Liberal Talk Radio

Old way to ressurect your career — demean yourself on a scripted reality show. New way to ressurect your career — cubism: Can Martha Stewart take a pie in the face — even one she baked herself? Fine Living Network is about to find out. On Sept. 16, Fine Living will unveil a new original [...]

Oh, yeah.  Desperation. Speaking to donors at a San Diego fund-raiser last month, Barack Obama reassured the crowd that he wouldn’t give in to Republican tactics to throw his candidacy off track. “Listen, I’m skinny but I’m tough,” Sen. Obama said. But in a nation in which 66% of the voting-age population is overweight and [...]

Okay, yesterday. But it’s still really good: Ted Stevens predates the State of Alaska. In 1953, he drove to Alaska Territory in a Buick, and–like a modern Al Swearingen–he built himself into a local luminary, successfully lobbied Congress to make Alaska a state, and then used his position on the Senate Appropriations Committee to transform [...]

Following the Contrarian’s recommendations — nay, exhortations! — I watched Street Fight tonight. It’s a great film, highly recommended. One thing that struck me, watching the film, is the kind of person it takes to succeed in politics… and governance. We’re about to elect a sitting U.S. Senator to the White House for the first [...]

Nice point from Ezra Klein: Our identities are deeply interwoven into our dining choices, and the hipsters ostentatiously traveling across town to try jellyfish in a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant and then telling all their friends about the discovery are saying something about themselves just as surely as the young family dressing up for a night [...]

This video of Charlie Rose done in the style of Samuel Beckett is a work of staggering genius: (via)

I see that Seattle indie-rockers The Presidents of the United States of America are engaged in a little guerilla marketing this campaign season: One wonders why they’re using the non-standard acronym “PUSA” instead of the much more widely-recognized “POTUS.” I do however, like the sentiment of the sign, “These are the Good Times.” Much needed [...]

I definitely heard AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Fifth Avenue on Monday. This made me happy. So as college bands gear up for March Madness, the Times takes a look at the set list: Pep bands may provide the N.C.A.A. tournament’s greatest culture clash — giving a [...]

[Fear not, no real spoilers to follow...] In an interview with Salon, The Wire creator David Simon defends himself against the complaint that the fifth season of the show doesn’t address the role of the internet in the decline of newspapers: If you’re saying that there needed to be scenes of the Internet interacting with [...]

Jamal Simmons points out the similarities between an Obama-McCain election and the Santos-Vinick campaign from Season 7 of The West Wing: Then there is Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who is perfectly filling the role Alan Alda played, Arnold Vinick, the older maverick Republican senator from the West (California in the show). Due to his [...]