Walking out during The Avengers is probably an overreaction
Now, I’ll be totally honest. I haven’t seen The Avengers. In fact, I haven’t even seen the vast majority of the Avengers’ eponymous releases: I haven’t seen Iron Man. I haven’t seen The Hulk. I haven’t seen…
Classic New York Times
I’m somewhat conflicted about correcting people. On the one hand, truth and precision. On the other hand, it can make me feel mean. So there are only certain situations in which I feel totally comfortable indulging my predilection. When they appear in the Paper of Record, I have no such qualms – it makes me feel like … Read more
Volcanoes are ridiculous – people can be more ridiculous
I just finished The Good Rain, Tim Egan‘s 1990 exploration of the Pacific Northwest. I enjoyed the book tremendously, but that alone would not move me to write about it here. Instead, I wanted to share a particular passage about Mt. St. Helens I thought so worthwhile I typed it all up, just for you: “Within a … Read more
Piece Corpse
I’m always late to the party. Just got to the New York Times Magazine dated January 1, 2012. The cover story: Do you have to be superhuman to lose weight? I’m less interested in the overall content of the article (though I am interested in the potential for medical solutions to what Tara Parker-Pope – … Read more
Brief follow-up to yesterday’s post on Ethiopian Jewry
Regarding Pfeffer’s claim in the Haaretz article I cited yesterday: There are different theories and opinions regarding the actual historical connection of the Beta Israel to the Jewish people. From what I have read and seen, I think this was tenuous at best. After covering this issue closely, I don’t think the Falashmura still in … Read more
A reminder that, more often than not, journalists don’t really know what they’re talking about: Passover edition
I write this post from the comfort of a Philadelphia-to-New York BoltBus (on which I have successfully achieved the holy trinity: a working plug, wifi, and empty seats on every side*). That means my short time at Penn has officially drawn to a close – but not before I had the opportunity to enjoy one … Read more
Israel & the Media, or A few likely unrelated issues I hastily attempt to put into some context while using the free internet at Ben Gurion
You may recall Nicolas Sarkozy’s open-mic dis (‘liar’) of Bibi way back in November. Well, Netanyahu had a bit of an awkward media leak of his own in recent weeks. Take it away, Jerusalem Post editor Steve Linde: ‘You know, Steve, we have two main enemies’… And I thought he was going to talk about, you know, … Read more
Wet Hot American Senate
When the New York Times publishes an article entitled Study Says Looks Matter as TV Covers Congress, it’s sort of begging for my two cents. So take it away, paper of record: Two Israeli professors concluded that members whom a student survey judged to be better looking appeared more frequently on television — but not radio … Read more
Shame on you, New York Times
I make a habit of falling behind on my reading. And by my personal standard, October 24 is not really all that bad. So it’s appropriate that I’m getting to this little gem from the New York Times Magazine – about the importance of timeliness - only two months late. Specifically, Dan Kois writes: It’s truly time to … Read more
The real reason women aren’t allowed to drive
I’m a little late to this study, which I just came across in a nearly two month old New York Times article. Its main finding: Women driving cars are much more likely than male drivers to be seriously injured in a crash, even when both groups wear seat belts. Turns out car safety devices are … Read more
