Monday Medley

What we read after shoveling snow…

• Community returned! And it actually had impressive ratings (for NBC). Speaking of which, can NBC ever rebound from its current slump?

• Pope Benedict XVI is resigning, which a pope hasn’t done in, oh, about 600 years. Undoubtedly, Charles V had something to do with this.

• Some reflections on last week’s Super Bowl blackout, and how it revealed the worthlessness of the CBS broadcast team.

• An excellent story on how Jay Williams bounced back from his career-ending motocycle accident.

• Eamonn Brennan on what Notre Dame’s five-overtime epic with Louisville says about college basketball.

• The Justice Department’s memo on the legal case for drone strikes against Americans was released last week, just days before John Brennan, the “chief architect” of the drone program, testified before Congress to become the new CIA chief. It was not the most grueling of job interviews.

• Why don’t bankers go to jail?

• My Bloody Valentine released their first record in 22 years.

• What IS the future of college?

• Roberto Bolaño on writing short stories.

• Probably the most interesting story about headphones you’ll read this week.

‘Twas 2012: Top Ten Television Episodes of the Year

Here are the best episodes of 2012. Obviously this contains spoilers:

10) “Argentina” — Dexter

One of the nicest surprises on television this year was Dexter’s renaissance in quality. After some misguided years and a true nadir of a season in 2011, Dexter finally embraced a real progression in the story—having Debra find out about her brother’s “hobby”—and was all the better for it. The tension between Deb and Dexter led to some of the show’s best scenes ever. And since Dexter didn’t spend the entire season chasing his usual Big Bad Guy, Season Seven actually had decent subplots, including great guest performances from Ray Stevenson and Yvonne Strahovski. In “Argentina,” the show was even able to address the weirdest element of last season—Deb’s crush on her brother—in an impressive and compelling way.

Monday Medley

What we read while picking the worst day to skydive from only 23 miles up…

• It was a rough weekend to be a Yankee fan, as the team dropped two games to Detroit and Derek Jeter broke his ankle and missed the first playoff game of his career. Joe Posnanski pondered life without Jeter, and also wrote about A-Rod’s struggles. He also hung out with Pete Rose.

• A revealing video on the abuses of NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy.

• What happens when sportswriters turn into celebrities?

• There was a Vice Presidential debate last week, but what topics weren’t covered? Just like the first Presidential debate, key issues were ignored by the candidates and moderator, such as the Drug War, which Gary Johnson (who has been excluded from the debates, of course) wrote about last week.

• Speaking of silenced opinions, what is happening to free speech?

• George Saunders short story!

• Reflections on last week’s holiday.

• An interview with the new showrunners of Community.

• A story on the weird deal between T. Boone Pickens and the Oklahoma State Athletic Department.

• Frontline‘s excellent piece on high school dropouts is available online. PBS is so much more than Big Bird.

Top Ten Things To Be Excited About For the Fall TV Season

Every year this list gets harder and harder to write. After a spring of Mad Men, Girls, and Veep, followed by asummer of Breaking Bad, Louie, Wilfred, and Pretty Little Liars, fall is starting to look like the worst part of television’s year: another round of network shows destined to be cancelled after a few weeks, or so broad and grating that they’re hard to watch. Nevertheless, there’s usually something to be excited about, even if I have to dig deep to round out the list:

10) Ben & Kate Premieres September 25 on FOX

I’m throwing this on the list because it felt wrong not to include any new comedies, even if this year’s batch seems particularly uninspired. At least this one has Jim Rash’s writing partner, Nat Faxon, in it. Plus a cute kid…

Monday Medley

What we read while they protested Mark Zuckerberg’s wedding in Chicago…

• Though Community was picked up for a fourth season, Dan Harmon will no longer be the showrunner. Despite the prayers of cast members and fans, Sony did not renew his contract. It also does not sound like Harmon is open to returning in a lesser capacity. Can the show survive without its primary creative force (not to mention those leaving out of loyalty to Harmon)?

• What new shows look the most promising?

• A New York judge blocked part of the controversial National Defense Authorization Act for chilling speech. Also, a judge from the Ninth Circuit questioned the government on the existence of the “No Fly” List. In other judicial news, the origin story of the Citizens United case.

• Noam Chomsky compares Obama and Bush.

Monday Medley

What we read while praying for Mariano’s ACL…

• Adam Yauch, or MCA of the Beastie Boys, died last week at the age of 47. He was a founding member of one of the most influential and pioneering acts in hip-hop. Yauch was often cited as the conscience of the group, which was often noted for its conscience–whether they were calling out the widespread misogyny in hip-hop, or opposing American foreign policy.

• In other news from the music world, some thoughts on the recent anniversary of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

• The Occupy movement mobilized for May Day last week, organizing a series of protests that were (shockingly) met with police resistance. The scenes were oddly familiar. In other Occupy news, the scenes from UC Davis last fall were actually not as bad as they looked; they were worse.

• Jeff MacGregor on the aged gracefulness of Rivera and Martin Brodeur.

• Junior Seau’s death just added to the unbelievable curse of the ’94 Chargers, chronicled back in 2008 by Les Carpenter.

