January 2011
215 posts
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Why Are Best Actresses More Likely To Get Divorced? Researchers at the University of Toronto recently conducted a study that found that women who win the Best Actress Oscar are 63% more likely to have a shorter marriage than non-winners. Tiziana Casciaro, who helped conduct the study, says winners may be more likely to divorce because of the “general social norm that kind of requires a man to have...
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“Enjoy your food, but eat less.”
– That’s The New York Times summarizing the gist of the Federal Government’s newly revised dietary guidelines, which urge Americans to consume less salt and sugary drinks. The report also suggests, “choosing fat-free and low-fat dairy products.” As someone who has struggled with weight problems his...
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“Fathers transmit their smoking habits to a statistically significant level to...”
– Co-author of a USC study. Scientific evidence that Betty Draper should have just blamed herself when she caught Sally smoking in the bathroom.
-JN
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Dallas-Area Swear Jars Shockingly Expensive: In a world where high school students seem to grow more profane and disrespectful by the day, the folks at North Mesquite High School in Texas are doing something about it, namely giving a student a $637 ticket for swearing in the classroom.
I approve of the idea. I have two kids, and the only way I know to keep them from swearing is A) Not to swear,...
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“The Ford Motor Company said on Friday that it earned $6.6 billion in 2010, its...”
– That’s from a report in the New York Times this morning. Over 40,000 of the company’s workers will receive profit sharing checks in excess of $5,000 thanks to those earnings. I know rooting for a company isn’t exactly a rational thing to do these daysb But this is an American company that makes...
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“By the way, I have a Corvette— a ‘67 Corvette— not a Trans-Am.”
– That’s Vice President Joe Biden expressing his one quibble with The Onion’s depiction of him as a Trans Am driving nutjob. And it’s true. Biden does indeed own a Corvette that his father gave him as a wedding gift. Presumably along with two tickets to a Bachman-Turner Overdrive concert. I like a...
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Reflecting on Challenger, 25 Years Later I was sitting around in 4th grade in Orono, Minnesota when the teachers had us all gather in the school library to watch the news footage of the Challenger disaster. And I remember the teachers trying to impress on us just how tragic this event was, but we were just a bunch of stupid kids. We oohed and ahhed and even laughed nervously because we didn’t...
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“Most sports fans tend to be guys, and guys have big egos, and we sit around and...”
– That’s Chip Overstreet (I swear that’s his real name), the CEO of Thump, explaining why he invented a new social network game that allows players to try and accurately predict the next play of a sporting event. Oh wonderful, just what I need. Now when some Pats fan at the bar says the next play...
WatchNBC Washington’s Pat Collins Is The Daily Show’s Moment of Zen: “If there’s ever a night you need 15 inches of fun, this would be the night.”
via
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“They have pistachio ice cream and I love pistachio. So whether it was snowing or...”
– Zach Burroughs, 25, explains why he was running through a blizzard, without a coat, holding an ice cream cone, on the front page of yesterday’s Washington Post.
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Editorial Planning
JN: Could you give us a wrapup of the Super Bowl?
JA: Sure. Long pregame show about how these two teams do things the right ways, overblown commercials, a little football, more overblown commercials, joe buck scolding something america loves, a few touchdowns, halftime show that makes music lovers wince, commercials, troy aikman taking an hour to make an obvious point, an interception, troy polamalu praise, commercials, a field goal, coach screws up a challenge, commercials, joe buck undersells crucial play of the game as if he’s ordering grilled salmon for lunch, fin.
JN: …
JA: Oh, you meant after the actual game. That works too.
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“I noticed that in this month’s issue, there’s a small feature done...”
– That’s someone asking GQ’s Tumblr noticing about the rare instance of someone being both a contributor and a subject within a single magazine issue. That someone was me, which means I am now writing about someone else writing about me writing in a magazine that also features writing about my...
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Taco Bell Update That May Make You Feel Better About Regularly Engaging in “Fourth Meal”: The fast food company has issued a detailed response to claims that their “meat taco filling” only contained 36% meat. According to the fast food giant, “the lawsuit is bogus and filled with completely inaccurate fact.” They go on to clarify that the “meat taco...
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“The only thing worse than someone from Ohio is someone still there.”
– Campbell Douglas (via sonicbloom11)
“My fear is that something like this fuels the 1950s idea that pregnant women are...”
– Amy Graff, in the San Francisco Chronicle.
theweekmagazine gives us some background. In the piece, [Grant] “expresses her concerns over a NYC proposal that would grant special parking placards to pregnant women with medical approval, letting them park for free in no-parking or no-standing...
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“There is nothing about the actions of a madman to change the fact that firearms...”
