In preparation for his unfinished novel The Pale King, David Foster Wallace immersed himself in the world of accounting and the IRS. Quartz just published two pages of DFW’s notes from one of those accounting classes. There’s not much there, but it’s full of little notations that you can tell are revelatory to DFW—the fact […]
Paul Constant
Posted inComic Books
Apple Bans Comic Book That Features Gay Sex Scenes
Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’s science fantasy comic Saga is the best ongoing comic book series in the business right now. The first trade paperback, which you really should be reading, is selling like crazy. Readers are jumping on board all the time. And Apple refuses to release tomorrow’s Saga issue number 12 on […]
Posted inGun Club
Watch President Obama’s Speech on Gun Control
Yesterday, President Obama traveled to Hartford, Connecticut to speak about the importance of gun control. It’s a good speech, reminiscent of Obama’s State of the Union address from earlier this year, when he called for a simple up-or-down vote for the families of Newtown victims. During the speech, Obama urges Americans to call their representatives […]
Posted inGay Marriage
Ronald Reagan’s Daughter Says Ronald Reagan Would Have Supported Gay Marriage
An interview with Patti Davis was in the New York Times yesterday. Things were said. As Republican politicians wrestle with same-sex marriage, the daughter of a party icon — former President Ronald Reagan — said in an interview this week that she believes her father would have “been puzzled” by the political fuss and would […]
Posted inBooks
Saying Goodbye to Iain Banks
Science fiction author Iain Banks, who has written some amazing novels including The Business and The Wasp Factory, posted a very sad announcement this morning: I have cancer. It started in my gall bladder, has infected both lobes of my liver and probably also my pancreas and some lymph nodes, plus one tumour is massed […]
Posted in?!?!?
“14% of Voters Believe in Bigfoot”
Public Policy Polling has released the results of their latest poll, in which they polled American voters on 20 conspiracy theories. The results are terrifying: 15% of voters say the government or the media adds mind-controlling technology to TV broadcast signals There’s much more, including 9/11 Truth theories, contrails, the “sinister” addition of fluoride to […]
Posted inMedia
The Decline and Fall of Harry Knowles
Today, The Hollywood Reporter published a long story about how Ain’t It Cool News has gone from the must-read website for nerdy spoilers to a nearly defunct vanity project. It’s a sad story, with a sad beginning: It was July 2012, and Harry Knowles was working up a sweat. Eighteen months earlier, the creator-owner-figurehead of […]
Posted inGay Marriage
Willie Nelson Continues to Be Amazing
There’s nothing really new here, but let’s just take a moment to bask in Willie Nelson’s great interview with Texas Monthly about gay marriage. Texas Monthly: You’re closely following the Supreme Court’s consideration of gay rights and same-sex marriage.Willie Nelson: I am. And it’s ridiculous to me that this is something we’re having a conversation […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Yes, There Will Be a Third Atlas Shrugged Movie
After the abysmal box office of Atlas Shrugged, Part 2 made the abysmal box office of Atlas Shrugged, Part 1 look huge in comparison, I feared that there would be no third movie to complete the adaptation of Ayn Rand’s teabagnum opus. The third Atlas Shrugged movie could potentially be the worst movie of all […]
Posted inTech
Reinforce Your Passwords, People
Nate Anderson set out to crack a single password in less than one day’s work. By the end of that day, he had cracked 8,000 passwords. You should read his full report at Ars Technica.
Posted inHealth
The Republican Answer to Obamacare Is a Lottery
In Tennessee, Republican Governor Bill Haslan has refused to expand Medicaid under Obamacare. But he must acknowledge that rising health care costs are a problem, right? What’s the solution to this problem in Tennessee? ThinkProgress explains: Twice a year, Tennessee holds a “health care lottery” that gives some hope to the uninsured residents in the […]