Internet Controversy Amusing
Sometimes, people on the internet argue about things. But what unites us all? Laughter.
An Expensive Sandwich Should Come With a Side
“When Did It Become OK For A $12 Sandwich Not To Come With A Side?” Wow—I could not agree more.
Why Am I Always Defending My HBCU Education to Other Black People?
I was destined to attend a historically black college or university (HBCU) once my parents met at Delaware State decades ago. Fate resulted in a childhood characterized by religious viewings of A Different World. Aside from sending me on an early quest for my real-life Denise Huxtable, the Cosby Show spinoff helped…
Lake Houses Are Better Than Beach Houses: A Manifesto
I am among the personally-disorganized masses who are not going anywhere in particular this holiday weekend. But were it up to me, could I go and have a traditional Labor Day-type vacation in a house with people I knew and liked, I would choose a lake house over a beach house every time.
New York Times: "Pizza Is Meh"
Today, The New YorkTimes posted a defense of their inclusion of “pizza” on the “Meh List,” whichthey call “a much-beloved and much-maligned part of the One Page Magazine.” Upuntil now, I was unaware that the “Meh List” was “much-anything,” but now that theGrey Lady herself has dragged pizza into the mix, I must step…
Who Is "America's Foremost Public Intellectual?"
Atlantic writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, who is something of a public intellectual himself, today declares that MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry is "America's foremost public intellectual." Hmm.
What Colors Are Your ABCs?
The six-year-old had to have brought it up, because I can't imagine how I would have. But the argument flared so fast I don't really remember how it started. A is red, he was saying, and B is blue.
Wack vs. Whack: Wack
Ta-Nehisi Coates has a blog post up about Lupe Fiasco's anti-Obama rant with the headline, "My President is Whack." Though we hold Ta-Nehisi Coates in high esteem, we must interject here: no, My President Is Wack.
Lunchtime Poll: Summer Clothes vs. Winter Clothes. WHO YA GOT?
I walked outside the other morning and, for the first time in eons, the temperature was below 60 degrees. And I was so excited for the cool air that I pulled my shirt away from my body and let it waft up my torso. "Here, nipples! Taste the refreshment!" Then I immediately ran into the house to announce the conditions…
Chilling Look Into Future Reveals Polygamy, Mass Deportation of Whites, Nuclear War, Moon Colony
What will be the lasting legacy of gay marriage? A more just and equal society? Or all white people being forced onto reservations by the first American Indian president? If you ask Patricia Weber, "La Jolla resident since 1953," it's... the white deportation one.
Room For Debate: What Kind of Drug is Rihanna Doing On This Man's Head?
The New York Times' "Room For Debate" is an entrancingly dumb recurring feature in which they get a handful of vaguely qualified people to opine on various important questions such as, "Is Veganism Good For Everyone?" As we have done before, we now offer our own perspectives on an issue of substance: "What Kind of…
Counter-Counterpoint: ...Says the Guy Who Got the Fuck Out of the Advertising Industry
Ah, Drew. A list of famous writers and artists who once worked in the advertising industry is not an argument in favor of the advertising industry. It's an argument in favor of getting the fuck out of the advertising industry. We recognize Salman Rushdie's name because he did not stay in the advertising industry. We…
Millennials Are Too the Best Generation!
Haters: when will this "Millennial" generation get to stop dealing with them? Probably never, if a new study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (and Haterz) is any indication. Contrary to the common knowledge on Twitter that Millennials are the most special and in general best generation thus far, the…
What It Was Like to Argue With Andrew Breitbart
Almost three years ago, after writing a Gawker post in which I casually referred to the neo-Nazi Holocaust Museum shooter James von Brunn as a "right-wing extremist," a got a voicemail message from Andrew Breitbart. He was angry.
Room for Debate: Am I Smarter Than You?
The New York Times' "Room For Debate" is an entrancingly dumb recurring feature in which they get a handful of vaguely qualified people to opine on various important questions such as, today, "Are People Getting Dumber?" As we have done before, we now offer our own perspectives on an issue of substance: "Am I Smarter…
Room for Debate: Does This NYT Columnist 'Need a Good Cuddle'?
This week, New York Times feature Room for Debate explored the advantages and disadvantages of "Being Alone Together." Room-for-Debater Thomas Matlack boldly argued, "Man, I Need a Good Cuddle."
Room for Debate: What Color Is Best?
All year long, we've been entranced by the New York Times feature "Room for Debate," in which six people each share short opinion essays on a controversial topic—important and relevant questions from "If store-bought donations at the school fund-raiser are so wrong, what's the solution?" to "Is Anti-White Bias a…
Are Doormen Necessary?
People move to big, bad New York City, puff out their chests, and declare that they're ready to take on the world. If they can make it here, they can make it anywhere! But they can't make it without a smiling babysitter paid to open the door for them. Or can they?
In Defense of Shit Talking
New York Times media guy David Carr is in big trouble for going on Bill Maher's HBO show and making a joke about how Kansas, Missouri, and other "middle places" are "the dance of the low sloping foreheads." (That means "dumb," for anyone reading in Kansas or Missouri.)
Science: Wrong People Sometimes Win Arguments
The New York Times has a shocking story about new developments in social science: Apparently, our faculty for reason evolved not as a tool for enlightenment and pursuit of truth, but as a way to get people to do what we want. This changes everything. I'm rethinking the whole debate over invading Iraq, and I feel sick.
