At a Glacial Pace

Shot of the season and perhaps the wildest NBA game I’ve...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:15:16 -0700

Shot of the season and perhaps the wildest NBA game I’ve ever seen.

"I can’t help but feel dread as we wait for the Supreme Court to announce its decisions on..."

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:30:24 -0700

“I can’t help but feel dread as we wait for the Supreme Court to announce its decisions on affirmative action and the Voting Rights Act. It’s clear that a majority of the Court is willing to end the former and sharply limit the latter. And if it does, it’s another sign that, regardless of what we say, we aren’t prepared to do what it takes to secure genuine racial equality. We never have been, and likely, we never will be.”

- Jamelle Bouie (via theamericanprospect)

reuters: U.S. President Barack Obama sparred with Russia’s...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:43:08 -0700

reuters:

U.S. President Barack Obama sparred with Russia’s Vladimir Putin over how to end the war in Syria during an icy encounter at a G8 summit where divisions over the conflict eclipsed the rest of the agenda.

Putin said Moscow and Washington had differing views over Syria but agreed the bloodshed must stop and that the warring parties should be brought to the negotiating table. Both leaders looked tense and uncomfortable, with Putin staring mostly at the floor.

“Our positions do not fully coincide, but we are united by the common intention to end the violence, to stop the number of victims increasing in Syria, to resolve the problems by peaceful means, including the Geneva talks,” Putin said.

“We agreed to push the process of peace talks and encourage the parties to sit down at the negotiation table, organize the talks in Geneva.”

Obama tried to lighten the mood by discussing judo but Putin, a black belt in the martial art, replied the U.S. president was simply trying to get him to relax.

Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Filing this in the department of pictures being worth 1,000 words.

Very few things in life beat a summer Sunday at the beach.

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:22:49 -0700

Very few things in life beat a summer Sunday at the beach.

bostonreview: Ta-Nehisi Coates in comments to his article on...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 21:42:59 -0700

bostonreview:

Ta-Nehisi Coates in comments to his article on teaching writing at MIT (via Jamison Foser)

Such a cool guy and a really great writer (though he is being too hard on this season of Mad Men). Definitely check out his blog.

"I would like to say I would be shocked or surprised by the comments. But given the fact that there’s..."

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 23:30:22 -0700

“I would like to say I would be shocked or surprised by the comments. But given the fact that there’s still a significant element of bigotry and racism in our nation, I’m not surprised. …It still plagues us, obviously. And what I was surprised by was how proud these idiots were of their ignorance by printing their names next to their comments. [De La Cruz] is a class act. Way more mature than most his age. And as much as those comments by the idiots saddens you about your country, he makes you feel that the future could be very bright.”

- San Antonio Spurs coach GREGG POPOVICH, on the racist backlash faced by 11-year-old Sebastien De La Cruz.

De La Cruz, born in San Antonio, sang the national anthem before tonight’s Spurs / Heat game — and before Game Three — and was vilified by racists on social media.

(via inothernews)

I turned 19 today! Not really super significant but the Facebook notifications are pretty cool and...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 22:53:31 -0700

I turned 19 today! Not really super significant but the Facebook notifications are pretty cool and so is having friends and family who care enough to celebrate it with me. I appreciate it more than I can say.

Ten Best Quotes from Kanye West's New York Times Interview

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:58:00 -0700

Ten Best Quotes from Kanye West's New York Times Interview:

jamellebouie:

Kanye West did a long interview with Jon Caramanica of theNew York Times, and it’s the greatest thing you’ll read all week. Throughout, he’s earnest, genuine, insightful, and more than a little egotistical. He’s an obvious megalomaniac, but somehow, it’s charming, and not repulsive. The entire interview is one excellent quote after another, and here are my ten favorite ones.

On why he insists on claiming recognition:

You know, if Michael Jordan can scream at the refs, me as Kanye West, as the Michael Jordan of music, can go and say, “This is wrong.”

On the Taylor Swift interruption at the MTV Video Music Awards:

It’s only led me to complete awesomeness at all times. It’s only led me to awesome truth and awesomeness. Beauty, truth, awesomeness. That’s all it is.

On his willingness to make a singing record despite not being able to sing:

Yeah. I love the fact that I’m bad at [things], you know what I’m saying? I’m forever the 35-year-old 5-year-old. I’m forever the 5-year-old of something.