– Utah state representative Carl Wimmer (R) explaining why he favors his state making the Browning M1911 semiautomatic pistol as the official state gun. Presumably, you could then use the state gun to go out and kill the state bird. Listen, I like firing guns at stuff as much as the rest of us. But...
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“Keep in mind, we are in no way asking about the professionalism, intelligence or...”
– That’s the disclaimer at the top of the New Haven Register’s poll asking readers who the hottest local female TV personality is in the New Haven area. I like that they expressly ask you to NOT factor things like ability. They go straight for the HOTNESS. There are people who are already...
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Tumblr Tuesday
We’d like to recommend:
ohhleary
rubenfeld
theweekmagazine
AND last but not least, the newly minted social media editor for NBC New York: katiehonan
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What's Happening in Egypt Explained | Mother Jones →
Solid basic overview, nice links to more content. (link via abbyjean)
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“Event by Wire, a competitor in Half Moon Bay, Calif., watched the number of...”
– That’s from a report by the New York Times chronicling the recent surge in funerals and memorial services being streamed online. Because really, what better way to pay your respects to the deceased than by flaking out on showing up in person and sporadically watching other people mourn in between...
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WatchNews: Laser Cannon Stolen. Bigger News: Laser Cannon EXISTS. A laser cannon was stolen in Denton, Texas last Friday. The cannon was used to help keep railroad lines straight, not for fighting off hordes of bloodthirsty aliens as anyone else would naturally assume.
Essentially, it’s a very large laser pointer, so the fact that they’re calling it a “laser cannon” really irks me. Don’t call it a...
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“You seem to forget that I have three sons who played at Greenwich High School.”
– That’s UConn donor Robert Burton, who also works as a hedge fund manager and is clearly a horrible human being, telling UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway that he wants back $3 million he donated to the school because they failed to consult him when hiring a new football coach. Read the letter...
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Dr. Scholl’s hires Rex Ryan and his wife for... →
via @xmasape, @edsbs
UPDATE: Tragically, it looks like the Time Union has pulled down this story.
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“Facebook won’t release data about Places, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in...”
– Nicholas Jackson in response to a recent infographic on Foursquare’s 2010 growth. Jackson’s post comes just days after Foursquare’s co-founder told Bloomberg that the New York start-up is valued at more than $250 million and will probably have more than 10M users by June (a number...
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OW-AH KIDS AH SMAHTAH THAN YOUR-AH KIDS!
The Daily Beast waded through the cumulative scores of national standardized testing and found that Massachusetts had more advanced-level fourth and eighth grade kids than any other state. And three of the top five performing states were in New England. Coming in last? Mizzissippee. I think that’s how it’s spelled. I grew up there. Anyway, if you want a smart kid, buy her a pink Red Sox hat...
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In Case the Razzie Nominations Wasn’t Enough “Sex and the City”-Related News for You Today You know how everyone hated “Sex and the City 2” because it depicted four horribly spoiled women who complained about their lives even as they wasted impossible amounts of money? Yeah well, one Long Island businessman didn’t get the memo, because he built his wife a $175,000 SATC-themed...
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WatchThese Royal Wedding Commemorative Plate Makers Have No Idea Who These Royals Are. I know this will come as a surprise to those of you who think that the people at the Franklin Mint are at the forefront of what’s hip and cool in the world today, but it turns out not everyone knows that Prince William and Kate Middleton are getting hitched, or even who they are. Who are these people so grossly out...
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“Did you just wipe a booger on me?”
– All that New Yorkers are left with after a disappointing AFC loss: The words Mark Brunell might have said to Mark Sanchez after cameras caught the younger Jets QB wiping nose gold on the older.
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“Blake Montpetit, the co-owner of Tiffany Sports Lounge in St. Paul, says he...”
– This Is Unlikely to Be Aired During the NFC Championship. The Bear was shot in Wisconsin by Montpetit’s cousin, so it’s still fair game for Packers fans to do this. Cincinnati fans are allowed to order Skyline Chili to any bar nationwide, and Packer fans are allowed to kill, dress and...
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Watch”I Don’t Wanna Get My Pants Dirty.” What happens when a perky morning news correspondent decides to climb into a monster truck with a driver who has clearly just ingested a whole bottle of ephedrine? GREATNESS, that’s what. Some choice random quotes from this video: “Sit right on my lap.” “It’s a beast!” “What are you scared for?” “Go slow go slow GO SLOW!” And, of course, “EEEEEEEEEK!”
-DM
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WatchAll Surfing Should Be Done Like This. That’s surfer Mark Visser riding a 40-foot wave off of Maui at night and illuminated by lights under his board. And yes, it’s true. Mark Visser is much cooler than you. How are you supposed to compete with night surfing? You just spilled Indian food on your work shirt, for crying out loud. It’s not fair.
-DM
[Deadspin]
