August 2012
“[W]e have become paralyzed by our desire to be loved.”
—Chris Christie
“I can’t resist a basketball analogy: we are in the 4th quarter, we’re up by a few points, but the other side is coming strong and they play a little dirty. We’ve got a few folks on our team in foul trouble. We’ve got a couple of injuries. And I believe that they’ve got one last run in them, and I’d say there’s about seven minutes to go in the game. And Michael’s competitiveness is legendary, and nobody knows better than Michael that if you’ve got a little bit of lead and there’s about seven minutes to go, that’s when you put them away. That’s when you stop any momentum they have. You don’t let them up from the mat. You don’t give them any hope that they might pull this out. You don’t leave it to a lucky shot they might make from half-court at the end. You go ahead and you pour it on. You might press them a little bit. You might put Pippen and Jordan on the front court, trap them a little bit; have Horace come in. You don’t let up. That’s how the Bulls won six. That’s how we’re going to win this election.”
—President Obama in New York last night at his “Obama Classic” fund-raiser.
“Being fact-checked is not very fun. Good fact-checkers have a preternatural inclination toward pedantry, and sometimes will address you in a prosecutorial tone. That is their job and the adversarial tone is even more important than the actual facts they correct. In my experience, seeing your name on the cover of a magazine will take you far in the journey toward believing your own bullshit. It is human to do so, and fact-checkers serve as a valuable check to prevent writers from lapsing into the kind of arrogant laziness which breeds plagiarism and the manufacture of facts. The fact-checker (and the copy-editor too actually) is a dam against you embarrassing yourself, or worse, being so arrogant that don’t even realize you’ve embarrassed yourself. Put differently, a culture of fact-checking, of honesty, is as important as the actual fact-checking.”
—Ta-Nehisi Coates, in praise of fact checkers. (via theatlantic)
Pussy Riot Sentenced to 2 Years for "Hooliganism" Motivated by "Religious Hatred" →
nytimes.com
freepussyriot.org
Here are some rallies and marches in support of the group happening today in NYC.
“We are lucky in Astoria. There are so many places to eat where the food is both inexpensive and absolutely delicious. Generally, if you are a food lover on a budget, I would suggest checking out places that do a thriving takeout and delivery (versus sit-down) business. In Astoria, specifically, these are places like BZ Grill, Duzan, Pão de Queijo, and so many others. I would also suggest checking out any stands that are sizzling by the side of the road. One of my favorite places to eat in Astoria is King of Falafel and Shawarma, a wildly popular, incredibly affordable food cart that makes the best chicken and rice I have ever tasted.”
—
Suzanne Yacka AKA @tastoriaqueens in the VV, repping some of my favorite places just up the street. BZ, Pão, and FALAFEL KING are amazing, cheap, and fast. I haven’t tried Duzan, but I’ll have to now. (via bmichael)
A MILLION TIMES, THIS.
(via rubenfeld)
We agree, the King of Falafel is true royalty.
Mike Bloomberg on Helen Gurley Brown →
capitalnewyork.com
“Today New York City lost a pioneer who reshaped not only the entire media industry, but the nation’s culture,” he said. “She was a role model for the millions of women whose private thoughts, wonders and dreams she addressed so brilliantly in print. She was a quintessential New Yorker: never afraid to speak her mind and always full of advice. She pushed boundaries and often broke them, clearing the way for younger women to follow in her path. I was honored to be her friend and know how deeply she cared about the City she called home. We will miss her, but her impact on our culture and society will live on forever.”
