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[NYT]

So where does the Times find examples of haggling run amok? Well, there are a couple of pals from Jersey who "got $20 off a pair of $250 speakers at 6th Avenue Electronics in the New York area." Assuming the reporter has been to the New York area, he might know that sticker prices at 6th Avenue's many gadget huts have always been mere suggestions. Same goes for P.C. Richard's & Son, where the intrepid NJ duo also scored deep discounts.

The next ruthless consumer cited—also from New Jersey–got a pair of $75 pants for $50 at a Soho Ralph Lauren store, which he found on the clearance rack. Then there's the case of a Boston couple who haggled over a Canon at something called Ritz Camera, and a dude who bargained at Best Buy, noting, “A lot of people don’t realize you can go into Best Buy and ask them for a lower price.” [NYT]

Call me a snob, but I like to be served quietly, even deferentially, especially when I am paying top dollar. The traditional approach, as laid out in the recently republished "George Washington's Rules of Civility" seems right to me: "Speak not til you are ask'd a Question," our first president wrote, "and Answer in a few words."

If our forefathers were into snobbery, we should uphold their tradition. Also: slavery. We should bring that one back, too.
Kindness (Ugh!) of Strangers [NYT]

They suffer prosciutto (pro-SHOOT-toe) becoming pro-SHOOT, calzone (cal-TSO-nay) becoming cal-ZONE and pasta e fagioli (PAH-stah eh faj-YOH-lee) becoming pasta fasul (fa-ZOOL).

Bet you never thought you'd see phonetic Eye-talian in the Gray Lady. Now it's time to cry into your big bowl of spicy meatballs.
You Say Prosciutto, I Say Pro-SHOOT, and Purists Cringe [NYT]

First, model Carolyn Murphy, in the T: Style Magazine:

What would you like your last meal to be? The black cod with miso from Nobu. And toro sashimi on the side.

Then, vineyard owner Randall Grahm, in the Times Magazine:

His last meal would be: I'd order the black cod with miso that Nobu does...

Rich people love Nobu. How fucking odd. Next week, we predict the Times will accept a secret lump sum to write about how stoners love Taco Bell.
The Last Seduction [NYT Style Mag]
3 Generations Under 1 Roof [NYT Mag]

Good morning, and welcome to "Name That Apple!" Fingers on buzzers? All right, let's begin.

For 100 points: It's a compact rectangular slab that plays great-sounding music from a built-in hard drive. The front is shiny white acrylic with a screen at the top. The corners and edges of the back panel are gently rounded. Over all, the simplicity and purity of its design give this machine a calm, elegant beauty. Name that Apple!

Bzzzzzt! No, I'm sorry, "iPod" is not the answer we were looking for. The correct answer is: "the new iMac G5."

Oooh, the new iMac. Does that come with a copy-editing tool?
State Of The Art: A Computer With The iPod's Blood [NYT]

Our spies have gotten their hands on an advance of this Sunday's New York Times magazine and, much to our chagrin, the bottom coverline reads, "Amanda Hesser Confects a New Food Section." That's right, the Times' former interim food critic Hesser has emerged from her dank, spoon-bejeweled cave to helm a new section entitled "The Way We Eat." We're rather certain that Hesser's version of the way "we" dine isn't going to apply to many of us, unless she considers our hot dog diet an acceptable amuse-bouche to the main course of ramen noodles. But just like we stare at gruesome car accidents, we're going to read this section at least once and, shortly thereafter, die on the inside.

Downloading music from the Internet is not illegal. Plenty of music available online is not just free but also easily available, legal and most important worth hearing.

We're covered in hives. Why does the Times do this? Are they going to also tell us that music is best enjoyed with the auditory senses? God, they were sooo close to not pissing us off today.
No Fears: Laptop D.J.'s Have A Feast [NYT]

Among the white-collar crowd, though, one particular gizmo has earned a street nickname all its own: CrackBerry. That's a reference to the RIM BlackBerry, an addictive wireless palmtop that displays your e-mail in real time, as it arrives. [...] But for all its popularity among executives and financial-industry types, the BlackBerry is practically unknown to everyone else.

We suppose that if you're living under a rock and only get your news from the Times (God help you if that's the case), you may be unaware of these crazy mobile phones that turn into magic email machines. But really, people like that don't exist. Not to us, anyhow.
For BlackBerry Users, A New Way [NYT]
Related:
BlackBerry Info

I left for Europe on June 18 and I was in Paris for five days. Then I flew to Geneva, picked up a rental car, drove to Evian, drove to Milan, to Portofino, back to Milan, back to Geneva and then flew back to New York. The plane landed, I rushed into the city, picked up the dog, and got driven out to the Hamptons because we were doing Puffy's White Party that day.

Oh, we surely sympathize. Europe and the White Party? How positively dreadful.
Frequent Flier: Celebrity Wrangling, Without The Jet Lag [NYT]

When I decided to compete in a local tournament and started training, some of my friends scoffed at the idea that the game could involve strategy. But this was not the Rock Paper Scissors of the playground, a hurried competition to see which team got the ball first, or even of the fraternity, to see who would go and buy the beer. This was tournament-style Rock Paper Scissors, in which the stakes are high, and expert players do well over time only because of skill and hard work.

This isn't a joke. This is a real article that the paper actually printed. Oh. My. God.
Rock, Paper, Scissors: High Drama In The Tournament Ring [NYT]