In the past few days, in the wake of the Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin, the national media has once again begun to blame a crime on art. On Sunday, police discovered that Wade Page, the skinhead who stormed into the Oak Creek temple that afternoon and killed six people before killing himself, was once in a white-power band called End Apathy.
So, okay. This is where we are, as a nation. On Monday, Barack Obama addressed a crowd in Stamford, Connecticut and described Mitt Romney's tax plan as "Robin Hood in reverse. It's Romney Hood." Yesterday, Romney told a Fox News reporter that Obama's terms are "Obamaloney." Everyone in America now has free rein to address both candidates as "Beavis."
Tough luck, Gabby Douglas, Henrik Rummel's penis is the new sweetheart of the 2012 Olympics. Rummel burst into internet fame over the last 48 hours since photos of his large-but-not-giant non-boner stole the spotlight from him and his three teammates during their medal ceremony Saturday afternoon. (Rummel's penis was not awarded a medal, even though it is a comparable size to most coxswain.)
Neil Barofsky was at the very center of the U.S. government's response to the 2008 economic collapse. He spent more than two years, until March of 2011, as Special Inspector General for the TARP program, overseeing and monitoring government bailout funds. Now, Barofsky has written a ferocious book detailing how, he says, "Washington abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street." And he's here to take questions from you, the Main Streeters.
For a detailed analysis of Sarah Palin's Supergirl outfit you see here, I turn things over to our Gawker Fashion Correspondent, Fake Michael Kors. What say you, Queen Tangerine?
Ahoy, ahoy. My name is Cord Jefferson, and today is my first day at Gawker. You may have seen some of my work on the site before (and maybe on Jezebel and Gizmodo, too), but today I'm coming on full-time as your West Coast Editor. I live in Los Angeles, and thus will be the first California staffer since Seth Abramovitch left in January. I'm also the first staffer (on record) to watch hardcore pornography in Fred Willard's favorite Hollywood peep show. You can read my full bio here and see a rundown of some of my other work here.
I've ridden past the Tiki "Xymposium" hundreds of times on the 704 bus, which connects L.A.'s concrete-laden eastside to its breezy western coast via Santa Monica Boulevard. Every time I'd by chance glance over and see the theater, its fading, sunburned red sign getting shabbier all the time, I'd think that it looked like a good spot to drink oneself to death or to look for someone who owes you money.
Do you like New York City? Or, really, anywhere between Ohio and Connecticut? Because, haha, it might not exist tomorrow. There's a "potential for a widespread damaging wind event/derecho" tonight — and risk of tornadoes around New York City. But what even is a "derecho"? And how can you protect yourself from it?
Determining the precise level of insanity present within each member of the Jackson family has long been a favorite pastime of the team of licensed psychiatrists that is the American public.
The immediate aftermath of any American tragedy offers a heady potential for vile ideas. Details are scant, speculation is still wide open, motive is easily assigned—and in the rush to scoop other outlets, journalists don't have as much time to investigate claims, arguments or citations.
Finnish computer security researcher Mikko Hypponen seemed a bit overwhelmed when we reached him on his cell phone at London's Heathrow airport this morning.
A 49-year-old Maine man named Timothy Courtois was arrested Sunday morning and charged with carrying a concealed weapon and criminal speeding. He was driving 112 miles per hour on the Maine Turnpike, and he had an AK-47 assault rifle, four handguns, and multiple boxes of ammunition in his Mustang.
It hasn't even been 24 hours since a gunman opened fire on a crowded movie theater in Colorado and you can already predict the entire, familiar scene: the days and days of arguments about gun control, about mental health treatment access, about violence in movies and television. And, of course, the angry accusations that one person or another is "politicizing tragedy," unquestionably the worst sin in post-tragedy rhetoric.
While we eagerly await Will McAvoy having the guts to openly demand stricter gun control laws two years from now, Newsroom creator Aaron Sorkin has canned his entire writing staff, this despite decent ratings and second season renewal. Oh, but he did keep one writer: ex-girlfriend Corinne Kingsbury.
