Very cool: “Frustrated by a Supreme Court decision barring broadcast of [California’s Proposition 8 marriage ban] trial, two Los Angeles film types are translating the courtroom testimony into elaborate YouTube re-enactments, complete with professional actors, realistic sets and a budget that might buy you lunch.” You can see the videos here.

Nice piece on New Orleans Saints linebacker Scott Fujita and his support for gay rights. It’ll be even nicer when a story like this is so commonplace as to be unremarkable, but for now it’s important to recognize those who are willing to stand up for something important.

Emanuel Ungaro, the once high-end line of the Paris-based designer who sold his name and company in 2005, made headlines last year for electing Lindsay Lohan as its full-time muse and, improbably, artistic designer. (The company even fired a designer who refused to learn from the wisdom of the Lohan.) The line, under Lohan… let’s say it suffered? (“The collection was such a failure that we could not believe they kept her on,” is how fashion publicist Kelly Cutrone put it.) And now, the business is making drastic financial arrangements-closing their Madison Avenue shop, according to a staff member.

A very nice voicemail left by a Madison Avenue Ungaro staffer for a customer yesterday, inviting the customer up to the store, broke the news.

“Unfortunately,” the leaver of the voicemail said, “um, we’re actually going to be closing our doors February 27th, so I wanted to invite you to our liquidation sale.”

Last night, we called the store for comment. An employee there told me, after a bit of hesitation (and, obviously, after I said I was a reporter) that I was misinformed and that the store “was fine” and that they were merely liquidating the fall/winter inventory, you see. Not that the entire store was being sold off at 75% off and closing up shop in about three weeks.

We don’t have insight yet into what other financial changes are happening at the line.

In any event, everything is “fine” directly contradicts what they’re actually telling customers. This is how their salespeople are wrapping up their voicemails: “Again, our official closing date will be February 27th.

Because it is more or less all I have left to me at this point-and God knows if it goes I’ve got no way of getting a new one-I am particularly protective of my laptop. So as I walked over to the Awl offices this morning amidst the thin, still-unshoveled layer of last night’s snowfall I took each step a little more gingerly than usual. And as I trudged my way across the avenues it suddenly occurred to me that anyone who noted my progress would observe a man whose deliberate but hesitant carriage bore all the hallmarks of the caution and fright. Which is to say, this is how one becomes old. I’m not sure how many more winters I have allotted to me, but every successive season will surely see me moving slightly more slowly, until I am one of those hunched and hobbled figures whose existence you only become aware of as you speedily pass them by. Anyway, consider this a weather report. It’s still a little slippery out there, so be careful.

11 p.m., 2010. It ends.

10:36 p.m., 1994 Oh, ABC. Who do you think wants to go “behind the scenes” on Lost? Are you even sure any of us want to go in front of the scenes?

10:28 p.m., 1967

10:16 p.m., 2008 “The American International Group has agreed to cut employee bonuses by $20 million and will distribute about $100 million on Wednesday.”

10:06 p.m., Year One A.D.

9:54 p.m., 2004:

9:45 p.m., 1985:

9:41 p.m., 2010 “The nation’s top intelligence officials warned Congress on Tuesday that terrorists are ‘certain’ to attempt another attack on the U.S. within the coming months.”

9:37 P.M., 1964 I understand how people travel in time so readily and frequently-but why did all those VW vans make it from the past? Why not, then, trees? Or birds? Or cats that have snowball guns? What matters, really, when dead people get to have long conversations?

9:20 p.m., 1453 You guys, IDK.

9:07 p.m., 2007 Okay, let’s stick to what we know tonight. 1. A guy named Jack aged substantially in the middle of a transatlantic flight. 2. Um. No, that’s it. Oh wait: Also we learned that CGI is expensive.

9:01 p.m., 1972 We’ve seen Juliet die like 1000 times already now. Baffled. Angry. Slightly aroused. Annnnnd this does indeed look like the first leaked five minutes! Score one for the accuracy of Internet leaks, or at least for the failure of ABC to seed a fake leak.

