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body issues
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body issues
gender issues
Nick Kristof's Sexy Sex Speech
Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who is much better at heroically rescuing orphans from warzones than he is at writing a regular political column, has a very great and original idea. He thinks that Barack Obama, who is now the Democratic nominee for president, should write and deliver a speech about gender, much like he did about race, that one time. What a great and original suggestion! We loved the idea when some HuffPo lady suggested it back in April, when Slate ladies suggested it for Hillary in March, when Ellen Goodman suggested it in May, and we love it now. Unlike all those ladies who suggested it, though, Kristof has manly suggestions for a manly speech on gender issues. More »
public relations
Public Will Pay For Checked Bags Over The Airline Industry's Cold, Dead Body
One night last week I found myself watching the NBC Nightly News—a rare occurrence, because I am not yet old. The lead story was about how American Airlines was going to start charging a $15 fee for each checked bag. Grumbling! Populist outrage! What will these dang companies do next?! It became clear at that early moment that despite the economic necessity of the move, American was going to get absolutely slammed in the court of public opinion. And now the verdict is in: they did! More »
5wpr
Learn Conflict Resolution With Ronn [sic] Torossian
Incompetent and angry superflack Ronn [sic] Torossian and his agency, 5WPR, are all about creating powerful connections among the real movers and shakers in New York. So if you're a client or "FRIEND OF THE FIRM"—and if you are, you have some serious self-examination to do—you're invited to a special 5WPR Speaker Series event featuring Dr. Keith Ablow, succinctly described on his website as a "Forensic psychiatrist and author of thrillers." His topic for the evening? "Friction in the workplace and the necessity for conflict/resolution and chemistry building." What better subject for a night with Ronn, a man popular with employees, potential clients, the media, and feminists alike? Anyone lucky enough to attend this ironic event, please send us a report. The full—and predictably ineloquent—invitation is below. More »
animal rights
Save This Monkey From Modeling!
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, a chimp-rights group, is assailing Sports Illustrated with a vicious letter-writing campaign! The group is upset that the magazine used a macaque (FANCY WORD FOR "MONKEY") and a bear in its photo shoot for this year's Swimsuit Issue [Folio]. S.I. is like, whoa! We take care of the animals, and besides, what mammal wouldn't be happy nestled up against the thighs of a swimsuit model? The two bear/ model-relations pictures, which have caused all the human outrage, after the jump. The bear does look kind of annoyed by that muzzle. More »
elephants
The Circus: Evil?
In the wee hours of this morning, Barnum & Bailey's Circus paraded their elephants into Manhattan, in what has become an annual tradition and spectacle. PETA is not too happy about this sort of thing. Is the circus really bad? On one hand, they're cruelly exploiting majestic mammals for the pitiful bemusement of humanity. On the other hand: elephants! Below, a clip of last year's NYC elephant march. Is there an easy answer to this one? More »
campaigns
Barack Obama's Own Professor Griff Might Get Him in Trouble
Barack Obama's favorite preacher is this guy named Jeremiah Wright, Jr., a black man who heads a black church and preaches utterly crazy conspiracy theory nonsense like "[America's] got more black men in prison than there are in college" and "[America] bombed Cambodia, Iraq and Nicaragua, killing women and children while trying to get public opinion turned against Castro and Ghadhafi" and other demonstrably true statements. This makes him "divisive," a special media term for "being a negative Nelly." Or "being an aggrieved black man." Now Barack Obama has staked much of his campaign on his not being even remotely aggrieved, which is called being "inspiring," a term that means "not threatening." So naturally some people find it a bit odd that he is friends with this aggrieved preacher, and attends his services, and even named one of his books after a Wright sermon. It might become a big scandal! But on the plus side, every time voters are introduced to Obama's crazy preacher friend they will be reminded that Barack Obama might not secretly be a Muslim. After the jump, a clip of Jon Stewart explaining how Reverend Wright is "not helping." More »
the real issues
Times Gym Teacher: Must We Stretch?
