Protected: A FIRST

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

BEST PROTEST PICTURE OF 2007

(Via)

Exactly.

(Original link)

WEEKEND UPDATE

Saturday brunch at the nearby diner. This might’ve been my fourth cup of coffee. I’m amazed that by this point I could keep the camera steady enough to take this photo.

Saturday night was library action.

Psyche! Bar action!

The natural way to keep a beer chill.

I heard that Bozo the Clown wears the same pair of boots.

Of course Chris ruined what was a perfect symmetry of crappy beers by buying a bottle of fancy. Fancypants.

Along with darts, balancing a beer can is one of my formidable bar skills.

Ta-da!

Also: if Texas Girl, Lauren sees this entry randomly, please send me that photo you took with us (and sorry we didn’t have the ganja for you). And good luck when you move back to New York City to start your magazine career at High Times.

VALERIE PLAME: UNDERCOVER HOTNESS

I think after the recent hearings, under oath, the covert or not status of Valerie Plame (she was) is pretty irrefutable despite continuing attempts by jackasses to discredit her.  What isn’t debatable is that she is uh, super hot.

OVERHEARD IN PARK SLOPE

“Whores need good loving too.”

LUCA’S MUGSHOT BEHIND BARS

HISTORIC JEOPARDY MOMENT

For the first time in my favorite game show, Jeopardy’s history, the contestants all finished with identical scores for a three-way tie!

That is so gangsta. Who is Bonnie Parker?

Check out the video clip (I heart You Tube):

I love Alex’s response when he sees the final contestants score: ‘AH-HA!’

Update: From Metafilter’s usual bookish crowd discussion, some have theories on this result not being as randomly odds defying as it appears on surface.

“Doofus Magoo” writes: The guy in the lead was grinning like the cat who ate the canary while the answers of the other two were being revealed, so I think he was deliberately angling for a two- or three-way tie — and why not? He had to know the other two had bet it all, and regardless of whether he ends up with $16,000 in a tie or $16,001 as the sole winner, he gets his money. By bidding the lower amount he gets to make one or two other people very happy at no cost to himself.

In fact, you could argue that he benefits from this strategy, as he gets to compete again against people that he may be confident he can beat.

“SeizeTheDay” continues: I agree with Doofus (I don’t think I’ve ever said that before…it’s just so odd). The guy is apparently a puzzle wiz and a computer science professor. He clearly knew what he was doing when he made that bet. There might be a three-fold argument: one, he was doing the other guys a really nice favor by tying instead of winning outright (since 2nd place gets $2500 and 3rd place gets $1000); two, he was ensuring that he knew who his competition would be for the next time (dude has now won over $60K; he’s clearly not dumb); and three, his name and face will always be in the Jeopardy record books for being a part of the three way tie. Pretty ingenious.

Doofus Magoo investigates further on the Jeopardy message boards and comes across a response from the third contestant who bet the $2600 to make the threeway tie possible:

Hi, everybody. I was interested to see what kind of reaction my wager would get; you all have not disappointed me. :-)

So why did I do it? I knew that there had never been a 3-way tie before in the history of the show. (OntarioQuizzer is right that a kid had asked if there had ever been a 3-way tie before. I honestly don’t remember hearing that question; maybe it registered subconsciously.) I saw the possibility to make Jeopardy history, and I took it. I’ve never had a philosophical objection to tie games, although I understand the strategic reasons why you shouldn’t bet to tie. Making history seemed like a very special reason to bet to tie. Plus it’s not every day you get to give away $32,000.

A story: This was the last show taped that day. As my family and friends and I were standing outside the studio absorbing the moment, the schoolteacher who brought the kids that day came up to me and said he wanted to thank me for teaching his kids such a lesson in sportsmanship and generosity. Two of the kids were standing there agog looking at me. It’s a moment I’ll always treasure and one that wouldn’t have happened if I bet that extra $1.

I emailed the YouTube link to a close friend–a friend who generally immediately appreciates the wacky and exceptional–earlier this morning and her response was very indifferent.  Am I the only one here that appreciates this event?

WHAT DOES $53 MILLION IN CASH LOOK LIKE?

Like this.

Update: It’s actually $205 million.

FOX NEWS: NOT SO ACCURATE AND NOT SO TRUTHFUL

Fox News should be renamed Fox Not News or Fox Inaccurate News.

A CONVERSATION

MK: Lets see the Namesake sometime.

MR: I dunno…

MK: I’m going to Barnes and Nobles tonight for the Jhumpa Lahiri/Mira Nair talk at 7. Come and scope out the girls. I’m sure there’ll be a 9:1 ratio.

MR: Which Barnes and Nobles?

MK: Union Square…

MR: Shoot, I want to go, but I have to go to the gym.

MK: Well, I’ll be there if you wanna join. And I’m telling
you, there will be lots of chicks hoping to meet a nice guy. That’s
what we do…We go to bookstores hoping to meet cute intellectual
types.

MK:  It’ll be girls night for everyone in the room, and
whatever available boys that ask interesting questions to the author
make prime targets.

MR: I go to bookstores to try and meet sluts.