Monday Medley

What we read after deleting the AP from our contacts…

• The Obama Administration seized two months’ worth of phone records from the Associated Press, ostensibly to investigate a leak in Yemen. Understandably, reporters did not like this infringement on freedom of the press, citing the “horrific chilling effect on journalism.” The law behind the seizure is tricky (and may be changing), but the dangerous effects are already clear.

• Every recurring joke in Arrested Development.

• Angelina Jolie had a preemptive double mastectomy and spoke out about BRCA.

• How are the Yankees winning?

• A goodbye to Barbara Walters.

• What is “terrorism”? Does Benghazi count? And how does radicalization happen?

• The future of online education.

• Jaron Lanier on the Internet and the middle class. Also, a review of Lanier’s new book and other Internet partisans.

• Here’s what OWS is up to lately.

Monday Medley

What we read while North Korea tried to book Toni Kukoc next…

• Larissa MacFarquhar’s comprehensive account of the life and tragic death of Aaron Swartz.

• Rand Paul spoke for 13 hours on the floor of the Senate, filibustering John Brenna’s confirmation to protest the Obama Administration’s use of drones and bringing attention to the country’s drone policy. Though Attorney General Eric Holder wrote a response to Senator Paul, there are still unanswered questions (as well as the unreleased report on CIA torture) about the program and Paul vowed to keep fighting. Meanwhile, the NYT ran a story on the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, which was condemned by the ACLU for selective disclosure.

• A Mila Kunis interview went viral for showing why the actress is so beloved.

• Vulture is now trying to determine the best sitcom of the past 30 years. Will Leitch picked Cheers over Arrested Development.

• Speaking of bracketology, an account of Dick Vitale’s love for Duke.

• Longtime Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died. What does that mean for Venezuela?

• David Foster Wallace on five common usage errors.

• On Jerry Brown’s second term as California Governor.

• Reflections on the 10 year anniversary of the Iraq War.

• Can one woman change the nature of Internet porn?

 

Monday Medley

What we read while building our own Death Star in the private sector…

• Aaron Swartz, an Internet pioneer and activist, died this weekend at the age of 26. Though the causes were many, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Swartz was the target of a prolonged federal prosecution that some have called “bullying” in the name of intellectual property and emblematic of a broken criminal justice system. Swartz’s heroism has inspired many to combat the “intellectual property” racket.

• For the first time since 1996, no players were elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame this year. You’re not going to believe this, but Joe Posnanski had a lot to say about the shutout. But the best analysis of the vote was probably Jonah Keri’s at Grantland.

• Dan LeBatard and Jason Taylor team up to make you feel awful about enjoying the weekend’s NFL action.

• What happens when you cast Lindsay Lohan in your movie?

• With the Golden Globes last night and the Academy Award nominations now out, the debate over the morality of Zero Dark Thirty has resurfaced. Some are comparing it to Argo (besides John S, who did that last month).

• A conversation between George Saunders and his editor.

• Marc Maron goes over his favorite episodes of his podcast.

• In other comedy news, the cast of Arrested Development reunited to talk about the new episodes.

• Elizabeth Wurtzel wrote a…something…for New York last week. It has, predictably, generated some reaction. But what would Hannah Horvath think of it?

• The complicated questions behind imprisoning pedophiles.

• Remember Watson, the computer that dominated Jeopardy a couple years ago? Well, apparently he still does not get slang.

• On Mike Francesa.

• Where the characters from Full House would be today.

Monday Medley

What we read while strategically placing our infield flies…

• The tragic but inspiring story of Tig Notaro, whose set you can now buy from Louis C.K.  Speaking of Louis C.K., is Jerry Seinfeld the anti-Louie?

• The San Francisco Weekly explains how Bleacher Report — home to, without hyperbole, the trashiest, most nonsensical sports “articles” on the web — grew to be worth $200 million.

• Some stuff from Noam Chomsky about Occupy Wall Street and the upcoming election. Glenn Greenwald also finds the election to be an illusion of choice.

