Thank You to the Author's Many, Many Important Friends
How the acknowledgments page became the place to drop names
Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In hasn’t even been published yet, and already it’s sparked a national conversation about modern feminism. Though worthy, this has obscured the national conversation we should really be having. Lean In exposes a vein of something truly endemic and toxic in our culture. READ MORE >>
Bradley Cooper: Beefcake Thespian
How the "Silver Linings Playbook" star became a serious actor
It’s a real shame that the planned big-screen production of Paradise Lost, which was to feature Bradley Cooper as Lucifer, will never see the light of day. It might have been the perfect role for the 38-year-old actor, who’s nominated for Best Actor at this Sunday’s Oscars for his work as in Silver Linings Playbook. READ MORE >>
A cursory glance around the world during any recent February would seem to indicate that things have never been better for Cupid. The little guy is everywhere, from your local CVS to the fancy paperie. Centuries into his reign as a Latinate metonym, we regularly use his name as an easy stand-in for love. READ MORE >>
Michael Bloomberg has been accused, during his long tenure as New York’s top executive, of seeking to play many roles other than the one to which he was elected. When he pushed aside the previous term-limit stipulations, “King” was bandied about most often. READ MORE >>
EXAMPLE: "You cannot grow this economy from the top down. You grow this economy from the middle class up."—Barack Obama READ MORE >>
It is easy to forget, amidst the flurry of post-Inauguration lipsyncing recriminations, that Beyoncé Knowles is a relatively new mom just throwing herself back into work. Her decision to prerecord the Star Spangled Banner serves as a useful reminder of just how flawless the Beyoncé facade normally is. READ MORE >>
Waiting for Bill Clinton at the Arkansas Ball
“Is that abortion asshole still up there?” A man behind me, walking out of today’s inauguration crowd, was asking the question on everyone’s mind—and phrasing it just right. The asshole in question was an apparently spry older white gentleman who had managed to climb a tree inside the green ticketed area, and hoist a sign reading “Pray to End Abortion.” But instead of praying silently, he’d decided to shout, with quite a set of pipes, through the whole ceremony. “Babykillers!” was a favorite refrain “What about the bayyyy-bies?” He screamed during hushed moments. The guy had timing, too. As President Obama invoked history—our “certain inalienable rights”—and paused for dramatic effect the man answered him “WHAT ABOUT THE RIGHTS OF THE BABIES?” There were occasional boos and “shut ups” (and plenty of attention) from the crowd, and the Capitol Hill Police had brought a ladder to the scene, but the asshole got to do his thing. He was half comic relief and half annoyance, but mostly he was just another person living out his political dreams. After all, on inauguration weekend, everyone gets the heightened, idealized version of Washington they want—and that includes the nutters who love to test everyone else’s belief in the First Amendment on the largest possible stage. READ MORE >>
Eric Schmidt: Silicon Valley's Only Grownup Wants to Have Fun Too
How soul-crushing it must be to be constantly referred to as the “adult in the room” when you are, in fact, always in a room full of actual adults. Though ostensibly a compliment, it’s not entirely flattering. It is the equivalent, more or less, of being the guy you can count on to turn on the lights and turn down the music just when the party is getting fun. READ MORE >>
