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Media
September 3, 2008
McCain's Hail Mary Pass to the Media
We were just as surprised as everyone else when we heard that Sarah Palin—governor of Alaska, recent small-town mayor, and avid moose hunter—was chosen to be John McCain's running mate. We also happen to agree with the many commentators who have noted that the pick was, at best, a big gamble, and, at worst, highly questionable. We just kind of wish said commentators would stop using the phrase "Hail Mary" (as in the last-resort football pass).
Internet
August 28, 2008
Stryde Hax Beats the Times
Blogger Stryde Hax has exposed an age scandal involving the Chinese Olympic women's (or should it be girl's?) gymnastics team by cleverly hacking into search engines like Google and Baidu. It sounds like a neat little triumph for citizen journalism, and it kind of is—Hax managed to uncover the gymnasts' real ages—or at least the ages the government had previously assigned them—using tools available to anyone with a brain and an internet connection. But his work wasn't exactly original.
Media
August 28, 2008
Forget That, Here's This
It has become cliché to note that in the Internet age, our collective attention span has declined to roughly 30 seconds per whatever it is that grabs our attention (what did we just say? We forget). As such, to ensure that your brain is not overloaded with conflicting and confusing messages, journalists have taken it upon themselves to let you know that it is not only OK, but recommended, to forget stuff. So long as you remember the subject of their articles.
Media
August 27, 2008
All the World's a Stage
Few newspaper headline writers are confused with Shakespeare. However, some do agree with the Bard's famous proclamation that real life mirrors high drama. Based on recent headlines, you could be forgiven for assuming that modern civilization exists primarily for your entertainment, like a good (well, sometimes bad) tragicomedy.
Media
August 26, 2008
Note to New Yorker: Google!
Who covered the Olympics? Sportswriters, obviously, and China-bureau reporters. Considering the deep political undercurrents of these Games, specialists in politics or international relations could be interested. Maybe a science writer could analyze performance-enhancing drugs or Beijing's air pollution. And, if you're the New Yorker, you send over film critic Anthony Lane.
Media
August 26, 2008
A What in the Armor?
ESPN.com recently raised some eyebrows when it ran the following headline about the US men's basketball team in China: "Chink in the Armor?" Their reaction—the headline was quickly rewritten—was quite different from that of the Spanish national basketball team when it was caught in an ad doing something else involving eyebrows. But, it turns out, the word "chink," as related to armor, is OK outside the US.
Varsity Letters
August 26, 2008
September 4: Gelf's Varsity Letters
Gelf's Varsity Letters sports reading series returns to New York on Thursday, September 4, at 8 p.m., for an evening about the Yankees and sports history. At this free monthly event at a Lower East Side bar, hosted by Gelf, Harvey Frommer, Buster Olney, and Dave Zirin will read from and talk about their work, and take questions. Frommer will recount the history of Yankee Stadium just before its last hurrah, Olney will chronicle the recently departed Yankee dynasty, and Zirin will profile examine sports history through the lens of politics.
Sports
August 25, 2008
It Had To Be the 'Roids
As Michael Phelps and the appropriately-named Usain Bolt broke world records, sportswriters got their suspicion on. Because it's totally inconceivable that anyone can accomplish anything in sports these days—well, at least sports where they test for doping; sports with less-than-rigorous testing regimes are oddly immune—without the help of performance-enhancing drugs. It's as if writers totally misunderstood the lesson of their false-hero-creation during baseball's steroids scandal, concluding they could be just as lazy as long as they were suspicious. Let the speculation parade begin!
Food
August 24, 2008
Wine Spectator Sells Its Credibility
Wine Spectator magazine is apparently in the business of handing out "Awards of Excellence" to restaurants with good wine lists—including fake ones. Writer Robin Goldstein proved this by making up a restaurant in Milan, complete with a website, phony menu, and reviews on Chowhound. He then wrote up a wine list, and submitted it to Wine Spectator for consideration, along with the $250 application fee. He won the award, despite the fact that the restaurant, Osteria l’Intrepido, does not exist, and, perhaps more damning, the wine list was not very good.
Sports
August 22, 2008
The Pate White Hope
Right now, Manu Ginobili is probably not interested in my condolences or congratulations. In a game in which he played only five minutes due to an injury, Manu's Argentinean teammates lost to their American counterparts and that perpetual adolescent we know as Carmelo Anthony. So I'll forgive Manu if he doesn't want to hear my hollow sports pieties.
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