Monday Medley

What we read while Warren Buffett slept soundly…

• Paul Ryan’s controversial statements about poverty and inner city black men set off a larger discussion between Ta-Nehisi Coates, Jonathan Chait, and others about the way political figures talk about America’s racial history.

• On Duke losing. Also, the NCAA Tournament bracket by tuition.

• Will Citi Bikes survive the winter?

• The first excerpt from Jonah Keri’s new book on the Montreal Expos.

• A profile of Matt Taibbi and a his new online magazine.

• Tracking anonymous quotes in the Times.

• A giant interview with Dan Harmon on his return to Community.

• Surviving in the “gig economy”.

• The most you’ll ever like Justin Bieber.

Monday Medley

What we read while adding “infallibility” to our résumés…

• A fascinating story about the soldier who shot Osama bin Laden.

• Yesterday was Michael Jordan’s 50th birthday, and Wright Thompson turned in a great profile on his life after basketball. Sports Illustrated published an oral history of his most famous dunk, but really it was a moment to reflect on Space Jam. Craig Ehlo on what it was like to guard Jordan.

• The Pope announced his retirement. How will he be remembered? And how does that crazy conclave work?

• Elizabeth Warren wondered why there have been no prosecutions of Wall Street banks. Matt Taibbi says that some banks are now simply too big to prosecute. Instead, they are still getting bailouts. And in other news of a corrupt banking industry, credit reports are apparently full of errors.

• Something is ruining steak.

• Grantland looked at Dan Harmon’s life after Community.

• On Ken Pomeroy. And Pomeroy on why you shouldn’t be so quick to foul up three late in the game.

• Some analyses of the legal and ethical defenses of the American drone program. Is it worse than torture?

• A tragic story on the death of a Nazi (it’s not what you think).

• The coolest winner of the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament.

• Could New York City cut its carbon footprint by 90%?

• An analysis of Darth Vader’s terrible plan in the Battle of Hoth.

• How to win Monopoly in four moves.

‘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.

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 Usain Bolt ran fast…

• Some very sad news on a great comic, Tig Notaro, the voice behind the great Taylor Dayne story.

• More on Obama’s kill list, the secrecy surrounding the list, and Glenn Greenwald on how extremism gets normalized.

• Giancarlo Esposito talks about being nominated for an Emmy for Breaking Bad.

• When exactly did Sandy Weill change his mind on Too Big To Fail? And who is reviewing bank foreclosure procedures?

• Mitt Romney’s economic advisor is not advising properly. Also, on Rob Delaney’s causing problems for the candidate on Twitter.

• Ten lessons on voter ID laws.

• Ex-Community showrunner Dan Harmon signed an unlikely deal with CBS.

• Bill Barnwell of Grantland explains why he’s leaving Las Vegas.

• Language Log details an empirical method of detecting misquoting.

• Even George Will is on the anti-football bandwagon, which John S hopped on a while ago.

• The 50 worst Chick-Fil-A tweets.

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 accidentally occupying Main Street…

• The Occupy Wall Street protests are heating up, with Matt Taibbi offering his uncharacteristically reasonable advice. Meanwhile Mike Konczal does a statistical analysis of the “99%” that’s interesting whether you sympathize with the protests or not.

• The lost notebooks of Hank Williams (it’s the good one, so there are no Obama-Hitler comparisons).

• Jeffrey Eugenides new novel is sort of about David Foster Wallace, kind of!

• Dan Harmon clarifies some stuff about the latest confusing episode of Community, while this chart breaks down the multiple timelines.

• The NBA officially cancelled two weeks of games as the owners look for a bailout.

• A college basketball documentary to get excited about.

• In baseball news, Michael Schur reacts to the Boston Red Sox fallout, Joe Posnanski breaks down the worst contracts in baseball, and the Florida Marlins announce the most beautiful thing in history.

• The last hope for believers in true love dies…

Monday Medley

What we read while Al Davis told Steve Jobs to “Just win, baby!”…

• Steve Jobs passed away last week at 56. His influence on the world of technology was obviously unmistakable. But perhaps almost as great was his influence on people, including Bill Gates. His career was inspiring, from his introduction of the Mac in 1984, to his ouster from Apple a few years later, to his triumphant return and introduction of the iPod and iTunes. He was the “new archetype for the American businessman.” Not everyone was so laudatory.

• Al Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders, also died last week. He was 82. A summary of his complex legacy.

• Breaking Bad‘s fourth season ended last night, and Vince Gilligan and cast members like Bryan Cranston, Dean Norris, and Giancarlo Esposito have been doing rounds of interviews to promote the finale.

• In other TV news, Harry Shearer made a plea for the cast of The Simpsons, who quickly folded in exchange for two more seasons of the show. And Dan Harmon of Community was profiled in Wired.

• A Google book review.

• Is Twitter a sustainable business?

• This profile will make you resent Michael Lewis.

Monday Medley

What we read while acquiescing and finally going to rehab…

• For fans of Community, amazing news: Omar comin’! The show also presented at Comic-Con last week, and Dan Harmon previewed Season Three.

• On the other end of the TV quality spectrum, Chuck Klosterman and Molly Lambert debated Entourage.

• Felix Salmon offers Larry Summers some praise. Here is the interview that prompted the praise.

• An airline that may be able to dodge TSA regulations.

• Joe Posnanski on a critical moment for the Hall of Fame.

• Lady Gaga did an in-depth interview with Howard Stern, which is actually interesting even if you’re sick of her.

• An entire blog devoted to bringing down Michelle Bachmann (typical mainstream media!).

Monday Medley

What we read while Dallas finally made up for killing Kennedy…

• Grantland.com debuted last week, just in time to cover the Miami Heat loss. Also run during the site’s first week: Chuck Klosterman on DVR mechanics, Dave Eggers on Wrigley Field, and an oral history of The National.

• Speaking of those Heat, remember The Decision? We sure do, as it was a popular topic of conversation for us last summer. Tim started it out by defending The Decision (although he’d like to point out the significant caveat within that piece that reads “so long as he doesn’t curiously choose Miami”). John S defended The Decision even after it took place while Tim expressed disappointment in LeBron’s view of championships. John wondered why everyone claimed James was being selfish and then told some of his most well-known critics to shut their mouths. Finally, he took on the infamous Nike commerical, “Rise.”

• Over at The A.V. Club, Dan Harmon breaks down every episode of Community‘s second season. Meanwhile, did South Park air its series finale last week?

• The NY Times discovers hashtags — outside of Twitter. #so2010 #maybeeven09

• Keith Law reviews Fight Club, at long last.

• Why the “College degrees don’t mean much” stories are wrong — and always have been.

• Some interesting and controversial state appellate rulings this week in statutory rape and child pornography.

• North Korea’s Global Happiness Index. Sort of like Cooley Law School’s law school rankings.

• Continuing the trend of comedian commencements, Conan gives Dartmouth’s Commencement Address.

• Nick Offerman wanted Oprah (who had some choice words about her old show) to play his ex-wife on Parks and Recreation. And a slideshow of Ron Swanson emotions!

• You still have time to catch up on Breaking Bad before the fourth season starts next month!

• A sixth season of The Wire??? Probably not.

• What Carlos Beltran hears in his bats.