Reading

This was amazing. Grand Hallway is making incredible music. Go buy their new album.

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I could go on, but I'd rather pluck my own pubic hairs than read this fawning idiocy written by fools who have only read the press release of a novel they probably couldn't get through either.

Who is Ruth Fowler and why is she so angry?

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It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique. It's not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure can become a catalyst for profound re-invention.

-Conan O'Brien's commencement speech at Dartmouth

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Anthony Weiner went from a junior congressman to a politician of national significance, thanks in large part to his use of new media. By following back some of his most ardent fans, the way a teen idol might oblige his fans with signed photos, and otherwise working the apparatus of Twitter to drive up his followers and get a hearing for his issues, he managed to create an online persona using the same tricks — digital versions of gerrymandering, triangulating and earmark — that politicians use. Twitter handsomely rewards those with a capacity for risk and an aptitude for the social sciences, especially economics, game theory, psychology and sociology.

-via NYT

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