Monday Medley

What we read after knocking out Manny Pacquiao…

• Some great lists of the year’s best photographs, as well as an illustrated deck of cards for The Wire characters.

• The leaked audio of Fox News’ Kathleen McFarland talking to David Petraeus last year is sickening and revealing.

• Judd Apatow edited the first comedy issue of Vanity Fair, which featured, among other things, this oral history of Freaks and Geeks.

• The ongoing persecution of Bradley Manning continues, but most of the media, including The New York Times which benefited from his leaks, is still ignoring him.

• Joe Posnanski on breaking down the baseball Hall of Fame. Also, Will Leitch on Bob Costas.

• Everything you ever wanted to know about New York City candy shops.

• The militarization of America’s police forces, and some moral questions about the military itself.

• What happened to Google Reader?

• Why significant credit card bonuses are here to stay.

• Noam Chomsky celebrated his birthday this weekend.

• Why the fiscal cliff doesn’t really matter.

• Jay-Z on the subway.

• The worst free throw of all time.

Monday Medley

What we read while deleting our emails from David Petraeus…

• Joe Posnanski tackled last week’s MLB awards, from Rookie of the Year, to Manager of the Year, to the Cy Young, to the polarizing MVP debate, which divided the nation.

• Israel spent the week bombing the Gaza Strip after an escalation in rockets from Hamas, though it’s hard to tell who initiated the fighting. Some say Netanyahu’s motives are political, while others insist he’s simply misguided. Of course, the human toll is tragic as civilians and even the press are caught in the middle. But at least it’s making for some great social media fodder!

• Pete Wells penned the restaurant review of the year.  Language Log uses a review of the review to talk about misnegation.

• How sticky are toilet preferences?

• The incoherence of defending drone strikes.

• Why do teachers quit?

• The Petraeus scandal is having ramifications for the growing surveillance state as people question the legitimacy of the FBI’s intrusion.

• A history of Nintendo controllers.

• Man, this North Carolina academic scandal is getting so ugly, some of those players should start enrolling at Western Oklahoma State College.

• D.T. Max on a new collection of David Foster Wallace nonfiction.

• In case you still felt good about ESPN’s, ahem, journalism…

• Life as a New York Times trend story…

• Why marrying Jerramy Stevens was probably not Hope Solo’s best idea.

Monday Medley

What we read after Carlos Beltran’s “foul ball”…

• A Met finally threw a no-hitter! Mike Vaccaro of the NY Post pulled the old columnist’s trick of driving to the ballpark after the fifth inning (worth it) while Brian Costa told the story inning by inning. Faith and Fear in Flushing puts Santana’s no-hitter in perspective. Joe Posnanski offers his views on the matter.

• Last week’s New York Times story on President Obama’s “Kill List” caused quite the controversy, particularly its revelation that the Obama Administration considers all military-aged males combatants. Harper’s also has the accounts of the inevitable unintended victims of this administration’s drone policies. Of course, liberals get very upset when you say negative things about Obama sending killer robots to other countries.

• The best part about watching the Stanley Cup Finals (GO DEVILS!) is listening to Mike Emrick, sports’ master of verbs.

• Chris Hayes, who was one of those attacked for criticizing Obama’s drone wars, got in trouble from the other side of the spectrum for daring to question whether all soldiers are heroes. And on Memorial Day!

• Jeff Pearlman chats with Shawn Green about what retirement from baseball is like. Can you guys believe Shawn Green once hit 49 homers for the Dodgers?

• This Week in Oral Histories: Maxim uses the tenth anniversary of the premiere of The Wire to look back at the greatest series in television history.

• In other TV news, Christina Hendricks discusses Joan’s controversial decision from last Sunday’s Mad Men.

• 100 years of Woody Guthrie.

• The sad state of Conan. 

• Andy Samberg is officially leaving SNL. Is Taran Killam the next big thing?

• Some of history’s most powerful photographs.

Monday Medley

What we read while trying to find some NFL Draft coverage…

• The White House Correspondents’ Dinner was this weekend, but what the hell is the point of that thing anyway? Elsewhere in the world of political journalism, Conor Friedersdorf examines Glenn Beck’s Web TV network. On the other end of the political spectrum (probably), Aaron Sorkin’s new show is about the world of cable news.

• The New York Times examines how good the F.B.I. is at stopping the terrorist plots that it hatches and funds. It almost makes you think that Muslim anger at the United States might not be all about hating freedom.

• Chuck Klosterman catches the world’s least desirable double feature: In one night he saw Creed and Nickelback in an effort to understand why those bands are so hated.

• Alex Baze talks about working with Del Close in Chicago. Matt Walsh talks about studying under Del Close, among other things, in this AV Club interview.

• A CNN case study of Stand Your Ground laws.

• Memory is a durable, and this has important implications for Josh’s views on travel.

• Mike Nifong’s successor as Durham County D.A. has followed in his footsteps: she has also been removed from office.

• Derek Jeter is off to a great start this season, but what are the odds of him catching Pete Rose’s hit total?

• Harvard stands up to the bullies of the academic publishing world.

• One of the better technological solutions you’ll see today.

