what did you think?

Charles Schumer. Toobin, cute, but no biggie. (subscription only)

The Senate, in general, by George Packer. Funny, sad and easy to read. (avail)

David Sedaris on airline travel, and hate. Hits a nerve. (subscription only)

Hospice by Atul Gawande. The title for this in the paper TOC was so dull - "rethinking" something or other . . . But the article was amazing and I was reduced to tears on a bright summer's day. Lagusta warned me! (avail)

John Lurie. Tad Friend really captures the weirdness. (subscription only)

Nicholson Baker on video gaming. Oh My God. He was born to write this. (subscription only) I'll probably even listen to the podcast, eventually.

Also, Gil Scott-Heron and Agatha Christie.

A.O. Scott

Lot of people love him, lots of people mock him. But does he always write with such insistent internal rhymes, I ask you?

On Sitting Down to Read A.O. Scott's Review of The Other Guys,
Once Again

He sings of angry populist satire
Of a British weasel-for-hire

Of topical provocation
Of whatever worldly anger and frustration

we may be harboring.

With the crow of an inflamed bantam rooster,
and the eyes of a combustible milquetoast,

gullible,
irresistible,
less comprehensible
than sensible.

Vixens, lions, tunas, scams,
hedges, bailouts, Ponzi schemes,

A mooning goofball
A spoofing fireball
A going-out-of-business sale at the comic video boutique,
brought to you by the infinitely fungible voice of Will Ferrell.

Not so.
Macho.
After all.

Kanye, Copyright and New Yorker Cartoons

You saw this, right? (Huffington Post)

James Thurber's Seal Barks and Kanye West's Tweets united in holy matrimony by some comedians named Paul and Storm.

The funniest thing to happen to New Yorker cartoons since the advent of the Anti-Caption contest. Or maybe ever.

Everyone's saying how funny it is but no one is saying why. When I am choking to death laughing it has something to do with the WASP-y asshole privilege lampooned in the original cartoons mirroring the hip-hop asshole privilege of the tweets . . .