Survivor Survival Guide: “Glitter in Their Eyes”

“I hate to say it, but I’m looking forward to Tribal Council. We’re finally going to get this tribe to play the game. This is real, and it starts now.” –Marty You might even have been able to tell from the episode’s title — “Glitter in Their Eyes” — that last night’s third installment of [...]

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Survivor Survival Guide: “Fatigue Makes Cowards of Us All”

“Every time she speaks, it becomes more evident she’s crazy. I’m gonna keep one eye on Holly and one eye on my shoes.” –Tyrone The second episode of Survivor: Nicaragua, which I believe is the first episode of a television series to be named for a quote taken from one Super Bowl winning coach by [...]

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Whose Ties Are You Calling “Weak”?

In this week’s New Yorker, the estimable Malcolm Gladwell takes, among other things, umbrage at the idea that tools of social media, like Twitter and Facebook, can be used for social activism. This idea has been popular for over a year now, dating back at least to the so-called “Twitter Revolution” in Moldova last year, [...]

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Monday Medley

What we read while wondering why nobody asked us to testify before Congress… On the twentieth anniversary of what may be Martin Scorsese’s best film, GQ ran a fascinating oral history of the making of the Goodfellas. The Sporting News lists the 20 smartest professional athletes. Biggest Disappointment? Peyton Manning’s 1030 SAT Score (yes, that [...]

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Every Game Counts…Week 4

In my neverending quest to rail against the BCS, I am calculating week-by-week how many games this college football season really “count” (as in, influence the national title picture). After three weeks, the carnage is settling in, with 66 of the 120 FBS teams cannot make the BCS championship (a refresher on my criteria), including [...]

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You Can (Obviously) Prove A Negative

Everyone knows this is true. For one, there are several obvious negative statements that pretty much everyone knows are true and can easily prove (“George W. Bush is not the President,” “Red is not the same color as blue,” “Carlos Mencia is not funny,” etc.). On a less mundane level, whether a statement is positive [...]

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Unabated to the QB, Week 2: From Beast to Least

“A man is always a prey to his truths.” –Albert Camus NFC BEAST. That’s what we called it. The Redskins and Cowboys, Giants and Eagles. The SEC of the NFL. It wasn’t always the best division, but it was always in the conversation. Year after year, all talk about teams from the NFC East had [...]

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Survivor Survival Guide: “How to Make Fire with a Coconut”

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t want another girl to win. We already get owned in marriage. Pretty soon, we’ll have a woman president. A guy needs to sack up, and we need to win this one.” –Shannon (who is a guy) Let’s face facts: The first episode of a Survivor season is [...]

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36 Past and Numerous Future New York Times Articles Consolidated Under One Title

“Jews Exist in Every Part of the Country, Some Parts of Other Countries, Are of Different Races, and Sometimes Did Not Start Out Jewish”

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Monday Medley

What we read while dabbling in witchcraft…. John S wasn’t the only one to review Jonathan Franzen’s new novel, Freedom (obvs); the book has been reviewed positively by Esquire, The Millions, The Guardian, and of course The New York Times (twice!). This in addition to appearing on the cover of Time. Ron Charles gave it a [...]

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