August 2008
36 posts
4 tags
Gary: did you enjoy the obama speech me: did you enjoy the obama speech Gary: what me: what Gary: i dont think i’m gettingall my messages me: which messages Gary: no idea me: ok then
good talk
7 tags
How Did SOMEONE Not Tell Us?
Looking back and reading this Chuck Klosterman article from October 2003 (don’t let the datestamp fool you) makes me wonder how nobody figured out how nuts Britney Spears really was. I guess 90 minutes with a star only gets you so far. Only allows you to start to wonder whether you are being fed BS on schedule, whether the star is spinning you (in the huh? way) on purpose, whether she is...
Newspapers' Slow Death v 1.6
Microsoft is doing its part to contribute to the death of/complicate the life of “newspapers” or “news organizations” or “news sites” or “journalism factories.”
For example, a news site might carry stock quotes from one company and weather information from another. Companies that provide such content may also be collecting and sharing information...
Public Service Announcement
When pitching, do not use “pitch” as your subject line.
DELETE.
Fan Fictioners Beware
So… I thought fan fiction was just for us losers who were really, really, really engaged in the subculture - aka living in it - with too much time on our hands.
When did that strange but ultimately harmless and peripheral practice fall into the corporate crosshairs?
alejandraramos:
AMC’s Sad Men
Fans of the AMC show Mad Men are all a buzz on Twitter today over a bit of distress...
6 tags
What's Left?
First papers cut reporters. Then they cut AP.
For reals. What’s going to go into the paper? Local sections are now being treated like big think pieces about life, and A tends to be a mish mosh of half stories with an overall muddled import. You’re lucky if you still have a standalone business section. Arts? What’s that?
Everyone’s redesigning their fronts, but all...
That Much I Had Figured Out
Mom e-mails me a fax of a poem. No title, no author, no explanation. I e-mail her, “What’s this?” She writes back, “A poem.”
When I Went To Harvard, I Rode A Bike
In the sad, sad announcement that Donald Trump will be old man McMahon’s landlord - saving him from a foreclosure he somehow got into on a house purchased in 1990 for $2.6 million and now listed at $4.6 million - Trump slips in that he went to a very nice business school, thank you very much, I am god.
“When I was at the Wharton School of Business,” Trump said, “I’d...
Silver Lining
Rob: You know the good thing about the war in Russia? Nobody’s getting their head cut off.
The Biggest Winner
More on Phelps’ anti-diet:
Phelps’ diet - which involves ingesting 4,000 calories every time he sits down for a meal - resembles that of a reckless overeater rather than an Olympian.
Phelps lends a new spin to the phrase “Breakfast of Champions” by starting off his day by eating three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and...
Flashback: Phelps In 2004
Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I’m not on any specific diet. I just eat pretty much whatever I want and as much as I want, because I burn so much. I’ll swim in the morning, then sit down and polish off a stack of pancakes, a bowl of grits, an omelet, maybe an egg-and-cheese sandwich or two. I’ll follow that with a little dessert. Then I take a three-hour nap.
— USA...
This Is Why I Love Living Here
Commenters at TSN have already jumped on the “Stick a fork in her…” train.
Woman hospitalized with fork in head
By Mike Cherney - mcherney@thesunnews.com
A 54-year-old N.C. woman with a fork in her head was taken to the hospital in stable condition from a Myrtle Beach hotel on Monday afternoon after she told police the fork must have been thrown from a balcony above.
Police...
WatchThanks Alex Balk for bringing this to my attention.
Why Does Every Plagiarist Run To Therapy? →
BTW
Who decided that Rielle was pronounced Riley and not Rhee-ELLE? Latter is totally prettier and less backwoods country. I think I’m going to keep calling her Rhee-ELLE.
UPDATE:
…unless this AP voice is wrong.
…which it sounds like, according to CNN video, it is wrong…
When His Current Wife Is Out Of The Picture
doree:
So. Right after I left Gawker last September, but before they cut off my access to tips@gawker (heh), we got an anonymous tip that John Edwards was cheating on his wife. This is what the email said:
John Edwards is cheating on his wife. This news must be revealed. There was a blind item in Page Six recently… however: My sources come from inside J.E’s little production group that was...
Who Taught You Math?
When a supermarket tabloid told a version of the story, I used the fact that the story contained many falsities to deny it. But being 99 percent honest is no longer enough.
— Edwards’ statement via the San Francisco Chronicle
Talk About A Friday Afternoon News Dump
Not only is it Friday afternoon, but it’s also the kickoff to the freaking OLYMPICS — AND a day that Russia decides to invade a freaking country.
Great timing, Edwards!!!
The Ball Gets Rolling
Weeks ago, I posted a story idea about how cars waste gas when traffic signals are either untimed or poorly timed. Al Tompkins, the go-to guy for Sunday or holiday story ideas, has now posted this in his Morning Meeting.
I can see those gas-guzzling road stories now:
If you think you’re not getting enough miles per gallon, it might be time to lay off your car. Turns out, it could be the...
4 tags
Vicious
Wrote an article in today’s paper about Hard Rock Park’s slow first season. We couldn’t say how slow. The park wouldn’t release any attendance figs, and lack of resources means we can’t spend several days counting cars at the park. Plus, we don’t quote anonymous sources - and park employees feel they’ll get fired immediately for talking to us - so...
Sometimes Its Better To Stop While You’re Ahead
After one passenger on a packed bus to Winnepeg was decapitated by another passenger - who then held up the severed head like a trophy - the Greyhound spokeswoman said, among other things, this: “Bus travel has been and remains the safest mode of travel in the country.”
— The Guardian
update: The 37 passengers who witnessed the...
Alex Balk, Midwesterner.
Jessica: lol, that’s funny. what would you have done?
me: KEPT GOING. Jessica: what?! you are a true New Yorker. no soul. :) just kidding.
alexbalk:
I was walking down Third Avenue in yesterday’s afternoon heat when I saw a taxicab idling at the curb. It had been parked at an odd angle, and as I got closer I could see that the driver was slumped over behind the wheel. The windows were...