March 2011
51 posts
“That’s a stupid question. You’re a smart girl. How could you want to write that?...”
– Kim Cattrall, aka “Samantha,” to a Page Six reporter who asked her to confirm whether she’d had a bikini wax before the premiere of Meet Monica Velour. (via dailyintel)
“Did you see that?” she said after he’d left. “He ate his chicken with a spoon. I...”
– On Bill Gates, in this kind of odd Vanity Fair piece by Paul Allen… Odd in that obviously Allen comes off so much better than Gates.
Also, eating chicken with a spoon: It’s a thing.
“Mormonism is mainstream, and when you want to be a mainstream religion you open...”
– Dustin C. Jones, a lawyer and a Mormon from Phoenix, “Trying to Relish the Big Time, Even When It Brings a Cringe,” by Laurie Goodstein, New York Times
tetw asked: Tetw - a Tumblr dedicated to classic journalism and narrative non-fiction - would like to know: What is you favourite article, feature or essay of all time?
Ghost Town →
This is the (pretty old) website of a woman who toured the areas affected by the Chernobyl disaster on her motorcycle. She took a lot of really haunting pictures of the abandoned cities and trucks around the plant, including the one below.
Jewish law in the polar regions →
bestofwikipedia:
The observance of Jewish law (halakhah) in the polar regions of Earth presents unique problems. Many mitzvot, such as Jewish prayer and the Jewish sabbath, rely on the consistent cycle of day and night in 24-hour periods that is commonplace in most of the world. However, north of the Arctic Circle (and south of the Antarctic Circle) a single day can last for a month or more...
1 tag
“I called him a nerd? Oh, great,” says Johnson, a basketball analyst at...”
– “Princeton vs. UCLA: Reflections on a Historic Upset,” by Sean Gregory ‘98, Time
Thirteen-Year-Old Rebecca Black's Lyrics vs. Katy... →
Basically, Rebecca Black is a child singing about things children like to do: Get to the bus on time, sit with their friends, have “fun, fun, fun.” It’s a song by a kid for kids. Why are adult music critics so eager to call her track “disastrous,” as if it’s in the running for Pitchfork’s album of the year? Calling “Friday” disastrous is akin...
“We used to be, like, the only fans.”
– Nicole Rafidi, Princeton University band president, on the rise in student attendance at men’s basketball home games. Princeton won every home game and made it to March Madness this season, where they lost 57-59 to Kentucky yesterday.
From my latest piece in the Princeton Alumni Weekly on the...
Tokyo passengers setting off radiation detectors... →
Radiation detectors at Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago O’Hare airports were triggered when passengers from flights that started in Tokyo passed through customs, the New York Post reported.
Still Not Going To Do This Every Day: Popular... →
vanityfair:
The paywall isn’t going to spoil anyone’s New York Times experience. Be smart about selecting your 20 free pieces. Often just reading the headline is sufficient information for figuring out how a piece will end. Here is a (totally free!) list of popular endings to New York…
Princeton Basketball FTW
isiawashere:
taralewisblog:
“Before the game, Harvard and Princeton students chanted “Yale sucks!”
-NYT “Princeton Beats Harvard at Buzzer”
Best last second shot ever (besides Derek Fisher’s, of course). Go Princeton!
I will NEVER get over missing this.
The Salon interview: Ruth Reichl →
One of the most remarkable reviews you’ve written, I think, was of Le Cirque, the well-known French restaurant. It was a kind of dual review, about how you were treated once they recognized you versus how you were treated when they didn’t.
Since I wrote that review, I’ve gotten letters from people saying, “Couldn’t you do this for every restaurant in New...
“If Gingrich thinks the public will find this persuasive, he’s completely lost...”
– Steve Benen at Washington Monthly
In response to a question about his two marriage-ending affairs, each of which occurred while his respective wives struggled with illness, Gingrich told the Christian Broadcasting Network that there were times, when “partially driven by how passionately I felt ...
“I love writing but hate starting. The page is awfully white and it says, “You...”
– Aaron Sorkin (via vanityfair)
Sullivan nod →
bestofwikipedia:
The Sullivan nod is a theoretical sales technique used to create a subconscious suggestion to a customer to purchase one particular item out of a list of like items. It is used most frequently by bartenders and waiters when reciting lists of items (such as alcohol or wine) in the hopes of getting the customer to select a particular brand. (via sleevia)
“Everyone in the league office knows not to call players at 3 p.m.,” said Adam...”
– “Napping is Prevalent Among NBA Players,” Jonathan Abrams, New York Times
“You want to know the truth?” said Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.), the...”
– On getting rid of compostable utensils in the House cafeterias.
“In the House, compostable utensils replaced with old-fashioned plastic,” David A. Fahrenthold and Felicia Sonmez, Washington Post
“This is the Obama Misery Index, and it is at a record high.”
– Mitt Romney (“Romney calls for a ‘new president,” Mike Allen, Politico)
Aggressive!
“He thinks Twitter is the dumbest thing he has ever seen in his entire...”
– “Justin Halpern, the Twitter celeb behind “$#*! My Dad Says,” urges kids to read,” LA Times
“Canada’s Radio Act requires that “a licenser may not broadcast….any false or...”
– Regulators Reject Proposal That Would Bring Fox-Style News to Canada - 2/28/2011
I find this news completely and utterly fascinating.
Mostly because if you turn that statement around, you can say that Fox News IS allowed to broadcast false or misleading news in the United States of America.
...
The New New Orleans →
Toward the end of If God Is Willing, Lee gets a number of his interviewees, including even the usually genial Mitch Landrieu, to assert bitterly that the BP oil spill could never have happened off the shore of the Hamptons. In one sense this is true: residents of the Louisiana coast, even after the spill, have eagerly promoted offshore oil drilling in a way that it’s hard to imagine at least...
Watchurlesque:
FINALLY.
PewPewPewPewPewPewPewPewPew Is a Video Game You Control With Your Voice
