Minneapolis Michael

Reading the Sunday Times So You Don’t Have To (Even Though You Should): 2.28.10

SUNDAY BUSINESS

6 Months, $90,000 and (Maybe) a Great Idea -Silicon Valley: where people get paid $15,000/month to work out ideas. I’d like that job. This lags toward the end, otherwise it’s fine.

Talk to Me. I’ll Turn Off My Phone - The president of the Global Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Tachi Yamada, on what it takes to be a great leader. Pro tip: Get off your phone, jackass.

Energy Scoreboards, Designed for the Home - Thank god there are smart people working on stuff outside of bullshit social networks. The iPad will render these products obsolete in a few months, however.

The Buried Treasure In Your TV Dial - We need more bandwidth for data due to increased mobile phone usage. The spectrum that radio currently uses is robust. No one listens to the radio anymore. Problem solved.

WEEK IN REVIEW

We Can’t Wish Away Climate Change - A must read. Al Gore is a gifted writer, exhibit A.

Six Hours of Hot Air! - Why in hell is it bad to have a President that’s professorial? Oh right, the part of America that watches Glenn Beck never went to college.

The Free-Appropriation Writer - As my generation grows up, this sort of thing (and it’s accompanying argument) will become a non-issue; this kind of shit will happen all the time. On that note, I’m going to pick up David Shields’ new book and read it this week. I can’t wait to feel elitist!

ARTS & LEISURE

The Koons Collection - What. A. Nut. I know this dude is “important” and I try to read as much as I can stomach about him, but he’s totally off his rocker. It’s also interesting to read this after the above piece about “the free-appropriation writer.”

‘Bourne’ Team Takes a Chance With Iraq War - I’m really anxious to see this new Damon/Greengrass jawn.

Drinking Blood: New Wonders Of Alice’s World - It’s the time of year when Hollywood, after a long, bleak, boring winter, wakes up and starts churning out good films.

BOOK REVIEW

Say Hey - Did you know Willie Mays played for the Minneapolis Millers in 1951? Neither did I. A beautiful review of “Willie Mays,” a book about a man who played a beautiful game.

THE FRONT PAGE

A Young and Unlikely Activist Who Got to the Tea Party Early - Trying to prove that not all Tea Partiers are extremists, the Times profiles a thirty year old woman living in Seattle who has a pierced nose, performs improv and “lives…in a neighborhood with more Mexican grocers than coffeehouses.” Nice try, NYT!

Reading the Sunday Times So You Don’t Have To (Even Though You Should): 2.21.10

Sorry this is thirty-six hours late. My parents were in town yesterday so I had to go to Jesus’ house with them in the morning; that seriously cut into my reading time.

I’ll be back next Sunday, around 11 a.m. with a new post in this series.

For the record, church is still a total drag.

SPORTS

The Neighborhood Curling Team - I actually don’t like the writing at all, but I found the passage near the end about the team members, all Minnesota natives, having made-up nicknames cool.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Now Voyager, Now Voyeur - Nick Bilton writes about Chatroulette. One of the “experts” quoted in the piece thinks Chatroulette will “spin out into a new kind of category online.” I haven’t reached the same conclusion.

The Prize In Marja: Momentum - Dexter Filkins, writing from Afghanistan, makes the case that the capture of Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s top military commander, is the beginning of a shift in momentum in the war-battered country. The momentum can only be sustained if Afghan forces take the lead in waging the war against the insurgents - their own countrymen; it doesn’t look promising, according to this C.J. Chivers piece.

A SECTION

Afghan Army Lags in Battle - For some reason, the battle for Marja has captured my attention unlike any other fight in recent memory. See also: the above story.

Cries for Help via Text Messages Are Used to Direct Aid to Haiti - Oh fuck, we’ve forgotten about Haiti already haven’t we? *sigh*

ARTS and LEISURE

Film: Buddies Cracking Jokes and Heads - Nice little piece about Kevin Smith’s “Cop Out” and the buddy-cop genre that dates back to “In the Heat of the Night.” (No, really!)

SUNDAY STYLES

Keeping the Plates Spinning - I know, an interesting piece in “Styles,” but this one was good! It’s a tad inside-baseball, but nonetheless interesting to see how those daily e-newsletters we all get — and delete — are produced.

Reading the Sunday Times So You Don’t Have To (Even Though You Should): 2.14.10

I read the Sunday New York Times every week (except during football season, obvs); going forward, every Sunday, I’ll share the most interesting pieces I read. Enjoy.

International

• Same-Sex Couple Stir Fears in Malawi of a ‘Gay Agenda’ Promoted by the West - Note the difference in titles between the print and web version. Also, this is written by one of the best working journalists, Barry Bearak.

Arts & Leisure

• Truth Lies Somewhere In Between - Manola Dargis explores a new wave of documentaries that caught her attention at Sundance.
• Three Mates Laughing (Well, Two Are) - Did you know Ricky Gervais has a (successful) podcast being turned into an animated HBO series?

Sunday Business

• Hype, Money and Cornstarch: What It Takes to Win at Westminster - Thought “Best in Show” was a mockumentary? Think again
• These Battle Lines Are Drawn in Yellow - Google is courting the lucrative mom-and-pop business market with $25/year small business listings.

Week in Review

• Testing the Meaning of Victory - Read this piece as a primer, setting up why the battle in Marja, Afghanistan is important, and then read C.J. Chivers and Dexter Filkins on yesterday’s start to a long, protracted battle.
• Somebody Else’s Rumor - The ombudsman on that elusive, explosive Gov. Paterson story.
• Palin’s Cunning Sleight of Hand - Like I need to tell you to read Frank Rich on Sarah Palin.