On whether he knew he’d be famous:

I knew when I wrote the line “light-skinned friend look like Michael Jackson” [from the song “Slow Jamz”] I was going to be a big star.

On his famous “George Bush” moment:

I mean, I am my father’s son. I’m my mother’s child. That’s how I was raised. I am in the lineage of Gil Scott-Heron, great activist-type artists. But I’m also in the lineage of a Miles Davis — you know, that liked nice things also.

On his public persona:

Maybe 90 percent of the time it looks like I’m not having a good time.

On his outfits from five years ago:

Yeah, kill self. That’s all I have to say. Kill self.

On the idea that he’s unusually vain:

The idea of Kanye and vanity are like, synonymous. But I’ve put myself in a lot of places where a vain person wouldn’t put themselves in. Like what’s vanity about wearing a kilt?

On what animates him as a creative person:

If you don’t make Christmas presents, meaning making something that’s so emotionally connected to people, don’t talk to me.

On his legacy, and what it means to be Kanye West:

I think that’s a responsibility that I have, to push possibilities, to show people: “This is the level that things could be at.” So when you get something that has the name Kanye West on it, it’s supposed to be pushing the furthest possibilities. I will be the leader of a company that ends up being worth billions of dollars, because I got the answers. I understand culture. I am the nucleus.

Jamelle is right, it’s a fascinating interview.

The most apt description of Kanye I’ve seen came in The Atlantic last year from Obama, who said, “He is a jackass. But he’s talented.”

guardian: Edward Snowden: ‘I do not expect to see home...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:01:27 -0700

guardian:

Edward Snowden: ‘I do not expect to see home again’ The whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations speaks out.

Amazing front page of The Guardian from Monday.

usatodaysports: The Dodgers and Diamondbacks cleared the...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 22:57:05 -0700

usatodaysports:

The Dodgers and Diamondbacks cleared the benches for a huge brawl. Get the full story here, and then check out the photos.

Pretty intense.

Photo

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 22:10:00 -0700

After Newtown Shooting, Mourning Parents Enter Into the Lonely Quiet

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 18:01:23 -0700

After Newtown Shooting, Mourning Parents Enter Into the Lonely Quiet:

longform:

The Barden family today.

Eli Saslow | Washington Post | Jun 2013

Amazing but heartbreaking article.

thedailyshow: Tonight: John Oliver hosts The Daily Show!...

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 23:27:27 -0700

thedailyshow:

Tonight: John Oliver hosts The Daily Show! 11/10c.

Here’s what he tells GQ he has planned: http://gqm.ag/18oqcLn

Off to a great start.

Out of all of Don’s countless betrayals over the years, this latest episode with Sally takes...

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 02:17:25 -0700

Out of all of Don’s countless betrayals over the years, this latest episode with Sally takes the cake. I haven’t been this disgusted by Mad Men since the Joan/Jaguar fiasco.

Sally Draper :(

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:52:54 -0700

Sally Draper

"Back in 2007, Obama said he would not want to run an administration that was “Bush-Cheney lite.” He..."

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 19:58:31 -0700

“Back in 2007, Obama said he would not want to run an administration that was “Bush-Cheney lite.” He doesn’t have to worry. With prisoners denied due process at Gitmo starving themselves, with the C.I.A. not always aware who it’s killing with drones, with an overzealous approach to leaks, and with the government’s secret domestic spy business swelling, there’s nothing lite about it.”

- Maureen Dowd - “Peeping Barry”
The New York Times - Sunday, June 9, 2013

brooklynmutt: Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind...

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 12:33:43 -0700

brooklynmutt:

Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind revelations of NSA surveillance

Read: The Guardian

Incredible story. A genuine profile in courage.

mlb: Of course he did. It’s Yasiel Puig’s world...

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 23:46:08 -0700

mlb:

Of course he did.

It’s Yasiel Puig’s world and we’re just living in it.

Dear liberals…

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 17:11:51 -0700

Dear liberals…

After two days of CPR training, the only thing I’m completely sure of is that I hope I never...

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 22:17:00 -0700

After two days of CPR training, the only thing I’m completely sure of is that I hope I never have to perform CPR on anyone.