Frank Bruni on what four stars means to him, in light of his upgrade to EMP.

Informative article about everyone's favorite hot sauce, Sriracha. (via lia)

Eight years of Bush administration press pool photography, as selected by the head photo editors of AP, AFP, and Reuters.

Rachel Maddow on her home in Massachusetts, being a pundit, and not having a TV.

“There is now going to be a feast, as buyers rush to pick up A.I.G.’s assets at fire-sale prices. This is a shame, really, since the company was a good competitor abroad for America, particularly in China. Now that Chinese business will probably just be sold to the Chinese at a bargain price.”

Susanne Vega on Tom's Diner, remixing, and being the "mother of the MP3".

It figures that only after I leave the neighborhood do I finally figure out the name of the shakey-handed gentleman at the Ditmars stop. (via Dr. Szukala)

Making me hungry for home. Via Dave Cameron.

“We have a very strict set of rules of what we think is funny: darkness, discomfort, confusion and things that shouldn’t exist.”

Bruni's first takedown since Ninja. Worth the read.

NYT on Rickrolling.

"I'm just fearful for the future. I'm fearful that everything's gonna be taken away. Fear is a driving force for most of the things that I do. I don't know if that's healthy."

The Times takes a swing at Giuliani. Who is writing all these hit pieces, anyhow?

Though still a relatively small sector within the nation’s $350 billion restaurant industry, several fast-casual chains are showing success and growth in Manhattan, and industry experts say it could be a sign of the sector’s maturity and sustainabilit

Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann on presents.

Walked by this on Saturday, good to have an explanation.

A group of philanthropists led by Joan and Sanford I. Weill plans to announce today that it has pledged $400 million to build research centers and to recruit senior scientists for Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

"Along the way, Coulton discovered a fact that many small-scale recording artists are coming to terms with these days: his fans do not want merely to buy his music. They want to be his friend."

The central lesson I learned from exotic animal trainers is that I should reward behavior I like and ignore behavior I don't. After all, you don't get a sea lion to balance a ball on the end of its nose by nagging. The same goes for the American husband.

Lawyers for two men charged with illegally ejecting two people from a speech by President Bush in 2005 are arguing that the president’s staff can lawfully remove anyone who expresses points of view different from his.

"The public has a right to believe that prosecution decisions are made on legal, not political, grounds."

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Zach and Youngna referenced.

Sounds like my next cooking project just landed in my lap! Ewww, wait a minute...

"Last Thursday, we found out that Ssam Bar was getting reviewed by Frank Bruni this week. In related news, Quino and I ended our bourbon sabbatical the same day."

Analysis of Bruni's trends in reviews, and whether or not it's possible for a non-Italian fine dining restaurant to garner much praise.

Bruni one-stars Ye Waverly with some hilarious writing. Hilarious if you're a restaurant nerd, that is.

"On a recent Saturday evening Mr. Bridges grasped a flimsy knife, reached for a sack of yellow onions and launched into a soliloquy about fishing in America and the dish that tells the story: chowder."

"Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who built his fortune on innovations in information technology, announced a plan yesterday that will allow emergency 911 call centers and the popular 311 service line to receive digital photos and videos from callers."

"An outsider (someone, say, from the moon, or the United States) might imagine that this was merely silly season folly..." NYT on the Pakistan/England test fallout.

"Independence Day is celebrated once a year in most of America. In Queens, the most ethnically diverse county in the nation, where an estimated 44 percent of the 2.2 million residents are foreign born, it is celebrated again and again and again."