NEWS I FIND INTERESTING

I've been dealing all week with an insufferable cough and an overall feeling that can be easily understood when I describe that feeling as "crap." I feel like crap, which explains my lack of updates here all week. Below is an aggregate of things that I came across in the past week that I found interesting. 1. The "rentier" city, a playground for the rich: Is New York City increasingly becoming a rentier city?

2. A recent study (oh what I would do to be an assistant on this study) suggests that ovulating strippers earned more tips. "Dancers made about $70 an hour during their peak period of fertility, versus about $35 while menstruating and $50 in between."

3. Blackwater this, Blackwater that. What is Blackwater? The Nation explains in this snappy, maybe a bit too snappy, YouTube documentary. Nonetheless, if you don't know anything about this mercenary company, then you really need to inform yourself and watch this video. (Is it me or does the Blackwater logo look like something that belongs to a paintball team?)

4. Ali G aka Borat aka Simon Baron-Cohen, PhD has some really insightful things to say on the topic of autism and such.

5. Jon Stewart's thoughts on Clarence Thomas's recent book. CT, not only did you drink the kool aid, but you've gone right ahead and drowned yourself in it.

6. A bellwether moment for Asian males in their ongoing struggle against American society's attempt at emasculating their kind. (Raise the karate fist, ya'll!)

7. Will someone please buy Sallie Mae! Whoever does purchase Sallie Mae, I plead to you as part of the purchase, please get ridda my school loan!

8. The US 23rd Headquarters Special Troops during WWII played a special role as agents of subterfuge.

9. This is really turning into quite a trend, innit? Oral Robers, the Right-Wing Christian televangelist and founder of Oral Roberts University is embroiled in a scandal involving the improper use of funds and political activity.

10. How to buy a car at a fair and favorable cost in 13 steps.

11. This story has a special place in my heart as it took place near my alma mater: 8 self-proclaimed artists were arrested after being discovered living roughly for the past four years in a make-shift studio in the parking garage of the Providence Place Mall. The "apartment" featured a sofa, table and chairs, lamps, rugs as well as the crucial amenity of a Playstation 2. Here's the kicker: at some point during their residence, it was robbed and the video game system was taken.

12. A compilation of eight exhaustive Wikipedia entries that are unnecessarily detailed.

13. Cuteness overload warning: Pandas wrestling.

14. Pinkt vi menschen.

THE ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS MOYE

Meet my friend Moye the artist, a paid one at that!  (Warning: Painting may be NSFW--depending on where you are employed).

BEST OF THE BEST NEIGHBORHOODS: PARK SLOPE

The neighborhood I call home and that I've lived in for over a year was recently declared one of the 10 best neighborhoods in America (Sorry Murray Hill). The rankings were determined by the American Planning Association (APA). American Planning What? Exactly.

The quickest way to place your company's name in the papers is to put together some bullshit "best of" or "worst of" ranking and then sent it out "For Immediate Release." Bam! It gets picked up by all the news outlets from the newswires.

It's a classic tactic employed expertly by the people at US News & World Report and their usage of college and grad school rankings to bolster their magazine sales. Beyond these particular annual issues, when do people ever purchase US News? The rankings issues are the only things keeping it alive.

That said, Park Slope is rather lesbionically awesome.

WEEKEND UPDATE (MIKE EDITION)

Mike--a familiar face for those of you long time readers of my humble blog--is back stateside for a bit to take a break from the humidity of India (1). I've been partying in the Upper East Side more this month than I ever had in the past. That commute back home is a bitch late at night, let me tell ya. However, the Papa John's on 90th and 1st Ave, especially at 4 am, almost makes that worth it. Papa John became Papa Gone in about 2 minutes. That pizza was devoured. Ask me if I love Papa John's. ASK ME! I love it. I adore that pepper they always throw in there, and that always crunchy yet magically flaky crust which I can dip into the garlic sauce. What's not so good is throwing all that back up.

Sin Sin on Friday night.

The advertising guy, the (almost) lawyer, and the doctor.

The night was brought to you by Bud Light.

What exactly was the thinker pondering? "How the heck did they remove all the flavor from this beer!"

By the look of this photo, the tequila did not kick in yet. We're trying to look all tough. The tequila later would soon to be much, much tougher.

Mike(!) showing the exact vein that he likes to stick the needle in. KIDDING. KIDDING, folks. We do NOT condone drug use on this blog. Kids, stay in school.

At some point in the night I started to just randomly take photos of people. I like how this player made sure to hold on to her beer (as well as his) to ensure it not get wasted and picked up by over-eager busboys. Go get it player.

