Are you an unpublished writer of prose fiction who could use a weeklong retreat where they feed you?
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I thought Enya was a collective, but I was wrong. She also named her castle “Manderley,” because that’s what you name important things.
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Give the people what they want: better vaporizers.
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It’s the most wonderful time of the year: when Poytner does their best-of corrections list!
On 16 September we published an article headed ‘I’ve had Moore women than James Bond’ which claimed that Sir Roger Moore had recently spoken exclusively to The People and made comments to our journalist about his private life. We now accept that Sir Roger did not give an interview to our reporter and did not make the comments that were reported in the headline. We apologise for any distress and embarrassment our article has caused to Sir Roger Moore and we have agreed to pay him damages and legal costs. (The Sunday People (U.K.)
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Deadspin talks with Tonya Harding’s ex:
Then my daughter in high school, there was a question for extra credit that was, “Back in ’94, who was Tonya Harding’s husband?” And she raised her hand and said, “Jeff Gillooly.” And the big bonus question: “What did he change his name to?” And she said, “Stone.” And [the teacher] said, “How do you know that?” And she said, “Because it’s my dad.”
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Vulture’s picks for the best stand-up specials of 2013.
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People get REALLY UPSET when you talk shit about Love, Actually for fun. It made a billion dollars, let the people complain about it ten years later if they want to.
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When a co-worker dies (this is really well-written.)
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We will always link to stories about wizards.
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One-half of “Hey Ladies!” and some friends go “Home for the Holidays”:
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Can’t stop, won’t stop with the oral histories of things. Anchorman fight scene:
Rebenkoff: Some of it was stupid stuff, like a baseball bat with a nail sticking out of it. Another was just a board with a circular saw. The actors came, and they said [in a discerning tone] “I’ll take that one,” like they were really going to go into battle.
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This is just great.
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Tags: feminism, link roundup, the internet
I do want to go a retreat where they feed me. Thanks for that link, I shall enter.
edit – ah, I don’t think I can. I have had a few short stories published. If you ahven’t, though, it could be a fun time!
You could apply for a three month stay at the Kerouac house: http://kerouacproject.org/
Downside that I’d have to goa brgo abroad for that. I doubt they’d pay plane fare!
Whereas the other one is in the UK, so I could drive to it.
if you like cats and bearded dudes, you need to read this…. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/12/20/255537…
you’re welcome, happy holidays, etc 🙂
And it so happens I like comics too! So…score! Thanks!
If you want to be truly disturbed, try this story from Rolling Stone about a teenager in Florida who killed his parents and then had a party in the house while their bodies were locked in the master bedroom.
Still processing my reaction to it – Tyler now seems truly remorseful, but the action was so brutal.
Ah! Why did I read that!? His poor brother!
I must now cleanse my mind by looking at kitten pictures.
The end of that story where the other kids talk to the reporter about how the parents brought it on themselves and how it was cool to be at the murder party … *shiver.* This article was an argument for bombing that town from space, right?
That might be it.
I didn’t get “truly remorseful” from the story at all. All the kids int he story were horrible, except maybe the kid who turned him in. And even he stayed for some murder-selfies.
Hands down the most mind-boggling error:
“The Huffington Post: An earlier version of this story indicated that the Berlin Wall was built by Nazi Germany. In fact, it was built by the Communists during the Cold War.”
I understand messing up the name or biographical information of someone you’ve just heard of, but shouldn’t anyone writing about Germany know the difference between the Nazis and the Communist Bloc?
“The Huffington Post” –> there’s your answer.
The story about a coworker dying was so well-written, but I got completely stuck on the bit where the author had only had one other person in his life pass away before. I remember being in high school and saying, “I would like to not go to a funeral this year, for a change.”
Likewise. I’ve just had an entire year without a funeral for the first time since I turned 22 and i was great.
(only 11 days left in the year, hope I haven’t jinxed it)
The first funeral I ever went to was for a coworker, when I was about 23ish? My grandparents all died when I was either not born yet or really young, and my mom doesn’t believe in children attending funerals. Anyway, it didn’t happen to me until my early 20s.
I’m 32 and have never attended a funeral. I regret missing my grandpa’s funeral back when I was in college, but otherwise, there have been no deaths in my inner circle. I know the day is coming when my parents’ generation will all start to go at once.
If you, like me, are into True Crime, psychopathic women, and stories that just get weirder and more terrible, make sure to read the Slate piece about the original Welfare Queen from yesterday.
I second this, that was a horrifically amazing story.
My mind was blown by this. My baby woke up at 4 am last night so I started reading it while I was rocking him back to sleep and then I ended up staying up to finish it. You think it’s not going to get any crazier and more terrible and it TOTALLY gets crazier and more terrible!!
Hey y’all, The Supreme Court of Canada struck down our remaining prostitution laws in light of the Pickton killings! http://www.cp24.com/news/supreme-court-strikes-do…
The extent to which contempt for sex workers allowed him to keep going as long as he did is repulsive. I would also like to point out that an asset in the case was that (because it\’s Canada and it\’s free) most of his victims had regular Pap smears and kept on top of their sexual health, and when they stopped showing up, their families knew it was bad.
\”The Body Farm\” is excellent, though very, very disturbing, and it comes down hard on law enforcement failures.