• One of Mitt Romney’s former employees claims the rich aren’t rich enough. Meanwhile, what would a President Romney’s foreign policy look like?

• On the death of Community‘s beloved ancillary character, Starburns.

• The hypocrisy of Paul Ryan.

• Descriptions of Breaking Bad episodes that also describe the series.

• President Obama, as told by his ex-girlfriends.

• Who is Sarah Phillips? Or who was she, before she got fired?

• We want this Pontiac.

Monday Medley

What we read while debating the merits of Spandau Ballet…

• Duke’s loss to Lehigh – the second 2-seed upset on Friday, after none for 11 years – pretty much killed our brackets. But President Obama is sitting pretty. Maybe he used this model for his.

• Though John S criticized Grantland’s The Wire bracket, he was happy for Michael K. Williams and Omar.

• This American Life has retracted one of its most popular stories, about Mike Daisey’s trip to an Apple factory in China. Apparently, Daisey made a lot of it up. So I’m sure Apple’s labor practices are totally fine…

• Greg Smith, a former executive at Goldman Sachs, explained why he left the much-maligned corporation. Will this be the end of vampire squid culture?

• Community is back! Here’s everything you need to know to start watching.

• It was a rough week for the guy from the “Kony 2012″ video. He made a less successful video.

• What ever happened to the cast of Boy Meets World?

• Advice from Jack Kerouac.

Monday Medley

What we read while Joseph Kony stood up to his cyberbullies…

• Yesterday was Selection Sunday! St. Bonaventure stole a spot (which would have gone to one of six teams) on the final day, and Iona snuck in, but other than that, there weren’t many snubs. Start filling out your brackets…

• If you hadn’t heard of Joseph Kony, the Ugandan warlord and new Internet sensation, before last week, you almost certainly have by now, thanks to the video made by Invisible Children. Though Kony is certainly an evil man, there have been lots of questions raised about the video’s accuracy and intent, as well as the nature of online activism. (It’s only a matter of time before Malcolm Gladwell starts trashing it…)

• Speaking of war crimes, Eric Holder clarified the Obama Administration’s position on when it can kill you. Here’s a hint: Judicial process is not always necessary! This policy may seem unwise, but nobody bothered to ask President Obama about it the next day.

• On the other hand, Obama called Republican candidates on their bullshit regarding Iran. Of course, Obama has basically been doing everything the Republicans say they would do on the issue of Iran. Can you even tell him apart from George W. Bush? And would a nuclear Iran even be so bad?

• Grantland unveiled its bracket to determine the best character on The Wire. Michael Schur responded with his own bracket, and Grantland featured some highlights of the show’s characters. Meanwhile, The Village Voice unveiled a bracket of best musicians from New York.

• In other news of great TV, someone cut a video of all the Breaking Bad openings.

• Surprise! The TSA full body scanners are ineffective. The TSA can barely muster a defense.

• A very cool basketball graphic.

• Why didn’t Rush Limbaugh’s sponsors leave after he said all this stuff?

• Dennis Kucinich’s congressional career is likely over. Will he be missed? Or was he just “wacky”?

• The Gospel according to Louis C.K.

• Kate Hopkins offers some advice for traveling alone.

• An empirical look at the effects of Citizens United.

• Why Jonathan Franzen and the Internet will never get along.

Going to ’11: The Best Television Episodes of the Year

Is This Episode on the List?

Well, the 2012 list is pretty much all wrapped up, but what were the best episodes of TV in 2011?

10) “You’re Getting Old” – South Park

 This was not the funniest episode of South Park this year, or even the best, but it was certainly the most memorable for the way it dealt with the show’s ongoing existence. As Trey Parker and Matt Stone found success on Broadway with The Book of Mormon while their aging series had now passed its 200^th episode, they were bound to start questioning the value of a show that “just shows how shitty things are.” When Randy and Sharon Marsh broke up, it seemed like a thinly veiled commentary by Parker/Stone on the series itself (“Every week it’s kind of the same story in a different way, but it just keeps getting more and more ridiculous”). It was so jarring that some people expected it to be a surprise series finale. Of course, I’m happy Parker and Stone are continuing with the series, and the fact they are willing to question the value of the show is part of why it’s so great.

 

Monday Medley

What we read while wondering what it’d be like if we’d never been born…

• Yesterday was the best day of the year (according to Tim), in part because of the music and the television specials associated with the holiday.

• In honor of Christmas, a classic David Sedaris essay about how they celebrate the holiday overseas.

• Hopefully you took time out of your Christmas celebration to think about those who are truly less fortunate: The 1%.

• Speaking of rich people, Louis C.K.’s new special has passed the $1 million mark, and he’s decided to give some of the proceeds to charity.

• A ranking of the 100 best Twitter accounts of 2011.

• In other news of year end lists, Hulu named Community the best comedy of 2011. YOU HEAR THAT, NBC?!

• Jonah Keri explains how the Yankees learned the value of not spending money.

• Roger Ebert lists and explains his top feature movies and top documentaries of 2011.

• Funny or Die’s Billy on the Street debuted on Fuse this week, and NYT wrote about it.