Dmitri Nabokov was in an awkward spot over his father's last book, The Original of Laura. On his deathbed, Nabokov asked Dmitri to destroy his final manuscript. (But Nabokov is such a beautiful writer and this was last work!) After much internal conflict, angry emails and a hallucination, Dmitri has decided to publish…
First Google Maps' "streetview" captured a drug deal. Now the accidental Big Brother has found something even funnier: A bike tumble in Australia. From all of us in New York, to whoever you are Down Under: Ha-ha. [via Kensington Victoria]
What could be more mind-numbing than checking out someone else's groceries? No, you have to press yes. No, the green button by the red one. So sometimes checkout people call their friends to pass the time at the most listless job ever. Sure, it's annoying, but who could blame them? Fortunately, checking out free-range…
Today on Essentially Emily, Emily Brill asserts that Nick Denton is not the only reason why people bother to read Essentially Emily. No, they care about the pseudo socialite who is "friends" with Kristian Laliberte because of her dad, former media tycoon and current airport security specialist Steve Brill, and not…
If you're in the market for a good story-time read, I recommend My Beautiful Mommy, a heartwarming tale of personal growth and breast augmentation by plastic surgeon Michael Salzhauer. The book is aimed at helping kids understand that even mommies can be insecure. See, even adults love instant gratification; but for…
Hey guys, big news from the University of Oxford Press Blog today. Big news. The internet and cell phones have changed—possibly even revolutionized—the way kids keep in touch with one another. Instead of catching up with acquaintances, people just follow their away messages. (Note: I'm almost positive away messages…
Even if the Brooklyn Literary Scene is dead, or as Colson Whitehead put it, annoying and irrelevant, there still are a lot of writers kicking it in the borough of churches. In today's New York Observer, Fort Greene's own Doree Shafrir made an extensive list of the Brooklyn literarati, including neighborhood listings.…
Other the standard rom-com plot problems with Notting Hill, like two strangers falling in love, the biggest hole in this movie is Hugh Grant's job as the owner of a travel book store. I suppose it's endearing, but really it just makes no sense. His inventory would need to be restocked constantly. And who would even…
Like "cool," "hipster" is a multivalent word with no set definition but many different meanings. But from a real estate developers' perspective, if you live in Brooklyn, have read a Jonathan Lethem book or have gone to Studio B, you qualify. Sorry! Even so, no real hipster admits to being one. That's worse than saying…
[Cover of today's Chicago Sun-Times, printed in reverse to promote a campaign fighting gun violence toward children.]
Sometimes I miss print. At least then, there were space constraints. The internet knows no editing. Today on Salon, constantly wrong-headed advice columnst Cary Tennis fields a 1,300 word question from a melancholy Ivy League student whose primary problem is that she's kinda homesick and no one pays any attention to…
Times are tough for journalists. Sure, there are humorous t-shirts, but that's probably not enough to save the industry. The McClatchy Company, which owns The Sacramento Bee and The Miami Herald, put up a video of their CEO Gary Pruitt to encourage and dupe their employees. In the clip, Pruitt says that no company won…
Poor Sheila. The week she chose to frolic abroad, her internet boyfriend, the musician Ryan Adams, seemingly shut down his blog. But even on vacation, she couldn't tear herself away from her work, nay, her love. When news of the shut down came in, she commented, "why is this genuinely upsetting me that his tumblr is…
Is there anything worse about being a reporter than transcribing? Well, maybe, but listening (and relistening) to tape from an interview is one of the most mind-numbing tasks in journalism. Actually, your mind can't even turn numb, because you need to be at attention the whole time. Added to the fun is hearing your…
The Harvard educated and camera ready investment banker Muffie Benson-Perella would be a great guest on any business show. Her blog's slogan is "Dive Into the Muff!" And who wouldn't want to? This photogenic business woman is the founder of the Founder of Muff Cap, LLC., "an invitation only, private investment vehicle…
Everyone on the internet loves The Office. And many people on the internet enjoy making lengthy, obsessive YouTube montages of things they like. The benefit of Office boss Michael Scott's favorite catchphrase is that it saves idiots from having to create their own joke whenever there's an opening. ("That's what she…
Cyanide Death Rocks Park Slope! Yes, it may be a slow news day, but a senior citizen died under mysterious, poison-y circumstances in a posh neighborhood of Brooklyn. With the Pope finally gone, this gives the tabs a pittance of material. [via Gothamist]
Facebook chat will no doubt improve the sex lives of college students everywhere. Asking for someone's AIM is totally obvious; it's like the oldest move in the Web 1.0 book. Facebook message flirting takes forever. So Facebook chat just may become the most subtle and fastest way to get laid in college. The only…
If Gay Talese had a blog, he'd be all about promoting Last Call at Elaine's, Brian McDonald's memoir of bartending at the legendary old-school New York intellectual hang-out. Elaine's was to the '60s and '70s what the Magician was to three years ago. That means that McDonald is as connected to old-school media types…
The standard of self-incriminating over-sharing necessary to make a splash in the New York media world has risen so much in this post-Julia Allison world. So what's an aspiring fameball to do? Literally whore herself out for a good story? Well. Former New York Press sex columnist and tit-obsessive Kelly Kreth recently…
