(Politics)
Politics
Meet Kid President, YouTube's Youngest Head of State
Last July, Tennessean Robby Novak, age 9, delivered his inaugural YouTube address as Kid President. When a January speech called "A Pep Talk From Kid President to You," encouraging adults to "be more awesome," went viral, Novak became a sensation. Here, five reasons the kid deserves your vote.
see more
Politics
Meet the Next Wave of Political Pundits
The cable networks have new competition in their campaign for your election-coverage vote. When asked in August why the president favored People and Entertainment Tonight over the political press, Obama campaign adviser Stephanie Cutter told CNN that pop-culture media is now "equally important." So the networks have turned to a fresh crop of talking heads who operate as one-person polemical brands, as adept at stirring up controversy as they are at analyzing the candidates. Here are the major political pop stars to watch right now.
see more
Politics
Democrats vs. Republicans: Which Party Throws the Better Party?
The RNC and the DNC (on August 28 and September 3, respectively) give our country's two great parties the hallowed right to select their presidential candidates. Except, for the last several decades this hasn't been true; they merely announce the candidates. These days, the prospective heads of state just host days-long ego trips. Consider it a senior prom with the queen nomination on lock. The balloons will be thick, the stagecraft elaborate, the speeches high-blown, and the after-parties debauched. Here, we pit party against party in several categories and declare a winner in each.
see more
Movies + TV
The Best Political Drama on Cable
USA's six-part miniseries Political Animals stars Sigourney Weaver as Elaine Barrish Hammond, the fierce secretary of state and ex-First Lady of a philandering former POTUS and a failed presidential candidate herself (guess who she's based on). We've seen Weaver do pissed-off mama bear before, but the show proves that fighting off aliens is a breeze compared to battling the D.C. media machine.
see more
Politics
Culture Quiz: Political Scandals
Though John Edwards recently escaped one of those pesky federal corruption charges (and earned a mistrial on the others), no one expects his precipitous fall to close the chapter on political malfeasance and shady dealings. But how well do you know the political shenanigans that have shamed our nation's halls of power over the past couple decades? Test yourself with our handy quiz.
see more
Movies + TV
How Would the Game of Thrones Characters Vote in Modern U.S. Elections?
Though the milieu of George R.R. Martin's book series A Song of Ice and Fire (the basis for HBO's Game of Thrones) might be best described as the High Middle Ages having its way with the corpse of a Tolkien elf, any student of Beltway politics would find all the politicking, backroom deals, backstabbing, and disingenuous posturing all too familiar. It all raises the question: What if the leading figures of Westeros during the War of Five Kings were to inhabit the corridors of power in 21st-century Washington, D.C.? What crusades would they lead—speaking politically, not literally? And who
see more
Politics
Missing Links: Obama on Pinterest, Mega Millions Madness, Edible Cookbooks
We've scoured the Web to find the best intel you might have missed this week. In this edition: The Obama campaign joins Pinterest, the world finally gets its first edible cookbook, MC Hammer celebrates his 50th birthday, and your Mega Millions Jackpot is now . . . $640 million.
see more
Food + Drinks
Missing Links: Supervillain Gingrich and 5 Things Not to Wear
Quiz: Supervillain or Newt? (supervillainornewt.com) This surprisingly tricky multiple choice test compares the presidential candidate's ideas with those of fictional supervillains. We got a lot wrong. Video: 10 Misconceptions Disproved by C.G.P. Grey (C.G.P. Grey Blog) Amusing video-montage blogger C.G.P. Grey finds out if the Great Wall of China is visible from space, if cracking your knuckles really gives you arthritis and more. Starbucks to Sell Beer, Wine in Atlanta, Southern California (Reuters) Starbucks implements phase two in its campaign for world domination: booze. Web Addicts Have Brain Changes, Says Research (BBC) Turns out the hours you wasted on
see more
Books
Missing Links: Bill Clinton and Mindy Kaling Recommend Books, Drunk History Christmas, The Dark Knight Rises
We scour the Web to find the best intel you might have missed this week. Bill Clinton and Mindy Kaling Recommend Books Together, Just Because (Vulture) The unlikely duo gives their (vastly-different) literary recommendations. Drunk History Christmas with Ryan Gosling, Jim Carrey, and Eva Mendes (Funny or Die) Ryan Gosling's holiday gift to the Internet. The Dark Knight Rises Official Movie Trailer (YouTube) For those who didn't catch the trailer before the IMAX screening of Mission Impossible 4. 19 Outstanding Words You Should Be Working Into Conversation (Mental Floss) "Giabella," "badinage," "the Wheaton," and other colloquialisms to win friends and
see more
Food + Drinks
Missing Links: Haiku Traffic Signs, Impractical Cheeseburgers, and the Most Powerful Images of 2011
We scour the Web for the best intel you might have missed this week. Haiku Traffic Signs Bring Poetry to NYC Streets—NPR Molloy & Sons: Heritage Tweed—NOWNESS The 45 Most Powerful Images of 2011—BuzzFeed Occupy Wall Street Protester Lands a Job on Wall Street—NY Post Relax, That Friend Request From Your Unborn Child Is Just a Condom Ad—Time Can Earth Look Any More Gorgeous Than This? (Answer: No)—Gizmodo On the Impracticality of a Cheeseburger—Waldo Jaquith Bill Hader's Stefon Has Some Christmas Recommendations for You—Vulture Damn You, Auto Correct! Reveals 9 Funniest Texts of the Year—Mashable — Maggie Mallon Also on
see more
The Daily Details Continues