Mike and Kenny. Also, did I mention Kenny liked Bud Light? Kenny, Bud Light will NOT pay for your law school loans, regardless of how frequently you plug their beer!

Mook and Mike like whatever it is they see.

Here's Kenny and one of Stan's hospital pals (forgot your name, sorry!). Note the strategic shift in the night from the Bud Light to Stella! That is called "Stepping Up Your Game."

Tze knows.

"Hey, act surprised!"

Again. Random person.

Afterwards Kenny and I got the obligatory pizza.

And then some more food in St. Marks at a Japanese joint.

Saturday I went to the massive Housing Works book fair.

Saw some interesting books.

You know SOMEONE there needed this book.

There was "art" going on nearby.

Then later that night I roamed around a bit with Mike and Lauren in the LES.

Jump!

"Give me a 'T' er, combined with a J! Yea!"

Lauren's new aviators. Tags on player, tags on.

1. According to the CIA, India remains the "world's largest producer of licit opium for the pharmaceutical trade."

The Rules of Facebook

"Noted anthropologist Robin Dunbar found that the mean clique—a group of primary social partners—consists of around 12 people. Average maximum network size—a group of real friends plus friends of friends—is around 150." Slate breaks down the rules and etiquette of Facebook.

RIDICULOUSLY GOOD WIFFLEBALL PITCHER

If I was captain of a wiffleball team (Gotta dream big, right?), I would DEFINITELY choose this guy first. This dude has some NASTY pitches.

NEWS FLASH: WOMAN IS HOT AND SMART!

This may be a topic more suitable for the the bloggers at Us versus Them. After all they are the reigning connoisseurs of all things tail and uptop, usually of the ethnic variety, but not to marginalize or discriminate towards those of Nordic and Mayflower origins. But I figure some of you readers are tired of polemics against Bush and his ilk, and artsy photos from his apartment window. Dorota Rabczewska ("Doda") is a Polish singer, who added "all around entertainer" to her resume after she posed nude for the Polish edition of Playboy. She also has a IQ of 156. "B-but, Mrod! Like all standardized tests, those IQ tests are inherently specious!" True dat. Nonetheless no matter how problematic standardized tests may be, they still make some correlation between the 'intelligence' of someone and how well they do on a particular test. But what's ultimately revealing about the drool over her is the fact that she's delicious looking and smart!

Yada yada yada. Here are some photos of her:

CELEBRITY SIGHTING

Spotted Neo aka Keanu Reeves himself wanting to enjoy the finer things in the Matrix: He was standing outside of Balthazar ushering in what appeared to be his family and friends.  I was amazed to see there was not a single blond bimbo in the bunch.

1 LOONIE = 1 US DOLLAR

The media and pundits have all recently raised flags of caution concerning our current economic condition.  Housing markets in many cities are collapsing.  Debtors are defaulting on loans.   All of this is enough for the average layperson to be aware of a definite lingering dark cloud forming in the distance.  However, will it be a mere passing drizzle or develop into a massive thunderstorm?  Should one pack a simple umbrella or run to the nearest Sam's Club and stock up on provisions?  It is unclear. The most relatable piece of news I've read that should be immediately accessible to every American is the announcement this week that the Canadian dollar's value is now roughly on par and equal with that of the US dollar.  This is one of the shoes dropping that ought to make every American sit up and say "Wha?  I don't know what the fuck a subprime mortgage is, but the fuckin Canuk quarter that D&D deli won't accept is now equal to our quarters??  How the fuck did this happen?  Jimmy, this ain't good."  They've been the punchline to our jokes for years.  It appears our laughter has come to an end: all those jokes about how cheap it is to visit Canada can stop.  On the flip side, it's a great time for Canadians to visit the US and utilize their increasing purchasing power.  Pretty soon, Louis Vuitton on Fifth Avenue and lux condo real estate agents are going to hire French Canadian speaking sales people, er associates.  In addition, with it no longer being the Costco (plentiful, lots of variety of products and most importantly cheap!) of tourist destination, Montreal is going to be spared of jackass Americans molesting their wholesome (and beautiful) strippers and contaminating their Canadian streets with the upchuck of bachelor party attendees.

WHERE'S MANDELA?

Dear President Bush, You wear it like a badge, proudly on display as a show of solidarity to all the high school drop outs and Miss Carolina contestants out there in this country, but sir, you are a fucking idiot.

Nelson Mandela is still very much alive despite an embarrassing gaffe by U.S. President George W. Bush, who alluded to the former South African leader's death in an attempt to explain sectarian violence in Iraq.