The newest entrant in the New York Times' strangely pedestrian fitness beat is today's piece asking, "To Stretch or Not to Stretch?" Short answer: If you're a gymnast or swimmer, yes; if you're a distance runner, no; for other activities, it's still an open question. So if you eliminate backflips and butterfly strokes from your workout routine, you can probably get away with no stretching at all, until a scientist tells you better. We just saved you so much time. How about the Times doing us all a favor by dispensing with this nonsense and replacing its entire Fitness & Nutrition section with nothing but empty white space and one single Amazon link to THIS: More »
surveys
Sex Is Not Part Of The American Way Of Life
May we speak bluntly? We Americans are a bunch of undersexed sissies. So says the new Global Sex Survey from Durex, maker of good-enough condoms. Barely half of Americans are having sex once a week, meaning that we rank above only the stuffy, sexually repressed Japanese in amount of fucking [NYDN]. And all of humanity has a big problem: we don't even like having sex. More »
children
Tomorrow's Eating Disorders Today
Upper East Side children's store Bonpoint held a children's fashion show for their reopening. And yes the little kids are so cute. But what is the psychological cost of this adorable event? Body dysmorphic disorder before elementary school? Drinking diet juice boxes? Whatever, this city is savage. No sense in waiting until middle school for these insecurities to start. [New York Social Diary]
femiladyism
I Feel Bad About Your Earlobes, Butt, Stomach, and Ill-Fitting Bra (This Week)
Since Monday, NYC women have been assaulted by a clusterfuck of articles pointing out our possible body inadequacies—more than usual, actually! In fact, it's utterly confusing for us gals to figure out which flaw to hate the most. Has femiladyism taken a step backward, or is this just what inevitably happens right before the December glut of top ten lists hits next week? More »
issues
Our Nation Is Gripped By A Turkey Carving Crisis!
The hard part about writing News You Can Use isn't finding the solution; it's proving there's a problem to be solved. Consider today's Times, wherein dining reporter Julia Moskin has a nice Thanksgiving Eve article (accompanied online by a thrilling instructional video) about a new low-stress, expert-approved way to carve up your turkey. But is the old hack-and-slice regime really so problematic? Yes. "Before breakfast on Thanksgiving," begins Moskin's tale, "as the first Americans rise to preheat the oven, the question of who is going to carve the bird starts to ripple anxiously across the land." This being journalism (of sorts), the burden of proof requires at least some civilian testimony, which is where things take a decided turn toward the gothic. More »
razzle dazzle
Is Paige Davis The Victim Of The Strike or Her Own Suck?
Vivacious redhead Paige Davis has agreed to return as host of a new HD version of the once-geisty TLC home-swap design show Trading Spaces. What does this all mean? Well, for one thing, that the Broadway dreams of one Paige Davis, who's played Roxie in the stage version of Chicago —she's a thespian on the level of Lisa Rinna and Ashlee Simpson!— are dashed. Tail between legs, she slinks back...but wait! Perhaps Paige Davis is merely the Terry Malloy of the troubled labor times! She does kinda look like a young Brando. More »
serious issues dealt with immaturely
The Dentsu Brothel Scandal, As Covered by Pravda
The largest advertising company of Japan was involved into huge sexual scandal. The former creative director of its U.S. arm accused it of pressing him to visit a brothel and engaging in engage in other sexually explicit activities on company outings and said he was fired because of complaint.Though actually we can't decide it that's as funny as the Ad Age story's charming and succinct subhed, "Emphasizing Crotches." Also, "The lawsuit comes at an awkward time for the company, as it seeks to penetrate the U.S. market."
Japanese company accused of brothel outing [Pravda]
Former Dentsu Creative Sues Over Trips to Brothel, Bathhouse, Sharapova Shoot [Ad Age]
lifestyles of the rich and gaymous
"Very, Very Wide Legged Jeans With Experimental, Unknown Sneakers" Appall Fabian Basabe
Faded it-boy Fabian Basabe has left our city for his true spiritual home, Los Angeles, and he's finally stopped "furniture shopping, car shopping and well... tanning" long enough to update his Paper magazine blog. But now he's encountering some culture shock! At a recent awards show, he was confronted not only by fashion faux pas like the aforementioned "experimental, unknown sneakers" that "even the boys from 'NSYNC would have ditched," he also faced "an extravaganza of sushi next to pasta next to cookies next to caramelized apples the size of a New York studio. A selection that would make any self-respecting New York girl with body issues (and some boys — you know who you are) purge from ten feet away." He and his "posse" "took off for saner pastures." But wherever you go, there you are, Fab!
departures on great terms
Doree Shafrir Ankles New Media Sweatshop
Near the end of day yesterday, Gawker's Doree Shafrir handed in her two weeks notice. She'll be leaving us for the New York Observer, where she'll write and report on "ideas." (That role has been, it seems, officially unfilled since the departure of Sheelah Kolhatkar for Portfolio over the winter.) Doree began here as an "associate editor" last October, and early this year transitioned to reporting on the media full-time. She can only be replaced here at Gawker with a terrifying room full of jerry-rigged threshing machines held together with baling wire and lubricated with grain alcohol. We sincerely wish her the best of luck in destroying Jared Kushner from inside his own shop—or, at least, in bringing that paper what the boy publisher may not know it so desperately needs.
issues
The War At 'Portfolio'
The new Portfolio hits the racks today. Before we get to the actual magazine, you'll have to console yourself with gossip about Portfolio, most of it centered around EIC Joanne Lipman's recent firing of second-in-command Jim Impoco. The Observer and the Post, obviously suckling at the teat of different sources, bring you the different perspectives. More »
issues of the day