8:58 p.m., 1964 Okay, I got the woman collecting cans and glasses for a living off my car so I could drive to my safe TV place in Brooklyn. And now… God, why did I think I wanted to watch this show? I don’t even understand the parts of the show I’m seeing at the end of the pre-show explainery mess. Also, where’s HURLEY.

It is 8:12 p.m., 2010 The pregame, hour-long warmup show has begun-where they try to remind you of the plot points that you forgot in the endless interregnum? I don’t remember either! This means it’s time to drive to Brooklyn to my safe place where I watch TV! Lemme know what happens, okay?

Oh, hello there. We come to announce some changes are ahead. The sort of changes regarding which the vast majority of you will not give a fruity fig. But our watchword is “always inform! Always disclose!” in these parts, and, so: there is a very good chance that this website will look a bit different tomorrow. You are welcome to read on if you are interested.

In short: we’re rebranding as a newly wholly-owned subsidiary of Cat Fancy magazine.

Okay, we are not, but wouldn’t that be awesome? I WOULD ENJOY.

For real, though, we are making some visual changes. This is what they call, in the professional industry, a “redesign,” I think! (I don’t really know what goes on in the professional industry, it turns out.)

There are at least two whole benefits here.

1. Individual entries, and the front page as well, will be much more legible, in my opinion. This is for the benefit of people who like to read things! There will be space and room for big pretty pictures also and, like, room to breathe. There should also be easier commenting interfacing and the like, for the kids that like the Internets.

2. We’re also making room for our publisher-friend David Cho to sell some ads. Yes, there will be a relaunch sponsor. You know why? Because we are getting closer to our dream of doing something called “paying writers.” I know that you guys are really into that particular endeavor, so thanks for being supportive in this regard. (Check back, um, soonish. Did you know that the average time window in which most folks pay for their advertising is like, net 240 days? I didn’t either! That is the biz, my friends. The real world? We are happy just to live in it.)

Oh, and, 3. Alex Balk finally had a slight meat-related stroke and so he won’t be blogging quite as coherently starting tomorrow, but that’s okay. Probably for the best and all.

To sum up: the same ol’ website, with a little bit of shininess, and a bit worse array of word choices from Alex.

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? COMPLAINTS? Do let me know.

Also we reserve the right to launch this redesign later in case tonight’s late-night/early-morning deployment goes into the crapper. Anyway, see you before that, during LOST. Please have completed your assigned Thorstein Veblen readings beforehand.

Program note: We will be liveblogging the season premiere of “Lost” tonight. Well, technically, Choire will. I’ll be too busy mourning the death of Hurley to be anywhere near a computer. Anyway, see you here a bit before nine!

Yup, that’s the photo of “a senior member of the business staff” of Harper’s listening in outside the door while the publisher of Harper’s was being interviewed by the New York Times.

Here is some good news for those of you who, like me, have sleep apnea but are disinclined to wear those ridiculous masks because they seem like a phenomenal pain in the ass: You can play the didgeridoo! “In a study published in the British Medical Journal, 25 patients with sleep apnea who practiced playing it for about 30 minutes a day, six days a week for four months, significantly reduced the number of apneas they had during sleep; daytime sleepiness also decreased. Scientist believe the breathing technique required to play the didgeridoo strengthens the upper airway and makes it less likely to collapse.” I mean, I’m not going to do that either, but it’s nice to know the option is available.

This should not exactly come as news, but: “Americans’ love affair with top-shelf booze cooled last year as the recession took a toll on high-priced tipples. A new report by an industry group shows people drank more but turned to cheaper brands. They also drank more at home and less in pricier bars and restaurants.” Sigh. I can’t remember the last time I drank anything that didn’t come out of a plastic jug. Damn you, Obama, FIX THIS ECONOMY! People are hurting.