• Finally someone ready to stand up for child pornographers…

Monday Medley

What we read while ESPN got a little carried away with the Jeremy Lin jokes…

• The Simpsons aired its 500th new episode last night, putting it up there with Gunsmoke and Lassie in terms of longevity. Of course, in terms of cultural influence, it’s probably #1. It’s common to rank episodes, but at this point it might be easier to rank seasons. For fun, try to come up with your favorite single quote.

• A graphical display of why aging is scary.

• The New York Times had an excellent piece on America’s expanding social safety net last Sunday, highlighting that even those most passionately against government spending are increasingly dependent on it. Some, like Paul Krugman, are quick to call this hypocrisy, but it’s much more complicated than that.

• Another cool Times thing: This interactive budget graphic!

• Linsanity is sweeping the nation! He’s making the Knicks relevant, and fun to watch again. Of course, New Yorkers are already thinking about how this could go wrong when Carmelo Anthony returns to the lineup. But the story has transcended sports: Lin has led to moronic columns from political commentators, and one of the most racist headlines you’ll ever see. ESPN has since apologized and fired those responsible for the headline… It’s just ironic, since ESPN had already spent so much airtime devising Lin-related puns.

• Comedy news: David Wain talks about his new movie, and Jim Gaffigan decides to follow the new Louis C.K. model for his next special.

• How Target can tell your pregnant before your father does.

• Goodbye A.J. Burnett. You will not really be missed…

• Speaking of baseball, here are the 10 worst swings of last season.

Monday Medley

What we read while jokingly telling Billy Donovan he outcoached us:

• Some absolute gangbusters college basketball journalism in the wake of a riveting weekend (and this is before seeing what the scribes have to say about VCU). The best of the bunch might be Luke Winn’s behind-the-scenes look at Butler, which includes yet another quote that makes everyone — us included — swoon over Brad Stevens: “Stevens stood on the court on Saturday night and someone asked him if what the Bulldogs just accomplished was unbelievable. ‘Believable is a better term,’ he said. ‘It’s a more positive term, it makes you live life a little bit better, it makes you a bit more thankful for the opportunities and take advantage of them.’”

• We also really liked Bob Kravitz’s take on the Bulldogs at the Indy Star and Les Carpenter’s at Rivals.com.

• This piece on Bill Self’s likability may not be welcome in Lawrence anytime soon.

• Kyle Whelliston takes down the RPI! The fight is not lost! (We wonder if Kyle’s head is going to explode with a mid-major national semifinal on Saturday.)

• A friend of the blog over at The Sports Angle bids farewell to Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith far more eloquently than we can…at least at this point. Meanwhile, we assume that Duke only lost to Arizona on Thursday so Coach K could end the season on a nice round number…

• Nice writeup of Tim’s favorite basketball stats hound, Ken Pomeroy.

• Bryan Caplan defends the deserving-undeserving poor distinction.

• We forget if we gave the official thumbs-up to Quickish already, but if not, here it is. Best thing to have open during Tourney games or really any sporting event.

• What we’ve all been waiting for: an Asperger’s comedy troupe!

• The NY Times looks at the styles of David Stern and Roger Goodell, and why Stern will win his lockout and Goodell won’t. More good stuff on the NFL lockout from, of all places, the literary magazine n + 1.

• We read stuff not about sports, too! We loved The Hooded Utilitarian‘s Victorian take on The Wire, although you could’ve probably seen that coming.

• Trey Parker and Matt Stone have a new show, The Book of Mormon, opening on Broadway. While some will certainly be offended, the South Park duo has apparently mellowed out over the years.

• Remarkable first-hand account of being trapped in Libya from a quartet of Times journalists.

• Will Leitch tries to cheer up Josh and Tim.

• Trivia question: Who died first, Elizabeth Taylor or the author of her obituary?

Monday Medley

What we read while Sunday came afterwards…

• Think newspaper design is dead? Check out these fantastic presentations of the NCAA Tournament bracket, ranging from a terrific takeoff on Facebook to a traditional yearbook-themed design. Other highlights from what is always one of the best weeks in college basketball journalism: Princeton alum Sean Gregory’s retrospective on the Tigers’ memorable upset of UCLA in 1996 (chock full of inside info), Joe Posnanski’s breakdown of Texas’ terrible timeout, a New York Times profile of Gus Johnson, Matt Norlander’s story on Morehead State coach Donnie Tyndall and his family, and Tim Layden’s look at that little title game played last season.

• If you somehow missed Jalen Rose’s comments about Duke from the Fab Five documentary, here is the response from Grant Hill, as well as one from Michael Wilbon and another from Jason Whitlock.

• We might have found ourselves a new favorite punter.

• One of our favorite comedians is taking a dramatic turn on Broadway, and one of his costars calls out Hollywood in this interview with Vulture.

• On a sober note, the New York Times’ Peter Wynn Kirby addresses Japan’s nuclear problems through the lens of the nation’s cinematic obsession with nuclear-themed horror films.

• A former Oxford University Press editor offers advice to book authors seeking to be published.

• Richard Posner and Gary Becker on the value of a college degree.

• An oral history of The Strokes, up to their newest album, Angles.

