The Fans of Glenn Beck

Well, this was inevitable.

Things Cindy McCain Likes

White tablecloths on the beach.

Genius or Savant?

Michelle Cottle in The New Republic about Sarah Palin's "p.r. genius":

With her new-media savvy and old-fashioned charisma, Palin has managed to merge Norma Desmond (“Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my closeup”) with Greta Garbo (“I want to be alone”) to become one of the most irresistible spectacles on the public stage. Any political strategist who orchestrated such brilliant success via such unconventional means would instantly be dubbed the p.r. genius of our time. But, as far as we know, there is no crack communications team charting Palin’s course. At some point, even Palin haters may have to face the possibility that the p.r. genius is Sarah herself.

Art-Tweeting

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Every night in theatres around Australia, audience members are tweeting: during interval, after the show and sometimes, mostly surreptitiously, during the show itself. Twitter is the new word of mouth and all the major arts companies are taking it seriously indeed.

Drawing Fire for Drawing Mohammad

Seattle artist Molly Norris takes on the image of Mohammad and steps into all kinds of controversy.

Bachmann Beats Palin

From David Frum:

Michele Bachmann raised $1.7 million in the last quarter, more than the erstwhile Republican vice-presidential candidate, even though she had to balance fundraising with her congressional duties and her campaign for reelection. More importantly, Bachmann’s contributors were limited by FEC regulations to a maximum of $2,400, while Palin’s contributors were each allowed to donate up to $5,000 to her PAC.

Bachmann is raising spectacular amounts of money. So the question should be: why isn’t Palin, a national figure with more media coverage than Bachmann, at least keeping pace?

A good excuse to post a classic Bachmann video.

Gay Marriage in Argentina

Check out this ad for same-sex marriage in Argentina, where the government is currently debating the issue. If it passes, Argentina will be the first Latin American country to recognize gay marriage. Not surprisingly, the Mormons and the Catholic church have become involved.

The Drama of Facebook

CNN lists the 12 most annoying types of Facebook users.

The Social Network (the Facebook) movie comes out in October. Aaron "The West Wing" Sorkin wrote the script.

Let Them Eat Gold Leaf

Rush Limbaugh sells his luxury penthouse apartment in New York City. The Wall St. Journal has the details:

Mr. Limbaugh's 10-room condominium, which features a 30-foot-wide living room with fireplace and four terraces overlooking Central Park at East 86th Street, went into contract Thursday for a bit under the final $12.95 million asking price, brokers said.

One broker familiar with the transaction said the final price was about $11.5 million. Mr. Limbaugh paid just under $5 million for the apartment as well as a maid's room and a storage locker, in 1994.

The listing by Haidee Granger and Stuart Moss of Corcoran Group shows a richly decorated space with ornate, hand-painted ceiling murals, and walls upholstered in silk damask. A paneled study has a gold-leaf ceiling.