"It's out there. All we can do is reassure people, especially South Africans, that President Mandela is alive," Achmat Dangor, chief executive officer of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said as Bush's comments received worldwide coverage.

In a speech defending his administration's Iraq policy, Bush said former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's brutality had made it impossible for a unifying leader to emerge and stop the sectarian violence that has engulfed the Middle Eastern nation.

"I heard somebody say, Where's Mandela?' Well, Mandela's dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas," Bush, who has a reputation for verbal faux pas, said in a press conference in Washington on Thursday.

Please go back to chopping trees and making bad business decisions.

NAKED ECON THOUGHTS

I'm reading "Naked Economics: Undressing the dismal science" by Charles Wheelan (a former Midwest Economist correspondent) right now.   This is by far one of the most disarming and seductive disquisitions I've read on our free market capitalist arrangement. I'm about two-thirds through it.  More thoughts after completion and digestion.  If you've read it, what are your thoughts?

NEWS FLASH: MROD AGREES WITH NEWT GINGRICH AND CO.!

I never thought I'd ever agree with anything uttered by Jack Kemp or Newt Gingrich, but it appears that for once, I see eye to eye with these two guys on something:

The leading contenders for the Republican nomination have indicated they will not attend the "All American Presidential Forum" organized by black talk show host Tavis Smiley, scheduled for Sept. 27 at Morgan State University in Baltimore and airing on PBS. Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, former senator Fred D. Thompson (Tenn.) and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) all cited scheduling conflicts in forgoing the debate. The top Democratic contenders attended a similar event in June at Howard University.

"We sound like we don't want immigration; we sound like we don't want black people to vote for us," said former congressman Jack Kemp (N.Y.), who was the GOP vice presidential nominee in 1996. "What are we going to do -- meet in a country club in the suburbs one day? If we're going to be competitive with people of color, we've got to ask them for their vote."

Making matters worse, some Republicans believe, is that the decision to bypass the Morgan State forum comes after all top GOP candidates save McCain declined invitations this month to a debate on Univision, the most-watched Hispanic television network in the United States. The event was eventually postponed.

"For Republicans to consistently refuse to engage in front of an African American or Latino audience is an enormous error," said former House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.), who has not yet ruled out a White House run himself. "I hope they will reverse their decision and change their schedules. I see no excuse -- this thing has been planned for months, these candidates have known about it for months. It's just fundamentally wrong. Any of them who give you that scheduling-conflict answer are disingenuous. That's baloney."

Of course, actions speak louder than words--and a token appearance by Republican presidential candidates at a minority-hosted debate or forum in front of a skeptical, if not hostile audience doesn't provide much incentive to a candidate--but symbolism can count for something on occasion! These Republicans can at least TRY to not look so dang racist and to act like people of color live in this country, too (and not just in jails).

Can I get a solidarity pound, people?

NSFW BECOME SFW!

This illustrator is extremely skilled at transforming pervy drawings into something completely innocuous and totally safe for both work and kids!  He and the fat kid character from "Superbad" should hang out. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kEWFdwnQZ8]

JAMES BLUNT: BAD ASS?

Maybe ex-girlfriend longing James Blunt isn't the soft rock singing and model dating pansy we all think he is. The (newly Not-So-Select) Times recent feature on his sophomore attempt writes that Blunt was a...:

...former British Army officer in Kosovo who was once one of Queen Elizabeth’s personal guards...

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

You sent a choleric text or IM about your boss to your coworker only to realize after its been sent, to your horror, that you accidentally sent it to your boss instead!  As Keanu Reeves asked in Speed, "What do you do?!"

REAR WINDOW

The view from my apartment window will soon be obstructed by a gleaming luxury condominium standing next to one of Brooklyn's most popular lesbian bars (No Rice sightings yet).

LEAVE OJ SIMPSON ALONE...RIGHT NOW!

Chris Cocker gushed tears in his now famous bleating defense of Britney Spears, tears which gave birth to the Internet meme du jour.  Next stop?  OJ Simpson!  Leave OJ alone! [youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=M1_NZtG_v5c]

RICE OUTING

Maybe there's something to those whispered sapphic rumors about our current Secretary of State after all? If so, what is it about the repressed tendencies of some individuals belonging to certain marginalized groups to embrace and drink the proverbial Kool-Aid of the very people actively engaged in oppressing and persecuting those groups?

THE AMAZIN' BAT!

Watch this clip from a recent Mets vs. Braves game: Keep your eye on the bat.  It's amazin! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXIGeGhEhAs]

LITTLE LITTLE PERSON

Primordial dwarfism.