Dr. Strangelove Transformation Complete (via Life in the NohoDome)
Archive for January, 2009
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying now that Cheney is Gone
Posted in Bush, Cheney, Politics on January 31, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
R.I.P. – Ingemar Johansson (1932-2009)
Posted in Obituaries, Sports on January 31, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“Ingemar Johansson, the Swede who stunned the boxing world by knocking out Floyd Patterson to win the heavyweight title in 1959, has died. Johansson was 76.” (via ESPN) [Sometimes a person, or an event, sticks in your head in ways you don't necessarily appreciate until much later, perhaps not until the person dies or the event [...]
Google & the Future of Books
Posted in Books, Business, Science & Technology, World Wide Web, Writers & Writing on January 31, 2009 | 1 Comment »
“How can we navigate through the information landscape that is only beginning to come into view? The question is more urgent than ever following the recent settlement between Google and the authors and publishers who were suing it for alleged breach of copyright. For the last four years, Google has been digitizing millions of books, [...]
The Writing Life
Posted in Books, Business, Writers & Writing on January 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Found online today, during a waaaay-too-long procrastination break (OK, I’m not working on a novel, but still . . .): Invaluable tips for would-be authors from the no-nonsense book How NOT to Write a Novel (via Times Online) If all else fails, there’s always self-publishing! Self-Publishers Flourish as Writers Pay the Tab (via NY Times)
Happy 90th Birthday, Jackie Robinson (1919-1972)
Posted in Baseball, Birthdays, Obama, Race, Sports on January 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“Jackie Robinson was my boyhood hero and with every passing year I have a richer appreciation of what he went through and how he made this world a better place with his courage and grace.” (Tom Brokaw) Earlier this week in New York, in advance of what would have been his 90th birthday tomorrow, Robinson’s [...]
The Audacity of Hate
Posted in Current Events, Obama, Race on January 30, 2009 | 2 Comments »
In Springfield, Massachusetts (barely 30 minutes south of my home in Northampton), during the early morning hours immediately following Barack Obama’s election as President, a predominately black church under construction was destroyed by fire. Earlier this week, the three Massachusetts men, all white, accused of having set the fire, were formally indicted. The indictment alleges the men talked about [...]
Turtle Blues: Eating Turtles to Extinction
Posted in Food & Wine, Foreign Travel on January 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“At open-air markets and restaurants in Asian communities here and abroad, millions of turtles are being butchered for food and their alleged “medicinal qualities,” and conservationists note that this rapacious craving has already wiped out some wild turtle populations in China, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. The international turtle trade is big business, and it’s conducted [...]
Candid Camera: Video “Highlights” of the Bush 43 Presidency
Posted in Bush, Politics on January 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
We’ve all seen the videos many times before but now that he’s really, really gone, they seem, well, sad. Top 10 George W. Bush YouTube Moments (via TIME) Related The Historian as Cartoonist: Drawing George W. Bush
Updike Redux
Posted in Books, Literature, Obituaries, Writers & Writing on January 29, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Joseph O’Neill, author of last year’s highly regarded novel, “Netherland” — one of the finest contemporary novels about New York City and one of the few novels “about” 9/11 worth reading (my very short list would also include “Saturday,” by Ian McEwan and “The Emperor’s Children” by Claire Messud) — writes of the debt owed Updike [...]
Frugal Travel: Avoiding Excessive ATM, Credit Card Fees Abroad
Posted in Europe, Foreign Travel, Frugal Travel on January 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I have always used American Express, rather than VISA/Mastercard, whenever possible when traveling abroad but with AMEX fees now increased to 2.7% from 2.0%, well, now what do I do? Matt Gross, better known to readers of his New York Times articles and blog as “The Frugal Traveler,” offers advice to international travelers seeking to avoid [...]
