A half-decade old but still good fun.
From NYPress via AlterNet:
Flathead
I think it was about five months ago that Press editor Alex Zaitchik whispered to me in the office hallway that Thomas Friedman had a new book coming out. All he knew about it was the title, but that was enough; he approached me with the chilled demeanor of a British spy who has just discovered that Hitler was secretly buying up the world's manganese supply. Who knew what it meant--but one had to assume the worstAnd the latest, from Rolling Stone:
"It's going to be called 'The Flattening,'" he whispered. Then he stood there, eyebrows raised, staring at me, waiting to see the effect of the news when it landed. I said nothing.
It turned out Alex had bad information; the book that ultimately came out would be called 'The World Is Flat.' It didn't matter. Either version suggested the same horrifying possibility. Thomas Friedman in possession of 500 pages of ruminations on the metaphorical theme of flatness would be a very dangerous thing indeed. It would be like letting achimpanzee loose in the NORAD control room; even the best-case scenario is an image that could keep you awake well into your 50s....MUCH MORE
It seems there's going to be a surprise shocker-ending to our contest from last week, "Come Up With the Ultimate Thomas Friedman Porn Title." I had Friedman porn-stache mugs wrapped and ready for mailing, and was actually going to name not one winner but four, since we had so many outstanding entries.Of course some people don't like Taibbi: "JOBS Act: Matt Taibbi Has Become a Grumpy Old Man".
But circumstances intervened, and now I'm forced to declare one winner. We had a submission so inspired and impressive that it's going to require a more serious prize than a simple mug. I think the logical choice, if I can negotiate a decent price with the artist (we've done business before), is Geoffrey Raymond's* "It's a 401(k) World," a painting inspired by Friedman's work.
The actual winning submission requires a small explanation. In the meantime, we're still handing out mugs to the other four top entries. In order, they are:
• @fsimmons, who seems to be the first person to have come up with The Next Six Inches Are Critical, which was overwhelmingly the favorite with readers. In fact, it might have been the outright winner, had, well, circumstances not intervened....MORE
I on the other hand don't care much for Taibbi's boss: "Jan Wenner Eco-Hypocrite; Rolling Stone, Right on Ethanol":
I thought this was an insightful quote ..."Lending out the jet is a huge part of Jann's starfucking," says an insider. "It's half the reason he has the plane."...
