How Well Do You Know The Nominees? A Defamer Oscars Quiz

We now know who'll be nervously muttering, "C'mon man—get on with it," during Hugh Jackman's half-dozen Oscar numbers. But how much do you really know about the nominees? Take this quiz and see: More »

Which Foreign Dignitaries Did Sarah Palin Actually Meet?

Sarah Palin increased her foreign policy experience by 475% today and the media wasn't allowed to hear any of it! Because Sarah Palin doesn't really speak to the media much/ever, so they have to follow her around and ask the photographers dispatched to capture the photo ops what they heard her say, as if she is just like her new pal Henry Kissinger and she is engaging in top-secret high-level diplomatic negotiations. Except… at the end of the meetings the ensuing media accounts don't have anything to write about, because nothing actually transpired, so the poor journalists are left to write about how she lipsynched that she "had a good time" meeting the emperor of Tokyo or whatever. So what's a bigger waste of time than following Sarah Palin around while she says nothing about meaningless meetings with foreign dignitaries? Making up fictional event-free meetings with foreign dignitaries for the sake of a pointless quiz to see if you can tell which ones actually (pointlessly) happened! More »

Peggy Noonan or Jack Handey?

• "You disappear and then come back and people say, 'Hey, look at that guy.'"
• "His staff should build a podium for him, one that fits, and take it wherever he goes."
• "You know that on some level, at some moment, Dwight D. Eisenhower looked at John F. Kennedy and thought: Punk."
• "Old America: 'We've been here three generations.' New America: 'You're still here?'"
• "The eagle, you will note, is the centerpiece of my flag. It symbolizes freedom. Also the ability to see far away, so you can spot somebody doing something fishy and get him locked up."
• "His father died of AIDS, you asshole"

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Google and the seven dwarfs

Google's collection of Web properties somtimes seem unconnected and disorganized. But there's a common thread between Print Ads, Audio Ads, TV Ads, Checkout, YouTube, Postini and DoubleClick. Can you guess what it is? More »

How would you flirt with Julia Allison?

@juliaallison, if only I were at Balthazar's, I'd buy you a pick-me-up. Not that Julia reads this rag, but say you were going to follow my advice on how to use Twitter to pick up girls, how would you catch her attention? Give your approach a test run in the comments.

How The 'Post' Is Humiliating Its Freelance Photogs

Last month, the Post sent around an email to all its freelance photogs, telling them that they'd basically have to re-audition for the photo editors at the paper if they wanted to continue to be considered for work. Lots of photographers were understandably upset; it's a bit of a slap in the face for someone who's a working professional to be called in and asked to try out for a job they've been doing for years. Nonetheless, the paper insisted, and now reports have started circulating about what they're being made to do. And really, it all sounds a bit odd. More »