DUMBO Dock Street Project – Update
Posted in Architecture, Brooklyn, DUMBO, New York City, Urban Affairs on January 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“Opponents of a controversial residential tower proposed to rise next to the Brooklyn Bridge brought their case to Borough President Markowitz on Tuesday night, bitterly describing developer Jed Walentas’s project as bad public policy and a disastrous way to treat the fabled and legendary span.” (via The Brooklyn Paper) [Notable among the opposition was two-time Pulitzer [...]
R.I.P. – John Updike (1932–2009)
Posted in Baseball, Books, Literature, Obituaries, Sports, Writers & Writing on January 27, 2009 | 2 Comments »
“My subject is the American Protestant small town middle class,” Mr. Updike told Jane Howard in a 1966 interview for Life magazine. “I like middles,” he continued. “It is in middles that extremes clash, where ambiguity restlessly rules.” [My first encounter with Updike’s writings was during the summer of 1970 when I was required to [...]
Not A Pretty Picture: The W Years in Photographs
Posted in Bush, Politics on January 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“Editors from three news agencies discuss the photographic record of George W. Bush’s presidency.” Mirror, Mirror on the Wall (via NY Times)
Happy 25th Birthday Macintosh!
Posted in Science & Technology on January 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Happy Birthday to the much-beloved Macintosh computer that turned 25 yesterday! When Steve Jobs introduced the Mac in 1984 at the Flint Center at De Anza College in Cupertino, the original Macintosh 128 cost $2495 with the following options: Imagewriter printer $595 ($495 if purchased with Macintosh) Numeric Keypad $129 Modem 300 $225 Modem 1200 $495 Carrying Case [...]
“Change We Can Believe In” Reaches the Art World
Posted in Art & Artists, Obama, Politics on January 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“On Tuesday, as Barack Obama was being sworn into office, his portrait by the street artist Shepard Fairey — reproduced endlessly during the campaign until it became the defining image of the future president (it towered over a stage at one of the inaugural balls) — was on view at the National Portrait Gallery. A collaged poster [...]
Bongs Away! How the crusade against drug paraphernalia punishes controversial speech
Posted in Business, Counter Culture, Crimes & Misdemeanors, Politics, Popular Culture on January 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“Like obscenity prosecutions, paraphernalia cases often target people for conduct they believed was legal. The law in both areas is fuzzy, and drug paraphernalia, like obscenity, tends to be judged by the “I know it when I see it” method.” How the crusade against drug paraphernalia punishes controversial speech (via reasononline)
Facebook – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Posted in Popular Culture, Science & Technology, World Wide Web on January 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
As a relatively new member of the Facebook community, I am continually fascinated by the myriad ways — good, bad and ugly — that individuals, groups and organizations utilize this far-reaching social network. A few recent examples: Revolution, Facebook Style On Facebook, Sicilian Mafia Is a Hot Topic Related You Have No Friends . [...]
Obama’s Inaugural Address (A Great Speech on Paper! Live, Not So Much?)
Posted in Obama, Politics on January 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
MUCH has been made of President Obama’s (say it soft and it’s almost like praying) Inaugural Address and whether or not it lived up, in rhetorical terms, to the great expectations that awaited it. Former Presidential speech writers were split; John McWhorter praised Obama’s oratory for “its seasoning of black cadence”; and others suggested that whatever it [...]
Exporting American Values = Value Meals?
Posted in Business, Europe, Food & Wine, Foreign Travel on January 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“McDonald’s is planning to this year create 12,000 jobs and open 240 new restaurants across Europe, it emerged on Friday, as the fast-food chain shows signs of being one of the few global companies to benefit from the financial crisis. In stark contrast to the multinational groups announcing record job cuts and losses, McDonald’s plans for [...]
Wondering if a New School in Brooklyn Is Worth Blocking the View
Posted in Architecture, Brooklyn, DUMBO, New York City, Urban Affairs on January 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
In the years since the felling of the World Trade Center towers, the Brooklyn Bridge has taken on an increasing symbolic importance to New Yorkers. The bridge is now used as a backdrop for almost every local television news broadcast while the adjacent state and city parks along the East River in DUMBO, Brooklyn are [...]
