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?

 

The Double Bonus: Episode 2

It’s episode two of the Double Bonus podcast! Listen as Tim and John S break down the weekend’s slate of games, and hear John S apologize for being so wrong. Click here for the podcast of a lifetime….

 

Aught Lang Syne: Quotes of the Decade

To accurately and sufficiently summarize the Aughts, we at NPI have compiled and organized what we believe to be the defining list of quotes from this decade. Some of these were soundbytes, some were entire news cycles, some were quoted ad nauseam, some are poignant, some are sad, and most are hilarious.

“Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.”

–President George W. Bush, September 20th, 2001

 

“There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says: Fool me once, shame on… shame on you… You fool me we can’t get fooled again.”

–President Bush, 2002

“Our enemies never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”

–President Bush, August 2004

 

“I actually did vote for the $87 million before I voted against it.”

–Senator John Kerry, 2004

 

“Yes We Can!”

–Senator Barack Obama, Repeated

Live Blogging ESPN’s 24 Hours of College Basketball: Evening

We’re in the homestretch now. This is Part IV of IV in our epic live blog of ESPN’s Season Tip Off Marathon. We’ve been covering it since 2 AM. You can check out the Overnight here, the Morning here, and the Afternoon here. For the Evening, both John S and Tim will cover Duke vs. Charlotte, then Tim will bring you his thoughts on Gonzaga at Michigan State and Memphis at Kansas.

12:20: Well, roughly 22 1/2 hours after we’ve started, it’s time to wrap up our live blog of the college basketball marathon. Can’t complain about those last two games: The No. 1 and No. 2 teams were taken to the wire. We discussed rust, the career of Timmy Chang, Jerry Glanville, what constitutes an X-factor, and if Temple and Georgetown played the worst half in the history of sports.

From the recliner in my parents’ basement, good night, and good luck.

12:18: After the pick with Coleman, Williams had a look from the right wing that looked pretty good–just a tad long. Can’t kill him for going for the win as the underdog.

I must admit, there was a small part of me that wanted Collins to hit both, Memphis to push the ball, and Williams to hit a game-tying three at the buzzer to send it to OT.

12:17: Tired legs: Sherron Collins comes up short on his first free throw. Memphis is out of timeouts, so you have to expect Elliot Williams and Coleman to run a pick-and-roll down the other end here. Kemp and Mack for kickouts.

12:13: Okay, Elliot. Don’t show off too much to your new friends. KU’s lead is one.

By the way, even though it didn’t work, I love how Pastner threw a zone at the Jayhawks last time down. And I love that Collins knew exactly what to do when he saw it.