Dodgers hurler Sandy Koufax unleashes a pitch during the 1966 World Series against the Orioles in the 1966 World Series. (Herb Scharfman/SI)
The Real Twinkiller
Dodgers hurler Sandy Koufax unleashes a pitch during the 1966 World Series against the Orioles in the 1966 World Series. (Herb Scharfman/SI)
The Real Twinkiller
It’s 1am and I’m just back from a gross meal at this place called Astro Family Dinner? Never go there. I don’t know how I’ve found myself there twice in the past week.
I sat across from my friend Dave who I just adore. I really do. You know when you look up to someone, but it would be weird for…
Dennys Reyes, currently pitching for Diablos Rojos del México. Owner of a face. (Source)
Our old amigo.
I want you to be weary with me
of all that is already well done,
of all that ages us.
Of all that lies in wait
to wear out other people.
Let us be weary of what kills
and of what doesn’t want to die.Pablo Neruda, “A certain weariness”
laughing/crying at this one, thanks Aditya
1. This is a funny joke.
2. Do we have the wrong priorities because we’d rather pay attention to a funny video that is being talked about/linked to everywhere but not to a tragic story about kidnapping and rape? Maybe, but I’ll reserve my judgment on anybody else because I purposefully avoid our collective fascination with tragedy porn in this country. The bloggers* who made snarky jokes about the kind of people who would rather watch funny videos than pay attention to rape are the same people snickering at the media sensation around the Jodi Arias trial. What’s the difference? The only lasting takeaway from either story is that evil exists and it can manifest itself anywhere. I have a hard enough time managing my depression without spending my waking moments reading about horrific personal tragedies. So yeah, I focus on funny videos and not rape. For this, I won’t apologize.
3. The sentiment* that our fascination with Charles is racially-based is hard for me to buy when just three months ago we did this same song-and-dance with a hatchet-wielding hitchhiking hero named Kai (“SMASH SMASH SMUUUHASH!”). Kai is white, Charles is black. The common denominator is that neither of them fit the platonic ideal of the “Good Samaritan.” Kai and Charles look like vagrants, speak in slang during interviews and 911 calls and generally don’t demonstrate the somberness we expect of our Good Samaritans. I believe the disparity between our expectations for how a hero should look/act and the reality of Kai and Charles is more responsible for our fascination with these types of stories than any mean-spirited urge to laugh at black people.
*I don’t link to offending examples because that would give those responsible traffic/encouragement and only feed the trolls.
Minneapolis, MN
by Sarah BurridgeSarah Burridge Copr. 2013. All Rights Reserved.
I can see my house!
“When you are not practicing, remember, someone somewhere is practicing, and when you meet him he will win.”
The Internet don’t fuck around. (Thanks, @TeeWolvesMerch!)
1. Get home from work
2. Check Twitter
3. See one of my favorite NBA bloggers tweeted a Photoshop request
4. Use Photoshop CS5’s content-aware fill
5. Five minutes later, see your fav NBA blogger sharing your photo around the net
Never change, internet.
The Minimum Wage Machine
This machine allows anyone to work for minimum wage for as long as they like. Turning the crank on the side releases one penny every 4.97 seconds, for a total of $7.25 per hour. This corresponds to minimum wage for a person in New York. This piece is brilliant on multiple levels, particularly as social commentary. Without a doubt, most people who started operating the machine for fun would quickly grow disheartened and stop when realizing just how little they’re earning by turning this mindless crank. A person would then conceivably realize that this is what nearly two million people in the United States do every day…at much harder jobs than turning a crank. This turns the piece into a simple, yet effective argument for raising the minimum wage.
