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Posts Tagged “
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olympics
Hoity-Toity Elitists Hate On Beach Volleyball, Fun
The Olympics: yay, a thing I don't need to add a contextual sentence lest you haven't been watching! Of course you're watching! At this point not having watched the Olympics is like not having heard of September 11. DMX himself knows about it! And NBC just got its best Saturday ratings in 18 years, restoring every last eight hundred forty seven million dollars they fronted for the thing along with the whole notion of American mass media. How did NBC do it? New Yorker television columnist Nancy Franklin has an answer: by appealing to the "lowest common denominator"! (Which is funny, because we thought appealing to the lowest common denominator didn't actually work on the Nielsens anymore unless you multiplied the Nielsen rating by some mysterious inflated self-importance multiplier reflective of the proportion of viewers employed in the New York media.) Franklin kvetches that 2008's "not painfully handcuffed but handcuffed nonetheless" Olympics coverage has been the shlockiest yet in an anachronistically curmudgeonly review that sounds… very New Yorker circa 1990! More »
diva fight
This Unforgivable Insult To Aretha Franklin's Dignity Will Not Stand
Soul diva Aretha Franklin tried to teach everyone about "Respect" forty years ago, but that was before a certain young hussy named Beyoncé Knowles was even born, so now an unschooled Beyoncé has gone and called a singer other than Aretha Franklin a "queen." Oh yes, she did, and as far as anyone can tell Beyoncé is still miraculously alive, probably in hiding somewhere without access to a decent stylist or personal trainer or even her furs. Given the gravity of the situation, Franklin realized it was necessary to issue a statement to the national press reminding everyone that she is the "Queen of Soul" while the hussy Beyoncé is someone who drums up "a cheap shot for controversy." After the jump, video of the impostor queen as introduced at the Grammy Awards by the blasphemous liar Beyoncé. More »
apologies
'The New Republic' Grudgingly Retracts 'Baghdad Diarist' Stories
The New Republic has finally concluded its investigation into its "Baghdad Diarist" scandal. (The magazine ran a series of articles by a TNR staffer's friend and then husband, Scott Beauchamp, who happened to be stationed in Iraq, and who may have invented or fudged some of his stories.) Franklin Foer, the magazine's editor, pens the magazine's apology, which doesn't really sound like much of an apology in the first place. Instead, the nostra culpa comes across as petulant and bitter, which pretty effectively defeats the point of the 7,000-word piece. More »
cheese glorious cheese
The Third Annual Casserole Party At Brooklyn Label
Last night at new Franklin Street neighborhood institution Brooklyn Label, a lot of messy-haired people got in touch with their Midwestern roots by eating concoctions with names like "Texas Casserole Massacre" and "Practically Perfect Pairing." Organizer Emily Farris, whose casserole cookbook comes out next Fall, was in high spirits. "I am running around like a crazy lady!" she said, doing just that. "I have to get some waters for my judges!" The water-needing judges included Adam Roberts, author of "The Amateur Gourmet," and a lady who is a sous-chef for the Food Network. Not a judge: Jordana Rothman, who writes about food for Time Out New York. "I'm not bitter or anything," she explained. "But I decided not to enter a casserole, either. Hmmph!" Also not bitter: The casseroles! More »
We understand that the "dark week" at the New Republic was "long-planned," and in any case, "it's not so dark," since half the office is there. (So again, we wonder: paid or unpaid?) But there might be a very compelling reason for the involuntary vacation: Editor "Frank Foer is expecting child at any moment," a source tells us. Aw! How cute! Paternity leave! Uncle Jonathan Safran!
euphemisms
Why Is The 'New Republic' Going Dark?
A meandering, unsigned note in this week's New Republic informs readers that the magazine is going on vacation, and that the magazine will be published three weeks from now, instead of the "customary two." Err, okay! This raises a few questions for us, some of which are related to the fact that this week's issue is a scarily thin 48 pages. More »
the unsexy magazine industry
Great news! This week's New Republic is a healthier 68 pages! Not quite the 80 per issue that we were promised, but we're getting there! Slowly! Keep it up, troupers! One thing: Running this home video of editor Franklin Foer walking us through the new issue didn't feel to us like it exactly helped their cause. Unless their cause was sending us off for a nap. More »
The 'New Republic' Fattens Up!
Great news! This week's New Republic is a healthier 68 pages! Not quite the 80 per issue that we were promised, but we're getting there! Slowly! Keep it up, troupers! One thing: Running this home video of editor Franklin Foer walking us through the new issue didn't feel to us like it exactly helped their cause. Unless their cause was sending us off for a nap. More »
