as far as the expenditure of their taxpayer dollars.

The House’s vote today would save $22 million annually. Obviously, our priorities here in America are SPOT ON.

Stephen Reader at Death and Taxes says it best: “Fiscal austerity is all the rage now, but it’s really just an excuse to snipe the (relatively inexpensive) federal programs that Republicans don’t like.”

So yesterday’s hike turned out to be a snowshoeing...

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 12:07:34 -0400

So yesterday’s hike turned out to be a snowshoeing adventure (the snow was still surprisingly deep — good thing I keep the snowshoes in the trunk), but this guy didn’t seem to care, so long as he got to chase scents off the trail and run through the mud and take snow baths and sit in 6 inches of cold water.

This New York Times piece is so true — no way I’d be outdoors nearly this much in the winter if I didn’t have Grady (and outdoors is so much better than a godawful treadmill, even in January).

Watch this. This is America, our America, and these are our...

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:29:45 -0500

Watch 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 bed hungry. We get that 25 percent statistic using the government’s archaic poverty threshold, under which a family of four is considered impoverished when it brings in less than $22,000 per year. (For some admittedly hyperbolic perspective: During the income tax debates last fall, Fox Business contributor Tracy Byrnes said, in an Oct. 18 clip “The Daily Show” dug up last week, that for families of four sending kids to college, a $250,000 annual income was “close to poverty.”)

To use the eloquent words of my good friend @sixintl, if you can watch this and still think we should reduce deficits on the backs of the poor rather than inconvenience the wealthy, you’re heartless.

So this photo didn’t terrify me as much as I thought it...

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 13:27:54 -0500

So this photo didn’t terrify me as much as I thought it would. Maybe it’s just Joe Blanton.

Completely in awe of the Egyptian people and their incredible...

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 11:23:34 -0500

Completely in awe of the Egyptian people and their incredible resolve.

St. Bonaventure 64, Duquesne 62 I love immediate, jubilant...

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 10:57:19 -0500

St. Bonaventure 64, Duquesne 62

I love immediate, jubilant crowd-reaction shots (there hadn’t even been time to change the scoreboard!).

"When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know..."

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:09:26 -0500

“When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the of warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn’t imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter.”

- From Punxsutawney, it’s Phil Connors. So long.

Petey Pablo’s “Show Me the Money” Occasionally I get obsessed with songs that are...

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 22:30:00 -0500

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.