November 2008
““There’s something a little bit offensive to me — as all these media...”
– NYMag’s Daily Intel, asking a fair question. This appearance of ethical grey area between working and non-working media folk (and I’m inclined to believe it is nothing more than an appearance issue) will need to be resolved by Mr. Abrams in order to make this thing work. He’s...
“I can no more stop loving my church than I can stop laughing with drag queens. I...”
– Andrew Sullivan, in top form reviewing Milk
A lab rat guides you through the maze of holiday... →
I hadn't considered the black Muslim reaction to... →
“If the Hispanic Catholic and evangelical churches really wanted to protect the...”
– Richard Rodriguez, dropping major truth bombs. Do yourself a favor, and read this entire interview
Atlas Shorted. →
“Though hardcore Al-Qaida supporters have predictably dismissed any criticism of...”
– Al Qaida is starting to sound like the National Review, so we’re obviously doing something right
“At the other end of the literary spectrum is PerezHilton.”
– The New Yorker, stating the obvious while responding to claims that their Prince interview was unreliable
“I think the idea is great and honestly - great for the business. Media...”
– the lovely and always classy Rachel Sklar, in an email to me this weekend about this
Where to get your ganja on... →
“From economic prosperity to low crime rates, from equality between men and women...”
– Phil Zuckerman, HuffPo
Gawker: The Pareene Era
There’s really no other compelling reason to read the Denton ATM Machine any longer.
A tragic example of the irony-deprived. →
Drone Wars. →
“In just seven years, we will be as distant from the Marty McFly Eighties as that...”
– Ross Douthat
The Artist Formerly Known As My Favorite. →
Signs that you are hurtling toward 40.
: you get talked into an hysterical blood clot by your best friend (of the who needs enemies variety) that turned out to be nothing more than a pulled muscle. Your first, and hopefully last ultrasound leaves you confused and feeling somewhat violated. The leg pain naturally disappears as soon as the hirsute tech tells you that it was all in your mind.
: You enter 3 gay bars in Hell’s...
“I won’t repeat right now what I’ll be saying then.”
– Sarah Palin, bending the rules of time and space to suit her grammar needs.
Wrist-slitting email of the day:
“Your background in the customer service field recently came to my attention, and I believe you might be a solid match for a position with one of our clients. Some information about the opportunity is listed below:
Greeter
Income growth opportunities
A dedicated professional with excellent people skills is preferred.”
“I’d never taken an accounting course, never run a business, never even had...”
– Michael Lewis, in Portfolio, this is the most lucid, fascinating account of what just happened to our economy that I have read thus far.
P.J. O'Rourke still manages to make conservativism... →
Fuck you, Joe Scarborough
“Indeed, given how language is interwoven with thought—the major theme of the book cited by the solicitor general—any ban on words will lead to absurdities. Take Carlin’s monologue. Carlin mentioned the word fuck not to describe sexual activities, nor to shock his audience. He mentioned it to show how people use taboo words and to advance the argument that the government should not regulate...
Connecticut today, NJ tomorrow. I can feel it. →
“She’s the kind of person you inch carefully away from if they start...”
– Andrew Sullivan, on Palin
Atlantic.com gets fancy new editor to complement... →
“Obama: What happened to your arm, Lynn?
Question: I cracked my shoulder...”
– from Obama’s first totally awesome press conference. But, er, maybe the press is in the tank a little bit. You can just imagine the media crushing up against one another with teen-like enthusiasm racing toward the stage to scream for their new president.
Contrasts.
alexbalk:
Two great moments from Newsweek’s excellent campaign post-mortem. Compare the Hllary team to the Obama team:
Staffers were trying to work, sort of, and ignore the sounds coming from the office of communications director Howard Wolfson. “He’s going to ruin this f–––ing campaign!” shouted Phil Singer, Wolfson’s deputy. No one was quite sure who “he” was, but most assumed it was Penn,...
“Take heart and know hope. And I promise that’s the last time I’ll...”
– Andrew Sullivan, finally retiring the trite overused phrase he worked to the bone this election. Let’s hope he keeps his promise.
“Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness...”
– President-Elect Barack Obama
3 things...
I’d never done before during a presidential election:
1. I voted in a primary
2. I donated money to a campaign
3. I cried listening to a political speech
“Palin was asked during the press conference whether she voted for Sen. Ted...”
– Leave aside the obvious inanity here - what interests me is the tortured grammar. The gratuitous and repetitive “also” usage, the forced folksiness, the rambling construction. It all speaks of a glib and unsure mind, an empty cipher desperately groping for rhetorical buoys in the...
“Historically, white undecided voters choose the white candidate.”
– MSNBC footer, stating the bleeding obvious
The Wright stuff.
I had one of those surreal moments watching SNL last night, when I couldn’t quite figure out if an ad I was watching was part of the show or not. It happened after McCain’s absurd performance satirizing his own catastrophic campaign as a QVC show hawking cheap joke trinkets (complete with Fey sneaking off to the side to peddle Palin 2012 shirts). Ha ha?
Then there it was: The Rev....
My sugar is raw. →
How Bad Is The Gay Press?
→
Not sure how I feel about this yet…
