“[The] photograph of construction workers casually eating their lunch on a skyscraper beam suspended high about Manhattan can lay claim to being one of the 20th century’s most recognisable images. Yet, in the run up to its 80th anniversary today it has emerged that, far from catching the subjects unaware, the image was set up as a publicity shot for the Rockefeller Center.”

“It was no surprise when the Soundview Healthcare Network in the Bronx began to liquidate its assets this summer. After all, its founder and chief executive, Pedro Espada Jr., the bombastic former state legislator, had been convicted of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the nonprofit organization, and soon afterward, seemingly a casualty of corrupt management, it stopped accepting patients and began laying off staff members. But when what was left of the network was finally sold off for $600,000, the bulk of the proceeds went to some surprising recipients: Mr. Espada, his relatives and companies they controlled.”

“I like people, I just don’t have to see them all the time.”
 — Neil Young seems like a particularly difficult person to interview. But I was very happy to read that Bukowskian quote in the profile David Carr wrote for Sunday’s Times Magazine

. Because it reminded me of the lyrics of my favorite Neil Young song, “On the Beach.” “I need a crowd of people/But I can’t face them every day…” Neil sings, sounding miserable — torn between the insecurity, the hunger for approval that fuels so many performing artists, and misanthropy. (“Though my problems are meaningless/That don’t make them go away.”) Man, and the stuff about how the seagulls remain so far away — that kills me every time. I think that song is about the loneliest song I know. If you’d like to hear a cover of it by Radiohead (who explored similar themes in the 1998 documentary Meeting People Is Easy) press play above.

“After taking a beating for comments he privately wishes he never made and from conservative critics he wishes he could muzzle, Mitt Romney and his campaign are settling on a rescue plan to show more of him — in ads, speeches and campaign appearances. A big focus, according to campaign officials, will be on Romney talking a lot more about how his ideas will help regular Americans who remain deeply suspicious of him.”

by Awl Sponsors

Susan loves Ed and Ed loves Susan, but Ed and Susan have a problem. You see, Ed is addicted to sports of all kinds and he spends every waking hour hunting for information and stats on every single one of them. Basketball, football, baseball, horseshoes, darts — you name it and Ed has got to know. So if he isn’t in his office surfing the web for the latest up-to-the-minute scores, he’s down at his local bar trying to keep up by watching multi-feeds and multi-screens of whatever game happens to be playing at that exact moment. Poor Ed goes to so much work for his favorite hobby that poor Susan never gets to see him anymore.

Is there any way both can ever be happy?

Well, cheer up, Susan and Ed (and all those who care about or can relate to this saga), technology has finally come to your rescue! Thanks to LG’s Google TV, sports and stats will never be the same. This TV has the goods any serious sports fan needs to stay up to speed.

Now, Ed can plant himself securely on his couch at home and still catch every game and stat he used to work so hard to find before, thanks to the absolutely seamless integration of broadcast sports and the power of the Internet. Literally, limitless facts and stats are now available by clicking and typing away on his LG magic remote (yes, it has a mouse and a keyboard), which means Ed gets all the information he can handle and all the sports he ever wanted to see. Ed even customizes his LG TV dashboard with all his favourite sports apps. He has the MLB.tv app for his baseball fix, NASCAR LIVE for real-time updates, and he tops it off with the ESPN ScoreCenter to see hundreds of scores from leagues around the world. If that wasn’t enough, LG’s Google TV has instant 2D-to-3D conversion so Ed can really get in on the action.

And Susan? Not only is she snuggled up right next to Ed — and enjoying every minute of it — she’s got instant access to her favorite online shopping apps, instant shows and movies on Netflix and Cinema Now, plus all her fave social media sites like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and more where she regularly posts pics and vids of the two lovebirds living happily ever after.

Talk about a “Smart” TV — good job, Ed and good job, Susan. Whoever would have thought that one singularly amazing TV could do so much to keep one couple so happy together?!

Only LG’s Smart TV with Google TV uses innovative technology to improve your love life. Check it out today!

