Are Your Antibacterial Soaps Killing You?
“The Food and Drug Administration said there is no evidence that antibacterial soaps and washes actually prevent the spread of germs, and some products may even pose a health risk.”
Is Your Food Made Out Of Drugged-Up Horses?
“French police carried out dozens of early-morning raids on Monday after reports that horses used for medical research were illegally sold for human consumption.”
Senior Government Official Identifies Place That Sucks Worse Than Pennsylvania
“If Pennsylvanians were inclined to feel a little like a sixth borough when contemplating New York City, Mr. Biden offered reassurance that all they need to do to experience a real inferiority complex was move to Delaware.”
How Can We Get Mayor de Blasio To Wear Something Other Than A Burlap Sack?
“New York mayors have almost always been fashion plates — from the jaunty cane and fedora of Jimmy Walker to the dapper tweeds of matinee idol John Lindsay to the custom-made suits of Abe Beame to the twee bowties and pocket squares of David Dinkins. Even Robert Wagner knew how to wear a suit. The dour Wagner held his own in a famous 1957 photo of him next to glamorous Marilyn Monroe at a movie premiere, thanks to his perfectly tailored tuxedo. But de Blasio seems to think that dressing for success is not part of his job description.”
What Are You Reading? Part 8
by John Shankman
Over the next week for a sponsored project on behalf of Byliner, The Billfold’s Mike Dang and our publisher John Shankman will be selecting stories from the Byliner platform and chatting about them.
John: Mike, sir!
How do you do?
Could this be our eighth and final WHAT ARE YOU READING CHAT?
Is that possible?
Mike: Is it eight already? These have flown by!
John: Well, you know what they say about time when you’re having fun…When this started I was IM’ing with no punctuation and now look at me.
Mike: Haha, maybe that makes me an influencer? A THINKFLUENCER
Omg, just kidding.
I’m not going to go there.
John: Dude, you are absolutely an indiellectual. Jury is still out on a thinkfluencer. But by nature all indiellectuals are influential so you are at the very least two of three.
Mike: I’ll take it!
John: BOOM
Mike: Okay, so, for our final story, I chose a classic piece.
John: *drum roll*
Mike: It’s a story by Susan Orlean, whom you’ve read before, yes?
John: Ah, yes
Mike: This story has a special place in my heart for a variety of reasons.
“The American Male at Age Ten”
She wrote it for Esquire, and it’s just a really terrific profile of a 10-year-old boy named Colin Duffy.
John: i have to say, i have not read this piece
very interesting
so this is to say that she profiled someone the way, say, someone would profile an older person for a glossy magazine
Mike: Profiling kids is both easy and hard to do.
John: yah, seems atypical at the very least
Mike: Easy because kids are so honest — they aren’t media trained so they’re always on the record.
But hard because, well, they’re also kids.
John: Any reason this story has a special place in your heart?
Mike: Oh so many.
One, it was written in 1992, right before I was going to be 10!
So this 10-year-old is me at the same time in history.
He, for example, likes playing Street Fighter II (which I was also into).
John: great game
M.Bison debut
Mike: Haha, yes. Also, he’s into games at school like prison dodge ball and some games I’ve never heard of like blob tag and bombardo.
Which is funny to me because I also made up games with my friends when I was his age.
My favorite being this game called CANNONBALL.
Which I would totally play today.
John: intriguing
so this fella in the piece
how did he come across?
just a regular young bro?
why did she pick him?
Mike: Yeah, he could be, at that point in time, any 10-year-old in America.
He’s a kid who like specific games for specific reasons. Who hasn’t gone through puberty yet so doesn’t know much about sex. Who spends most of his days hanging out with friends who are like him.
But the thing I liked about the story is that it evokes a specific 10-year-old from a specific period in time.
The 1992 10-year-old is unlike the 10-year-old in 2002, who I imagine is unlike a 10-year-old in 2012.
It’s a different world.
John: A LOT MORE TABLETS
Mike: Haha. Yes. And the other reason why this story is close to my heart is that I read it in college when I was on the fence from going into the law field and pursuing journalism. It sort of pushed me into journalism.
John: wow
nice
Mike: So reading it now, also invoked that period in my life
John: awesome
do we know where that fella is now?
the boy profiled in the article?
Mike: I think someone followed up with him when he was older? But the story wasn’t as good.
John: on that note. im going to be on my way to read that story.
it’s been a pleasure, mike.
Mike: Yes, it’s been fun!
Interested in reading more? Byliner has thousands of great fiction and nonfiction stories. Check it out here.
Everyone Wants In On The Gluten-Free Scam
“Domino’s Pizza Inc. last year introduced a gluten-free pizza crust along with a lengthy online disclaimer explaining that due to the size of its kitchens, it can’t control for cross-contamination. Domino’s website says it ‘DOES NOT recommend this pizza for customers with celiac disease. Customers with gluten sensitivities should exercise judgment in consuming this pizza.’”
Photo by swanksalot, via Flickr
Peter O'Toole, 1932-2013
Legendary performer and alcohol aficionado Peter O’Toole, “an Irish bookmaker’s son with a hell-raising streak whose performance in the 1962 epic film ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ earned him overnight fame and established him as one of his generation’s most charismatic actors,” died this weekend. Knowing all that I do about the subjectivity of taste and the vast differences of opinion and appreciation for forms and styles of art I am disinclined to make grand, sweeping statements about the cinema, but I do want to mention that Lawrence of Arabia is one of the ten greatest films of all time and if you have never seen it you cannot consider yourself in any sense of the word educated when it comes to the subject of film, and it would be pointless to even argue this assertion because you would be both comically and tragically wrong. You should also try to get your hands on My Favorite Year if that one passed you by. And The Ruling Class. Maybe Beckett, which is streaming on Netflix right now. But for sure Lawrence and My Favorite Year. O’Toole was 81.
NY1 Redesigned To Include One Less Hot Jogging Guy
In Time Warner’s effort to “rebrand” NY1 to make it look just like other Time Warner local properties (WHY? We don’t care about other properties!), they’ve redone the music and bumpers and titles and stuff. Fine. But there’s a casualty of this change, as there always is.
@tmcgev @choire I didn’t even know there was a hot jogger. Reviewing tapes now.
— Pat Kiernan (@patkiernan) December 16, 2013
That’s right. Along the way, NY1 killed Hot Jogger Guy, who used to appear in the pre-weather montage thingey, whoever he is. RIP Hot Jogger Guy. We’ll always have this screenshot of you.
