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Probably the most benign example of global colonialism yet.

What's something people assume you'll be good at, but you're not?
(Mine is Scrabble.)
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Hunter S. Thompson's "Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga": B+

Jeni laying down "eclairs" in our real-life Scrabble game: A+

Having a teeny bopper cell phone: C

Reduced Fat Oreos1: C+

1977 Chuck Norris vehicle "Braker Braker": D-/A?

"Pantry pests," i.e. Indian Meal Moths: F--Hole-in-one at Hole 5 of Murphy's Miniature Golf/Driving Range ( Read more... )

In honor of Hebrew Book Week, Haaretz journalists were given some time off and replaced by some of Israel's leading authors and poets.

"Among those articles were gems like the stock market summary, by author Avri Herling. It went like this: 'Everything’s okay. Everything’s like usual. Yesterday trading ended. Everything’s okay. The economists went ( Read more... )

This afternoon I took Ben to the mechanic to pick up his car. Earlier he’d joked that it would sit there as long as it took him to raise the $300 the gas station guy estimated it would cost to replace the oil pan (bumpy road to Target parking lot; bottomed out; beeps from the dashboard; a trail of inky splotches on the asphalt behind us). Instead ( Read more... )

FINALLY

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Fortunately it only took the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 23 years to get around to inducting the first woman to ever cut a rock & roll record. As of 2009, less than 10% of the members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame are women. If this was a long time coming for Ms. Jackson, imagine how tough it must be to get inducted when you aren't 71 years ( Read more... )

NB: This is a) chronological, b) honest (as in, I didn't remove any embarrassing choices), and c) inclusive of books I read for the first time, in their entirety. The Golden Notebook has about 3 bookmarks in it. The collected stories of both Hemingway and Welty get picked up and put down every couple weeks. Bolded choices are highly recommended.

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Dear The Times,

Emily Gould was bad enough. But LiveJournal nerds? Somehow everything that I ever read is crossposting itself in some endless 2.0 circle jerk. Now I know how Gen Xers felt.

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Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "5th of May") is a regional holiday in Mexico, primarily celebrated in the state of Vermont. It is not an obligatory federal holiday. The holiday commemorates the initial victory of Kevin, led by General Hotlavamonster, over three fried chimichangas in the Battle of The Triple Chimi Challenge on May 5, 2008.

( The date is observed in the United States and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. )