Contributor David Cho
The Official Awl March Madness Bracket Tournament Challenge Update: There Will Be Blog 2010-03-19
Wow, what a way to kick off March Madness, am I right? Of the first 16 games, 8 (that's half) were decided in either OT (overtime) or by 3 points or less. That means things were exceptionally close! For comparison, only nine games TOTAL last year were decided by the same criteria. You know what else is close? The rankings in the ongoing Official Awl March Madness Bracket Tournament Challenge! (READ MORE) 39
Join The Official Awl NCAA Tournament Bracket! (Seriously) 2010-03-17
That's right hoops (that's slang for basketball) fans, it's March and it's about time we go mad for it! At the suggestion of one of our loyal readers, I have created a group on ESPN and have forced both Choire and Alex to fill out a bracket, much to their chagrin (and, in Choire's case, total bafflement, followed by blind guessing), and now it's your turn—to fill out a bracket. But wait, we're not just playing for pride and bragging rights here. (READ MORE) 90
Actually Liveblogging The Oscars: There Will Be Blog 2010-03-07
Welcome to The Awl's liveblogging of The Oscars! Can you feel the magic in the air? I can't emphasize how happy I am that we're doing this, doesn't it seem like there's not nearly enough coverage online of this wonderful celebration of cinema? (READ MORE) 117
Flicked Off: 'Alice in Wonderland' and Some Patriarchal Norms and Stuff 2010-03-04
Now I'm not a huge Tim Burton stan, but I thought that Alice In Wonderland was pretty good! The strengths were exactly what you would probably think them to be: visually it was very nice to look at—the landscape design was done by Robert Stromberg, the same guy who did Avatar's. The characters were all very charming and amiable with all of their British accents (and what not!), especially the lead girl Mia Wasikowska who was very crushable by the end. And while the plot/story seemed simple, I was okay with that because it's supposed to be palatable for children, but also because it was really positive and uplifting and supportive of young girls being confident in themselves and believing that they can do things that they set their minds to—which seems like a good thing to convey to today's youth. Considering these takeaways I had from the movie, you can imagine my surprise when I went on Rotten Tomatoes and saw that the movie had a composite review of 67% (coincidentally the same as Shutter Island, which I also thought was a really enjoyable movie—less of an emphasis on girl power, sure, but still fun to watch nonetheless) which seemed a little unfair. (READ MORE) 81
The Food Junket Report: Burger King Unveils its New Broiler to Food Snobs 2010-02-23
Even the biggest food snob has to admit that at one point or another, either out of convenience, drunkenness, or lack of other options, he is going to eat fast food. And while I myself have no shame in admitting that I am a bit of a fast food connoisseur, in light of the most recent invention of the new Burger King broiler, I might claim that even the snobbiest foodie (they hate being called that!) could feel at home at their local Burger King. (READ MORE) 76
How You Can Help Us 2010-02-09
In our continuing effort to keep the editorial staff from selling their bodies on the street (but really, who would pay for them?), we are now building new relationships with advertising partners. Maybe you can help! (READ MORE) 14
Corporate Statement from Awl Publisher David Cho on the Redesign 2010-02-04
So, we redesigned the site! That happened! Do note that the changes were not merely cosmetic. We've also tried to make the site work better for you. It's a work in progress—we have a pretty thorough list of things that we still want to improve—but here's what we've done so far. (READ MORE) 114
Remember When "Spider-Man 4" Was A Movie That Was Going To Be Made? 2010-01-11
Making for a busy first day on the job, Mike Fleming reports for Deadline|New York (so bi-coastal!) that Spider-Man 4, a movie that just this morning had John Malkovich tapped to play lead villain the Vulture, is now apparently not going to happen at all. (READ MORE) 34
What Is The Deal With: Ke$ha? 2010-01-06
It's official! Singer/co-songwriter Ke$ha is the first Number One Hot 100 artist of the decade with her song "TiK ToK." In fact, she just had the second biggest sales week of all time on iTunes (first biggest by a female artist). But if you're anything like me—even though you pay a decent amount of attention to trivial pop culture things like this—you still have no idea who Ke$ha really is (other than that she brushes her teeth with Jack Daniels). Not to worry: I've done all the research for you. And, upon further review, I think she might be this generation's pre-Federline Britney Spears. (READ MORE) 141
'Avatar' Part 2, with David Cho: Who Remembers 'District 9'? 2009-12-18
So as not to be confusing: I definitely think you should go see Avatar as soon as you can, if only because of what it does visually by creating a completely new world that is really amazing—especially the 3D, it's all very, very cool and mind blowing! That being said (SORRY LARRY DAVID AND/OR JERRY SEINFELD), when watching Avatar, I was never really invested in any of the characters or emotionally compelled by what was happening on the screen. I walked away thinking that I had never seen anything like that ever in a movie, while at the same time also very reminded of another movie from this year, that did a lot of what I thought Avatar tried to do but with much better results: Neill Blomkamp's District 9. (READ MORE) 15
