What Makes Someone a New Yorker?

New York Mag's Daily Intel interviewed Simon Rich, a writer for SNL. I loved his answer to the following question:

What makes someone a New Yorker?
Living in a state of unspeakable fear, but wanting to live nowhere else.

Tom Cruise: Crazy Pills Still Needed

"When you make people reconsider something that they're so certain of . . .I found it very compelling. It's the reason I'm doing it. When I was a kid, we'd play war, you know, and it was always 'Kill the Nazis.' I wanted to kill Hitler. [. . .] It's about doing the right thing, but also about finding out what the right thing is. You know what I mean? I do feel that this movie was the right thing to do . . . I love movies. Yeah, man, I love movies!"

- From Details Magazine on making his latest movie, "Valkyrie"

Another Way to Die

Jack White |MTV Music

The Jack White/Alicia Keys song from "Quantum of Solace," is probably the only thing I truly liked about the movie. It's funky and different -- I think it does a good job representing the new Bond series.

Chorus:
Well, a door left open
A woman walking by
A drop in the water
A look in the eye
A phone on the table
A man on your side
Someone that you think that you can trust
Is just
Another way to die

Sigh

This scene in "Love Actually" actually makes my heart ache. I watched it numerous times over the past week because it's been on TBS on repeat and I just love it. I saw this picture posted by someone else on Tumblr and I realized I'm not alone -- it's such a great movie.

Women's Rights: Unimportant to Current Administration

Jezebel.com

The New York Times reports that Dubya is trying to squash women's reproductive rights while he still has a few weeks left in office.

President Bush is trying to pass the "provider conscience" law which would do the following:

"[The rule] would prohibit recipients of federal money from discriminating against doctors, nurses and other health care workers who refuse to perform or to assist in the performance of abortions or sterilization procedures because of their 'religious beliefs or moral convictions.' It would also prevent hospitals, clinics, doctors’ offices and drugstores from requiring employees with religious or moral objections to 'assist in the performance of any part of a health service program or research activity' financed by the Department of Health and Human Services."'

Also, according to the article, although the White House missed the November 1st deadline on which new regulations can be proposed, this deadlines will be "waived in extraordinary circumstances." Are the "extraordinary circumstances" in question the fear that there's a deal on abortions and women are going to be flocking to the clinics before 2009 starts? Or is someone just trying to put the cherry on top of the worst legacy of all time?

Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar: Profitable

"This place is going to make a billion dollars."

— Steady Mobbin’s verdict on the new Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar.

Other great reviews:
Ed Levine for Serious Eats
Blondie and Brownie

Quote of the Day: Taylor Swift

"You know what, if they don't want me to write bad songs about them, they shouldn't do bad things."

- Taylor Swift; if you date her you have to accept that she will be writing songs about your romance.

Is "Senator Palin" a Possibility?

Besides the fact that I'm a huge fan of Rachel Maddow, I suggest you watch this clip.

Not only did the Alaska population elect Palin as their Governor, they are on their way to electing GOP Senator Ted Stevens, who's been convicted of 7 felonies, as their sentator.

Jezebel reports:
If Stevens were to win, he would be forced to step down, and many speculate that Palin would either appoint herself to the vacant seat or run in a special election. So what does the Governor have to say about this hullabaloo? "The Alaskan voters have spoken and me not being a dictator won't be tellin' anybody what to do. A Governor, especially one that's not gonna be a dictator and all this, doesn't have control over that."

If I need to continue to listen to Sarah Palin speak in poorly crafted sentences, using her "Maverick" take on the English language, I might explode. I thought the Presidential race was over -- why won't she just go away?

Clip above.

Simple Pleasures on Friday

Jess April: Published Writer

I am very honored and excited this morning because I made it into my favorite blog, A Hamburger Today!

Check out my post about Kroll's burgers in Green Bay, WI. I ate there a few weeks back when I was visiting with friends for the Packers v. Colts game. The burger wasn't the best I've ever had -- but the experience of the restaurant paired with a great football landmark was terrific.

Today Was (Also) a Victory for Newspapers

Image via Gawker.com

Sure, I've been reading what the internet has been telling me -- print is dead. But after yesterday's historical election, newspapers were selling out across the city this morning. The New York Times is now being sold on e-bay for $20 as a collector's item and the internet is cluttered with beautiful collages of newspapers across the world.

Maybe print can't withstand the digital era -- especially if amazing, monumental and historic events don't happen every day -- but a day like today shows us that people still cherish tangible items. There's something comforting, familiar and real about newspapers and even magazines. I know the feeling of finding a old newspaper clipping that my grandmother saved or a recipe from a very old cooking magazine that my mother tucked into her massive recipe book. When I hold these memories, I can feel the stiffness of the paper and smell the musty scent of something that hasn't been exposed to fresh air in decades. I can see the old typeface, the yellowing of the paper and the roughness around the edges from other hands that held it at one time. Will we still feel that same nostalgia in 50 years when looking at the "archived" web? Will this even exist? (And certainly not in a "lost" box that you find in the back of a closet which is always part of the charm of discovering history.)

Print may be "dead" in that it's going out of style, it's no longer the future of journalism and it will no longer be profitable -- but I believe it will always serve a purpose that will forever make it priceless.

"America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do."

Man I'm proud of our country today. It was a wild ride and I don't believe I ever enjoyed watching MSNBC more in my life. Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States, which marks an amazing moment in history as he will also become the first black president of this nation. It's overwhelming to be living through history and I couldn't be more excited to see what he does in office for the next four years.

Watching History