Agreed on all points. I think this is positive news.
There is a chance that they might crack down on johns to compensate though.
Yes yes yes!! I was up to see the verdict and got all weepy. If I may: here’s what my friends & neighbours at Pivot Legal, who’ve been backing this from the start, had to say – – http://www.pivotlegal.org/canada_v_bedford_a_syno… – – it’s an encouraging step!
Haha that piece on Love Actually was great, my most hated subplot is Walking Dead Guy Stalks Keira Knightley and She Loves It, although Colin Firth Owns Woman who Doesn’t Speak English and Hugh Grant Loves a Girl Even Though She’s Fat come pretty close.
It fills my shriveled heart with glee that this is the year we finally start hating on Love, Actually. I too loved it in all its saccharine glory when I first saw it ten years ago, but that love has since curdled into the realization that the movie portrays a horrible, patriarchal, Logan’s Run-esque dystopia where women’s lives end when they turn 30.
This film is shit! Look into your heart! You know this to be true!
Exception: the Bill Nighy and Sex Film Stand-In subplots are still great.
and everyone should read the one up there at “This is just great” because hot damn it is perfection.
It really is!!!
Jen Dziura is amazing – the only problem is that whenever I read one of her pieces I have to spend hours reading all the rest of them (not like I was going to get any work done today anyway)!
My most hated subplot is the Colin subplot, because what the fuck is the point?
And this is speaking as an Anglophile who is 95% certain to be interested in you if you have an English accent.
Can someone explain to me why Love, Actually is suddenly a Cultural Touchstone? I don’t even remember it being that huge a deal when it came out? But maybe I was out of the loop 10 years ago?
I love Love Actually and silent giggled all through the Jezebel article. In a lot of ways, it’s a terrible movie! But I watch it every Christmas and enjoy it! GOD FORBID.
However, this bit annoyed me: Hugh Grant offers to have Natalie’s ex-boyfriend murdered for telling her that her thighs are too large—which is an especially adorable flirtation when you consider that he’s a major world leader whose office has historically colonized half the world and bombed and murdered countless actual human beings.
No, that is exactly how I’d want a future manthing to reply when he learns that previous manthings said my thighs were too fat. Offer to kill him out of loyalty. Men who slay other men for insulting female bodies, won’t they be saved in the misandrist revolution?
I love the terribleness of it.
I’m troubled by this, though: “The grief-stricken Liam Neeson calls up Emma Thompson, who I guess is just some woman he knows (relationship NEVER EXPLAINED)”. Weren’t they brother and sister? I thought it was explained, though not explicitly stated as such, or did I just make it up?
No Hugh Grant is Emma Thompson’s brohter, not Liam Neeson. I just always assumed that Emma Thompson and Liam Neeson were just friends? Cause that’s what people do, talk to their friends about their lives, and feelings, and concerns about their children and whatnot. As flawed as the movie is (and it is but I still love it), I don’t think the fact that Liam Neeson and Emma Thompson talk is one of them. I’m not sure why she thinks the movie needed more explanation than that in that area?
Those io9 science images are indeed, pretty amazing. What’s everyone’s favorite? I am partial to the time-lapse gif of the earth “breathing”, and also the Saturn hexagon, because what the heck? I did not know about this. (Okay, the micro-g wet washcloth is still obviously #1.) Least favorite: CAT LUNGS.
Wizards are great. Any interest in Druids? Over here in the UK, there’s a protest planned for Stonehenge, lead by Arthur Pendragon – the “self-declared reincarnation of King Arthur” http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/… … Now when I see stories like this, I think, hmmm, the Toasties would probably like this.
“…the Midwestern lilt that you sometimes find in people from the Pacific Northwest.”
Wait, what???
Where is that quotation from? It’s totally true!
It’s from the Jeff Gillooly one. But how is it a MIdwestern accent if it’s actually a Pacific Northwest accent?
Because the accents sound similar – Ed Hume is a good example of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_T8_6RfCsI
I have elderly relatives (lifelong PNW natives) who sound a lot like that.
A lot of PNW folks are resettled from the Midwest or have Scandinavian blood in them and came over through the midwest. My grandma was born and raised in Seattle, never lived outside of a three-mile area, but said “warsh” instead of “wash” for 88 years. And her family immigrated from Norway via Minnesota.
the death of a coworker piece really rubbed me the wrong way for some reason!
My favorite correction of the year came from the Times Literary Supplement crossword puzzle: “There was a mistake in Crossword 1000, published last week. 18 across should in fact have read “Her spiritual insight and foresight illuminated bestseller for Redfield (9)”. We apologize to all of our confused solvers, who will have wondered why Robert Louis Stevenson’s ass did not fit into the puzzle.”
I cannot wait till the holidays are over and I don’t have to hear another blessed word about Love Actually, for OR against, for another eleven months.
It's from the Jeff Gillooly one. But how is it a MIdwestern accent if it's actually a Pacific Northwest accent?
Thank you! This Christmas, I’m gifting the Medium article to everyone I know who’s ever read “The Secret”.
My mind was blown by this. My baby woke up at 4 am last night so I started reading it while I was rocking him back to sleep and then I ended up staying up to finish it. You think it's not going to get any crazier and more terrible and it TOTALLY gets crazier and more terrible!!