1. 1 Feb


    It’s hard to believe that this beautiful heap of Beaux Arts majesty is 100 years old. But sure enough, Grand Central Terminal opened its doors to the commuting masses at midnight on Feb. 2, 1913, and soon became a world-renowned icon of transportation and capitalist might. In honor of Grand Central’s birthday, we take you back in time with 12 early, black-and-white snapshots of a timeless building, as well as the millions of busy travelers who have passed through it. 

    Photos:

    • Sunlight beams into the terminal, 1930. (Hal Morey/Getty Images)
    • Members of the National Boys’ Club offer Victory shoe shines to every man and women in uniform in Grand Central’s USO Lounge on April 6, 1943. (AP Photo/Dan Grossi)
     

  2. 4 Dec


    “Sure, Bloomberg is an important figure in American politics, but Clinton is a global icon and one of the most powerful women on the planet. And while running New York involves much more than making sure the garbage is picked up on time, it’s definitely a step down from helping negotiate a truce between Hamas and Israel or becoming the first high-ranking American official to meet Aung San Suu Kyi.” —Ryu Spaeth speculates on why Hillary Clinton turned down Michael Bloomberg’s suggestion that she run for mayor of New York

    “Sure, Bloomberg is an important figure in American politics, but Clinton is a global icon and one of the most powerful women on the planet. And while running New York involves much more than making sure the garbage is picked up on time, it’s definitely a step down from helping negotiate a truce between Hamas and Israel or becoming the first high-ranking American official to meet Aung San Suu Kyi.” —Ryu Spaeth speculates on why Hillary Clinton turned down Michael Bloomberg’s suggestion that she run for mayor of New York

    (Source: theweek.com)

     

  3. 27 Mar


    It is apparently quite common for school districts to request that standardized tests not include certain words that students might find offensive. But New York City’s list of some 50 banned test topics is twice as long as national sensitivity lists, and stands out as “a bizarre case of political correctness run wild,“ says Yoav Gonen in the New York Post.  Here, a look at some of the blacklisted topics, and why they might have been deemed problematic: 1. BirthdaysJehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate birthdays 2. DinosaursSome students don’t believe in evolution 3. HalloweenSuggests paganism 4. Religious holidays and festivalsCould offend students who don’t celebrate one or more of the holidays 5. TV, celebrities, and video gamesTo “avoid giving offense or disadvantage any test takers by privileging prior knowledge” like pop culture, Robert Pondiscio at the Core Knowledge Foundation tells the New York Post. 6. Computers in the homeNot all students have computers at home  More banned items

    It is apparently quite common for school districts to request that standardized tests not include certain words that students might find offensive. But New York City’s list of some 50 banned test topics is twice as long as national sensitivity lists, and stands out as “a bizarre case of political correctness run wild,“ says Yoav Gonen in the New York Post. 

    Here, a look at some of the blacklisted topics, and why they might have been deemed problematic:

    1. Birthdays
    Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate birthdays

    2. Dinosaurs
    Some students don’t believe in evolution

    3. Halloween
    Suggests paganism

    4. Religious holidays and festivals
    Could offend students who don’t celebrate one or more of the holidays

    5. TV, celebrities, and video games
    To “avoid giving offense or disadvantage any test takers by privileging prior knowledge” like pop culture, Robert Pondiscio at the Core Knowledge Foundation tells the New York Post.

    6. Computers in the home
    Not all students have computers at home 

     

  4. 3 Oct


    Accidentally Occupying Wall Street John Darkow, copyright 2011 Cagle Cartoons

    Accidentally Occupying Wall Street

    John Darkow, copyright 2011 Cagle Cartoons

     

  5. 29 Sep


    What’s going on here?

    What’s going on here?

     

  6. 9 Sep


    shortformblog:

    producermatthew:

    Kevin Cosgrove was the vice president of claims for the Aon Corporation based in the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

    At the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, this 9-1-1 phone call Cosgrove placed from the South Tower was played. In the phone call, Cosgrove could be heard repeating his location several times — he had sought shelter in the office of John Ostaru with another individual, Doug Cherry.

    The phone call is notable as it is one of the few audio recordings made just before and during the collapse of Two World Trade Center.

    “Three of us, two broken windows,” Cosgrove tells the 9-1-1 dispatcher, followed by some rumbling and shouts of “Oh God! Oh —.” Then line goes silent. [YouTube]

    The last two seconds of this call will stick with you. It all ends so abruptly. A harrowing piece of audio.

    (Source: matthewkeys, via shortformblog)

     

  7. 16 Aug


    architizer:

    When New York was founded in 1609, it was teeming with over 55 different ecological communities. The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Welikia Project seeks to recover traces of the city’s lost ecologies.  

     

  8. 25 Jul


    buzzfeed: [60 Awesome Portraits Of Gay Couples Just Married In New York State]

    buzzfeed:

    [60 Awesome Portraits Of Gay Couples Just Married In New York State]

     

  9. 27 Jun



    New York Republicans are responsible for passing gay marriage. The party will pay a grave price.
    — Maggie Gallagher, National Review. Other sources say the vote was a “disaster for the Republican party.” Will the GOP pay for backing gay marriage?
     

  10. 17 Jun


    $487.25 - Price of a premium ticket to The Book of Mormon bought less than 48 hours before a performance, which eclipses the record set by The Producers in 2001. The musical won nine Tony Awards on Sunday, and its cast album skyrocketed to number three on the Billboard charts. That hasn’t happened in 42 years.

    $487.25 - Price of a premium ticket to The Book of Mormon bought less than 48 hours before a performance, which eclipses the record set by The Producers in 2001. The musical won nine Tony Awards on Sunday, and its cast album skyrocketed to number three on the Billboard charts. That hasn’t happened in 42 years.

     

  11. 16 Jun



    You might not like that. You might be very cynical about that. Well, fuck it, I don’t care what you think. I’m trying to do the right thing.
    — Republican New York State Senator Roy McDonald comes out for gay marriage, tells opponents he’s tired of Republican-Democrat politics. “They can take the job and shove it.”

    (Source: theweek.com)

     

  12. 25 Mar


    Best Column: The Democrats need more Weiners Weiner, certainly, doesn’t cower. The liberal Democrat who aspires to be mayor of New York often earns his surname with his partisan rants on the House floor, his campaigns against Clarence Thomas and Glenn Beck, and his opposition to Obama’s tax-cut deal last year.In general, neither Democrats nor Republicans lack for hotheads. But in this case, Weiner’s brand of politics has some merit. As Republicans push daily to undermine the new law, the Democrats play under Marquess of Queensberry rules, answering the opposition’s often-scurrilous allegations with earnest pleas not to “relitigate” the past. In wishing away the fight, they are losing it.

    Best Column: The Democrats need more Weiners

    Weiner, certainly, doesn’t cower. The liberal Democrat who aspires to be mayor of New York often earns his surname with his partisan rants on the House floor, his campaigns against Clarence Thomas and Glenn Beck, and his opposition to Obama’s tax-cut deal last year.

    In general, neither Democrats nor Republicans lack for hotheads. But in this case, Weiner’s brand of politics has some merit. As Republicans push daily to undermine the new law, the Democrats play under Marquess of Queensberry rules, answering the opposition’s often-scurrilous allegations with earnest pleas not to “relitigate” the past. In wishing away the fight, they are losing it.

     

  13. 26 Jan


    Ha

    Ha