Archive for October, 2008
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008
Gears of War 2, the New Yorker, and Nathan Englander is a gamer
In what must be the smartest profile I’ve ever read about the video game business, Tom Bissell profiles Epic Games designer Cliff Blesinski in this week’s The New Yorker. Blesinski designed the uber-successful game Gears of War, which I received once as a gift. Although I’ve never been a fan of shooters, there was definitely something [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Books, General, Technology by Rick
Friday, October 17th, 2008
Britney Spears having a headache, or Joe the Plumber is a sham
Joe the Plumber, who gained notoriety during Wednesday’s debate is, according to today’s Times, a bit of a fraud. Later in the article he refers to himself as feeling like Britney with a headache.
Thomas Joseph, the business manager of Local 50 of the United Association of Plumbers, Steamfitters and Service Mechanics, based in Toledo, said Thursday that [...]
No Comments » - Posted in General by Rick
Thursday, October 16th, 2008
Tucker Carlson used to wear bow ties and now he’s funny
I still know him as the guy who Jon Stewart derided on Crossfire for wearing a bow tie, but Tucker Carlson actually displays some great wit in his review of last night’s debate over at Tina Brown’s new venture, The Daily Beast.
But the strangest moment of all came when McCain raised Rep. John Lewis’ slur against [...]
No Comments » - Posted in General by Rick
Thursday, October 16th, 2008
Joe the plumber is not representative
Of course, people are gullible, and the McCain campaign is seizing on that gullibility. But let’s get the facts straight here. From today’s Times:
According to figures compiled by the Small Business Administration, there are fewer than six million small businesses that actually have payrolls. The rest are so-called nonemployer firms that report income from hobbies or [...]
No Comments » - Posted in General by Rick
Thursday, October 9th, 2008
Earth From Above coming to New York
Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s exhibit Earth from Above is coming to New York in May 2009. I saw the exhibit in Paris in 2000, and can’t wait to see it again.
No Comments » - Posted in General by Rick
Thursday, October 9th, 2008
Donna Brazile from the New Yorker Festival
On Saturday, I attended a panel discussion moderated by Jeffrey Toobin about the current presidential campaign that was part of the New Yorker Festival. Donna Brazile, who ran Al Gore’s campaign, stole the show.
No Comments » - Posted in Books, General by Rick
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
It’s all about words, words, words
Hillary Clinton did it, now John McCain are doing it too: expressing a disdain for Barack Obama’s command of language. James Wood has a piece in this week’s New Yorker about use of the Republicans’ use of language, which concludes:
. . . when [Palin] was asked about Obama’s attack on McCain’s claim that the fundamentals [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Books, General by Rick
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
Sosolimited remixes the presidential debates
Sosolimited has been performing live visual remixes of the presidential debates. Today’s takes place at the Art Directors Club in New York. Tickets are still available.
No Comments » - Posted in General by Rick
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
Calling California expats to vote by mail
If you’re a California resident living somewhere else or even a California resident who, for whatever reason, can’t vote in-person on November 2—vote from your couch, your office, wherever—please vote by mail. The deadline for your request to be received is October 28. So, hurry!
No Comments » - Posted in General by Rick
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
Hemingway’s baseball field
The Times has a story about Ernest Hemingway’s baseball field in Cuba, which I somehow didn’t even know about before.
Hemingway rounded up a dozen boys from the barrio to play baseball with them. And just inside the black and white gates of the farm, Hemingway set up an odd little ball field where he would [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Baseball, General by Rick
Saturday, October 4th, 2008
The New Yorker digital edition is already a disappointment
I spent two hours yesterday waiting in line, unsuccessfully, for tickets to the New Yorker Festival event with Haruki Murakami. The tickets sold out, though they lasted longer than I had anticipated. A walking tour with Calvin Trillin and an event with Stephen Colbert were the first to sell out. You can even see me [...]
4 Comments » - Posted in Baseball, Books, General, Music, Technology by Rick
Saturday, October 4th, 2008
KPCB and the color Green
This Sunday’s Times Magazine features a cover story about Kleiner Perkins’ bet on green tech. Of course, Fortune already did this story in July.
No Comments » - Posted in General, Technology by Rick
Saturday, October 4th, 2008
Yes We Can
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It took me a little while to find the audio track from the Yes We Can video, so I thought I would post the “Yes We Can” MP3 here for anyone who’s interested.
No Comments » - Posted in General by Rick
Friday, October 3rd, 2008
Foreign policy for the next four years
I still can’t believe Sarah Palin is running for second-in-command after her display of foreign policy credentials and her inability to name any Supreme Court cases during her interview with Katie Couric. Meanwhile, I’m still hoping that Richard Holbrooke will be our next Secretary of State.
No Comments » - Posted in General by Rick
Friday, October 3rd, 2008
Sarah Palin won’t say genocide
Three very brief observations from last night’s debate:
Sarah Palin apparently winked during some of her responses. Seriously, what is the woman thinking?
Joe Biden strongly advocated intervention in Sudan. However, Palin a) lied about her support for the divestment of Alaska’s Sudan-related investments and b) did not use the word genocide to describe what is, plainly, [...]
