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Politics
October 30, 2008
Wurzelbacher Sings the Blues
How often can you say you've witnessed greatness? Once in a lifetime? Once in a decade? If America turns out to be as great a nation as we hope, it might happen again before Groundhog Day. America's favorite thinly-veiled Republican shill, Joe the Plumber, reportedly has been approached with a recording contract for a country album.
Full article » | by Max Lakin
Food
October 28, 2008
Burritos for Barack
Nate Silver, the statistician behind FiveThirtyEight.com and Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA, has recently become something of media phenomenon. But while some have suggested that PECOTA's pre-season embrace of the Rays (who were dismissed by most analysts) augurs good news for Barack Obama (whom Silver projects to win the Presidency by a near-landslide margin), we can't help but wonder if another, lesser-known, exploit of Silver's can also help to predict his predicting acumen. We are referring, of course, to his ability to find the best taqueria in Chicago's Wicker Park.
Media
October 27, 2008
You're So Full of Flint
Are you a reporter searching for an adjective with which to describe the cranky, cold-faced independent voters of New Hampshire? Are you trying to describe John McCain with a word other than "maverick"? Or are you simply searching for the right term to capture the essence of that guy you saw in the bodega who, confusingly, had both a girlfriend and an "I Will Survive" ringtone? Then we've got a word for you: flinty.
Politics
October 25, 2008
[Your Name Here] the Plumber
Joe Wurzelbacher of Toledo, Ohio is not the only Joe the Plumber. Joe Francis of Amarillo, Tex., owner of joetheplumber.com, has received multiple offers, some for thousands of dollars, for his domain name. But according to PC Magazine, Francis wasn't even the No. 1 Joe the Plumber on the 'net prior to the unlicensed Wurzelbacher's hitting the scene—that honor belonged to Joe Lara the Plumber (also known as "The Plumber's Plumber!"), of Ventura, California.
Politics
October 25, 2008
Joe the Anecdote
Every election season, certain members of the working class are singled out by politicians for being, well, generic. Indeed, Joe "the Plumber" Wurzelbacher is just the latest in a long line of "ordinary Americans" whose salt-of-the-earth troubles managed to catch the attention of an anecdote-trolling candidate. Here's a small sampling of others who saw 15 seconds of fame during presidential campaigns.
Politics
October 24, 2008
Winners and Losers in the Backwards 'B' Hoax Story
Ashley Todd, a McCain volunteer working in Pennsylvania, has admitted that she made up an elaborate story about being beaten and mutilated by a large black man who was upset by her support for the Republican presidential candidate. Todd confessed that the backwards "B" lightly carved into her cheek was possibly of her own doing, and that she was never mugged at an ATM in downtown Pittsburgh. There were several fishy aspects to her story from the time it first gained nationwide attention, but some observers were more skeptical than others. Here's how they stack up in the aftermath.
Varsity Letters
October 24, 2008
November 6: Gelf's Varsity Letters
Gelf's Varsity Letters sports reading series returns to New York on Thursday, November 6, at 8 p.m. At this free monthly event at a Lower East Side bar, hosted by Gelf, Buzz Bissinger, Drew Magary, and Dan Steinberg will read from and talk about their work, and take questions.
World
October 22, 2008
Hip Brooklyn Heresy
The New York Times published an article yesterday chronicling several Park Slope neighbors who have committed the ultimate act of political heresy in the famously liberal 'hood—they've put up McCain signs. And, no, they haven't done it ironically. This made Gelf wonder what other actions might get you dirty looks from the tastemakers of hip Brooklyn.
Media
October 20, 2008
From Kerry to McCain
2008 may be a Democratic year, but don't tell that to the editors of the Hampton Roads Daily Press. The southeastern Virginia daily is one of only two newspapers so far to have endorsed Kerry in 2004 and McCain this year (Gannett's Jackson Sun is the other one). In contrast, more than a dozen newspapers, including several major ones—the New York Daily News, the Houston Chronicle, and, in an historic first, the Chicago Tribune—made the move from Bush to Obama (the Daily Press, it's worth noting, is owned by the Tribune Company).
Media
October 20, 2008
Prez Mac or Prez Bam?
In the time-honored tradition of calling the President 'Prez' and the Mayor 'Hizzoner,' New York's two tabloids, the Post and the Daily News, have apparently settled on abbreviated nicknames for John McCain and Barack Obama. Their choices, 'Mac' of McCain and 'Bam' for Obama, sound vaguely cartoonish, though we suppose they're better than, say, 'Cain' and 'Rack.'
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