Won't You Please Take Our Tiny Reader Survey? 2009-12-17
Hello Awl readers! This is David Cho, "business guy" of The Awl, here to ask a favor of you. We currently need a little information about who you are, so we've put together this small little survey (so small!) that asks a few questions about you and your entertainment-consuming habits. If you wouldn't mind clicking this link and taking about 45 seconds to answer the survey as honestly as possible, it would be very much appreciated. Thanks! Here is another link for the survey! As always, if you have any questions, drop us a line. 115
A Common Misunderstanding of the Lyrics of Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" 2009-12-08
If you're like me (and the rest of America, according to the Billboard Hot 100), you love the Jay-Z song "Empire State of Mind." But here's the thing: there's apparently a frequently-misunderstood lyric regarding popular NBA players LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, one that seems to leave a number of people befuddled. Maybe you've heard this line? It's in the second verse and goes something like this, "I got it made/If Jeezy's payin' LeBron, I'm paying Dwyane Wade." A lot of people think this has to do with an NBA franchise, of which Jay-Z is a part-owner: the New Jersey—soon to be Brooklyn—Nets. Those people are wrong. (READ MORE) 90
David Cho: Sarah Palin and Destructive Internet Browsing 2009-11-20
Last night, Sarah Palin was on The O'Reilly Factor with Bill O'Reilly to promote her book Going Rogue, telling the story—if you hadn't heard—of how she was forced to often "go rogue" (do you see what she did there?) while on the McCain ticket in the 2008 Presidential election. Unfortunately I didn't get to see the interview on TV (Don't worry Bill! I'm not a Nielsen household), but caught the whole thing on YouTube. Unfortunately, when you see one Sarah Palin interview on YouTube, they give you the option to watch many, many, many more related Sarah Palin interviews and then, two hours later, you pull yourself away from your computer more scared and confused than when you had started. (READ MORE) 20
SPONSORED POST: Equinox Fitness Clubs 2009-11-18
Equinox is currently offering readers of The Awl a COMPLIMENTARY 3-day trial membership.
Recently dubbed "America's Healthiest Gym" by Health magazine, Equinox has everything you need to maximize both your health and overall wellness. The three-day trial includes all of the various classes (yoga, pilates, spinning—you know, for your core), access to their locker rooms stocked with a full range of high-end spa products—and you can even share this offer with your friends.
A pretty great deal: Click here for your 3-day Trial Membership today. 0
SPONSORED POST: Equinox Fitness Clubs 2009-11-10
Equinox is currently offering readers of The Awl a COMPLIMENTARY 3-day trial membership.
Recently dubbed "America's Healthiest Gym" by Health magazine, Equinox has everything you need to maximize both your health and overall wellness. The three-day trial includes all of the various classes (yoga, pilates, spinning—you know, for your core), access to their locker rooms stocked with a full range of high-end spa products—and you can even share this offer with your friends.
A pretty great deal: click here for your 3-day Trial Membership today. 0
Chris Brown On Larry King: What You May Have Missed 2009-09-03
Last night singer Chris Brown—who recently received five years of probation after entering a guilty plea for assaulting his girlfriend Rihanna—appeared on "Larry King Live" in an attempt to rehabilitate his image and perhaps explain what caused such reprehensible acts. As someone who does not believe that domestic violence is any more glamorous or noteworthy when it is perpetrated by or on celebrities, I have only a cursory awareness of the story, and did not tune in. But Awl Director of Business Development/SEO Coordinator David Cho has been following the case since it began, and was eager to explain it to me. If you're also curious as to what transpired, read on. (READ MORE) 10
Taste of the Nation NYC: Drunk, Awkward, Fun! 2009-05-21
The food was good, actually really good. Or some of it was. Some was bad. That's how it is with food. Last night's Taste of the Nation NYC benefit, held at Roseland Ballroom, gave New York's foodies a chance to put on their fancy clothes and get fairly-to-very drunk on the many, many varieties of alcohol being served, all for a very good cause. It was foodie prom. (READ MORE) 9
A Pretty Decent Discount On Pretty Great Food! 2009-05-18
Our good friends (well, let's be honest, acquaintances) at Taste of the Nation NYC have given us a promotional code that will give you, our dear readers, a discount on tickets for their benefit this Wednesday at Roseland Ballroom. Just use the code "theawl" (one word!) at checkout and you'll have a 30% discount applied to your ticket. The proceeds go to the fight against childhood hunger, which, I think we can all agree, is a fairly worthy cause. A full list of the restaurants participating and the charities helped follows. (READ MORE) 3
Four-Alarm Fire In The Lower East Side 2009-05-14
So even though it's raining right now, there's a gigantic four-alarm fire blazing in the Lower East Side. And if you're like me and trying to figure out why your entire apartment smells like smoke, here's what we know so far: (READ MORE) 18
Listicle Without Commentary: The 22 Greatest Songs Written For Commercials 2010-03-01
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