• Speaking of which, there was a debate last week, which Mitt Romney apparently won. This drove some Obama supporters nuts. They can be an hysterical bunch. Meanwhile, the confessions of an anonymous partisan. And a great piece by Ta-Nehisi Coates from a few weeks ago.

• What did David Foster Wallace have to say about comedy?

• More reasons to get excited for Arrested Development‘s imminent return.

• Joe Posnanski apologizes to Yankee fans for doubting the team.

• Can good writing fix bad schools?

• The New Yorker covers the making of Korean pop.

• The New York film locations of North by Northwest, then and now.

Monday Medley

What we read while Peyton Manning’s head stayed on…

• NPI’s thoughts go out to Brandon McCarthy, a good pitcher and a great Tweeter, who got hit with a line drive. He’s still in serious condition, but keeps making us laugh.

• The Atlantic breaks down where Bill Clinton improvised in his DNC speech.

• Vikings punter Chris Kluwe offers an amazing response to a Maryland state senator’s idiotic letter opposing an NFLer’s support of gay marriage.

• Mitch Hurwitz talks about bringing back Arrested Development.

• The Awl tries to solve a murder.

• D.T. Max’s biography of David Foster Wallace came out last month (read an excerpt). Max has been discussing certain documents he reviewed in the course of writing, including DFW’s childhood writing and his first pitch letter. Meanwhile, at least one prominent author hates Wallace, and someone who edited both of them says he knows why.

• Vince Gilligan discusses the finale of Breaking Bad. Someone on the Internet estimates how much cash Walter White actually had.

• Speaking of the drug war, here’s an excellent piece on the use/abuse of confidential informants by the police.

• Ten heartbreaking moments from The Simpsons.

• Art Modell died. Joe Posnanski, a native of Cleveland, offered his thoughts, which were more generous than some other Clevelanders. Posnanski also weighed in on the Strasburg decision.

• An interesting look at the parallels between Kristen Stewart and the “war on women.”

Monday Medley

What we read while taking multiple small steps…

• The summer of gun violence continued at the Empire State Building this week, though this time it was the police who did a lot of the damage.

• In other sad news, this week also saw the deaths of Neil Armstrong and Tony Scott. Ben Zimmer at Language Log addresses the alleged flub of Armstrong’s first words on the moon. Meanwhile, Tyler Cowen excerpts a bunch of fascinating articles on Armstrong.

• Ron Paul will not be speaking at the Republican National Convention this week because he doesn’t fully endorse Mitt Romney, but he held his own rally last night in Tampa. What is the future of the libertarian wave he helped start? Rand Paul, meanwhile, will be speaking about defense spending tomorrow.

• Michael K. Williams, who played Omar Little on The Wire, opens up about his past.

• 53 jokes from Arrested Development you may have missed.

• Will Leitch on Lance Armstrong.

• Roger Ebert discusses Gene Siskel’s disdain for “Lip Flap,” which sounds pretty much like small talk.

• What can the Pussy Riot sentence teach Americans?

Monday Medley

What we read while Reagan’s ghost cleaned up the mess at UC-Davis…

• In the real darkest timeline, Community was left off of NBC’s mid-season schedule, though NBC insists the show isn’t actually cancelled. Fans of the show are panicking and taking to the Internet to express their outrage. Alison Brie even showed up on The Soup (which may actually have more viewers than Community) to hype the show. The last episode of the show bore some resemblance to this recent GQ story.

• In news from the other end of TV comedy spectrum, Arrested Development has a new home!

• An in-depth look at sex education.

• States all across the country have been coordinating with federal law enforcement and barring media access and destroying books (America truly is the land of the free…) while they shut down the Occupy Wall Street protests. There’s a decent argument that this will help the movement in the long run, but don’t tell that to the elderly women and peaceful students who’ve been getting pepper sprayed. There have been questions about the police response throughout the country. Some of the most damning footage has come from UC-Davis, where some faculty have expressed outrage and are calling for the resignation of the school chancellor. Two police officers have been placed on administrative leave.

• Meanwhile, the 1% really want to pay more taxes.

• Life pokes fun at itself with its 20 worst covers.