There’s certainly something to be said about life, the election, taxation and the classes in light of this study — it says that “wealthy” smokers in New York City spend 2% of their income on cigarettes and “poor” smokers in New York City spend 25% of their income on cigarettes — but I’ll be darned if I know what.

“You take a song wit Jay n Kanye on it n you add Big Sean to that shit…thats like takin Wagyu steak witta side of truffles n you splash some A-1 sauce on that muthafucka namsayin. That nigga Big Sean is a condiment b. The nigga is ketchup nahmean. Son aint even on the menu namsayin. You dont go to ANY restaurant n see ketchup on the menu b. Not even cheap ass spots like Burger King got ketchup on the menu…that shit aint a item on the menu. At a nice restaurant they jus be throwin that shit there on the table sometimes like ‘yo…if you a uncultured lowlife muthafucka you can ga’head n splash summa this shit on ya expensive ass food or whatever son’. If its a real nice spot…like some place witta ‘Chez’ in front of the name they probably aint even got no ketchup or steak sauce in the buildin at all yo… They jus be havin the grey poupon type joints or some shit nahmean.”
 — A lot of people are writing about Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music collective’s new album Cruel Summer this week.

Many of them are making good points. (Like, yes, Cruel Summer is a confusing title for an album that comes out on September 18th — and, while we’re on the subject, don’t tease me with the thought of a Bananarama sample if you’re not going to come through!) But no one is writing about it as well as the mysterious and talented voice mimic who goes by the name “Big Ghost.” In related news, ego trip talks to photographer Daniel Hastings about his experience shooting the cover for Raekwon’s Only Built for Cuban Linx… album. Which is basically a collaborative project with Ghostface Killah (the real Ghost.) And is also the best rap album ever made.

Even though they come from the Danny Meyer organization and are made with premium ingredients, it turns out that the burgers at Shake Shack are still about the same amount of calories as similar, less prestigious offerings.

Tonight: Ask some ladies, including Jessica Valenti and AnnaHolmes: Why Have Kids? (WHY INDEED.) And then some boys, Keith Gessen and Marco Roth, talk and do not address the question of why or why not to have kids. And the terrific Faun Fables plays the Knitting Factory! Also all the poetry you could ever want to hear. Check that calendar.

If I Weren’t An Actor…

I think I’d have gone mad.1
I’d probably be in prison or dead.2
I’d always look like someone out of Middle-earth.3

I’d be a lawyer.4
I’d be an event planner.5
I’d be a hypnotist, like Paul McKenna.6
I’d be a surgeon, like my dad.7

I would have been a journalist.8
I would have been a photographer.9

I’d be: maybe an interior designer.10
I would be in psychology.11
Oh, Lord knows, maybe I’d be a professional action figure or something.12

I’d be the British Justin Bieber, probably!13
I’d be: building furniture.14
I’d be a burglar or seafarer.15
I’d be a secret agent.16
I’d be singing jingles or something.17

I would probably still be in Trondheim, Norway.18
I would probably be a painter or some kind of artist.19
I would probably be on the street.20

Would I be so worried about having dessert?21

I don’t know if I could do this job.22
I don’t know what the alternative would be.23
It would be prison, death or insanity.24

1 Laurence Olivier [source]
2 Danny Trejo [source]
3 Nick Offerman [source]
4 Debra Messing [source]
5 Tiffani Thiessen [source]
6 Karen Gillan [source]
7 Laura Prepon [source]
8 Dev Anand [source]
9 Neil Nitin Mukesh [source]
10 Jennifer Aniston [source]
11 Claire Danes [source]
12 Natalie Portman [source]
13 Thomas Law [source]
14 Ed Begley Jr. [source]
15 Anthony Hopkins [source]
16 Elijah Wood [source]
17 Kel Mitchell [source]
18 Liv Ullmann [source]
19 Gugu Mbatha-Raw [source]
20 Viola Davis [source]
21 Lauren Graham [source]
22 Ronald Reagan [source]
23 Adrien Brody [source]
24 Tom Hardy [source]

Previously: Like The Man Says

Elon Green is a contributing editor to Longform.