Monday Medley

What we read while Seth Greenberg wondered what he did…

• Felicia “Snoop” Pearson, who played a character of the same name on The Wire, was arrested on drug charges. David Simon issued a response criticizing America’s absurd “War on Drugs.”

• We continue our new Monday Medley tradition of linking to profiles of great college basketball analysts!

• Shortly after The New York Times Magazine profiled him, Baylor’s Perry Jones was suspended by the NCAA. The move was questioned by many.

• Nate Silver wants you to pick against Notre Dame.

• Parks & Recreation was part of PaleyFest 2011, put on by the excellent Paley Center.

• Who wouldn’t watch CNBC if Gus Johnson were reporting on the Dow?

• Rand Paul is no faint-hearted libertarian.

• Will future generations understand The Simpsons? And should we care?

• More DFW stuff: After an excerpt from The Pale King appeared in The New Yorker, The Howling Fantods compared the excerpt to an earlier reading given by Wallace. Meanwhile, some are wondering if people are trying cash in on the author’s death.

• Is the film industry fundamentally broken?

• A recent episode of 30 Rock dealt with the issue of women in comedy, which has led some to wonder what Liz Lemon means to feminism. Meanwhile, Molly Lambert breaks down how to be a woman in a boys’ club. (I’ll bet you never expected a whole women’s issues bullet point in an Monday Medley!)

• An interview with an NPI favorite comedian, in which the nature of comedy is debated. Also, he balances out that whole feminism point with his on-stage misogyny.

• For the creative scorekeeper in you…

• Have you been wondering why Tim hasn’t been recapping this season of Survivor? Well, hopefully this can tide you over….

Monday Medley

What we read while asking and telling like crazy…

• The best of longform journalism in 2010. Do we need any more links this week? Oh fine, whatever.

• How cool is this? The New York Times asked several industry experts in 1931 what the world would look like in 2011; their answers are by turns enlightening and hilarious.

• It was a week of Joe Posnanski writing about pitchers, with his thoughts on Cliff Lee signing with Philadelphia, on Zack Greinke’s trade demands, and on the late Bob Feller.

• In other sports journalism news, here’s an oldie from Sports Illustrated in which Gary Smith breaks down the trials of Rickie Parker. Buzz Bissinger is cool with Cam Newton. And the Fayetteville Observer‘s Dan Wiederer unleashed a fantastic and in-depth look at Mike Krzyzewski, including a dig at K’s fascination with criticizing our old student newspaper stomping grounds. Joe Drews was right!

• 60 Minutes had a fascinating feature on superior autobiographical memory, a rare characteristic where individuals remember ordinary details from every day of their lives. Dr. James McGaugh, the neurobiologist behind the study of these individuals, has an interesting academic background.

• Mark Zuckerberg is Time‘s Person of the Year, for reasons that apparently have to do with more than the fact that he had a movie made about him this year. He seems honored. And hey, that new profile allows for some artistic creativity!

• In other award news, this man’s mantle as Christmas’ chief hatemonger has been passed on to our very own John S.

• Tyler Cowen explains the truth about income inequality. Cowen also linked to this, um, intriguing dating website profile of Julian Assange. And, making Josh ecstatic, Cowen gives an “informal audit” of the past ten issues of the New York Times Magazine’s Year in Ideas in this year’s issue.

• In the wake of Season Five of Dexter, Esquire explains how the character is the new face of American justice… or something like that.

• When Parents Text is this week’s FML.

Monday Medley

What we read while you were thankful for your favorite blog…

• R.I.P. Leslie Nielsen.

• And R.I.P. diplomatic cables?

• If you were patted down by TSA agents this weekend, take comfort in this: They don’t like it any more than you do.

• John Paul Stevens on the death penalty. And he still looks great in a bowtie.

• After releasing his new album to critical and commercial success, Kanye West performed all of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy at Bowery Ballroom last week. He ended the show with a beautiful, dark, twisted rant.

• You knew someone was going to do it–that someone was gonna go all, “Hey, doesn’t the decade really end in 2010?” and put out another encompassing review of the Aughts, 2010 inclusive. That someone turned out to be Time, which is attempting to launch an annual “Timeframes Issue” with its glance back at the last 11 years. Of special note (IOHO, of course and taking into account that some stories are not online) is James Poniewozik’s shortie on news tickers.

• Slate‘s Tom Scocca, while on a cruise vacation over Thanksgiving, was inspired to post a 1998 interview he did with David Foster Wallace in several parts. The focus is primarily on Wallace’s non-fiction work, specifically his cruise essay, “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again.”

• Looking for a way to procrastinate? Here are the funniest “Watch Instantly” options on Netflix.

• How To Use Extremely Negative Reviews of Your Customer Service to Your Advantage: A Primer.

• Say what you will about Obama’s policies, but the man is cool.

• Does Wall Street produce anything of social value?

• Boy, we’re glad we weren’t alive for the most boring day of the 20th Century.

• What exactly do sportswriters mean when they refer to “relevance”?

• Tim’s excitement for the return of Pretty Little Liars in January was officially ratcheted up with the release of this trailer.