• The tragedy at Penn State continues to unfold, with more reactions pouring in from all sorts of perspectives, including a priest’s and a whistleblower’s. Plus, here’s the full transcript of Bob Costas’ interview with Jerry Sandusky, for which he had 15 minutes to prepare.

• On the other end of college athletics spectrum, Coach K passed Bobby Knight for the most wins in Division I college basketball.

• Roger Craig pulled off possibly the coolest move in Jeopardy history in last week’s Tournament of Champions. Esquire‘s Chris Jones breaks it all down. Jones also spent a Friday in Cambridge talking craft with Gay Talese. You won’t believe what Talese takes his notes on.

• Speaking of Alex Trebek, Matthew Weiner has a bone to pick with him. Also, an inside look at the Nielsen numbers.

Monday Medley

What we read while Boston mourned…

• Last Wednesday was possibly the greatest night in baseball history, with Boston and Atlanta finishing epic collapses with blown saves in the ninth. Nate Silver put the odds of all that happening at about one in 278 million. Bill Simmons live-blogged the night from a Boston perspective, while Joe Posnanski summed up what it all meant to baseball. Even the venerable Roger Angell was amazed…

• Meanwhile, Obama did something that was almost certainly illegal and also probably stupid.

• New York Times Magazine ran its Food and Drink issue this week, which included Michael Pollan answering interesting questions on “food mysteries”  and Tyler Cowen on how to eat decently at seemingly lousy restaurants.

• Atul Gawande wonders why coaching isn’t a more prevalent practice.

• We came across this oral history of Wet Hot American Summer a few weeks ago, but shamefully forgot to link to it until now.

• In other comedy news, NPI-favorite John Mulaney talked The A.V. Club and New York Magazine runs an oral history of the Upright Citizens Brigade.

• Chuck Klosterman breaks down the plight of a fantasy owner.

• We really hope this story isn’t an illusion…

Monday Medley

What we read while eating a variety of fried foods in Rick Parry’s tent…

• Heaven isn’t too far away for Jani Lane of Warrant now, who passed away this weekend at 47. Chuck Klosterman puts the passing of a glam icon in perspective.

• Klosterman also put this season of Louie in perspective, joining its chorus of praise.

• Did Conan pull a Jay Leno on George Lopez? (Not really)

• In other TV news, the end of Breaking Bad is sadly in sight. Meanwhile, Matthew Weiner’s recent deal for Mad Men may be wreaking havoc on other AMC shows.

• Dan Uggla’s recently snapped hitting streak inspired a couple of pieces by Joe Poz.

• Cato Unbound has a discussion on the rise of women, and fall (?) of men.

• An intriguing online law journal, The Journal of Things We Like (Lots).

• More tax-the-rich garbage from that famous class warrior, Warren Buffet.

• Every villain has an origin story, and Michele Bachmann is no different.

• This is the story of a wealthy family who lost everything…

Monday Medley

What we read while snacking with Joey Chestnut…

• Matt Taibbi’s frightening profile of Michele Bachmann, who’s doing pretty well in the Iowa polls.

• Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of Jim Morrison’s untimely demise.

• Is Roger Federer’s run as a great player officially over? That seems to the be the feeling following his surprising loss at Wimbledon. It was just two years ago, though, that Tim was wondering if he’d cemented his status as the GOAT.

• There seem to be a few people trying to defend Michael Bay these days, particularly in this GQ oral history, but a few people who have seen the latest Transformers know better.

• An interview with Joshua Malina about the SadSadConversation YouTube phenomenon.

• The Sixth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the health care mandate, and Jeff Sutton became the first Republican-appointed judge to uphold the mandate in a uniquely and incredibly well-written opinion. Orin Kerr asks what conservative intermediate-court judges are to do with liberal precedents. Meanwhile, the excellent (and new) Just Enrichment blog offers some doctrinal and non-doctrinal analysis of the case.

• We imagine this would be even funnier if we’d seen Game of Thrones.

• An interesting dialogue about the state of plagiarism.

• Louis C.K. appears on Jimmy Kimmel.

• An appropriate farewell to Glenn Beck…