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16 May 2011 22:24

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Music: Odd Future’s Earl Sweatshirt: There’s no need to “free” me, internet

  • … in the blink of an eye my worry changes from ‘will there still be this hype when I get back’ to ‘Oh shit I just inspired a widespread movement of people who are dedicated to the downfall of my mom.’
  • Odd Future rapper Thebe “Earl Sweatshirt” Kgositsile • Indirectly asking the world to lay off his mom, who has been blamed for the rapper’s diminished role in the group just as they’ve become the year’s biggest musical hype monster. The New Yorker’s Kelefa Sanneh wrote a huge piece on the 16-year-old rapper which isn’t available online (unless you have an iPad with a New Yorker app). But suffice it to say from the sample given here shows that things aren’t what they seem in Internetville. His departure wasn’t involuntary, and there is no need to “Free Earl.” “The only thing I need as of right now is space,” he writes. “I’ve still got work to do and don’t need the additional stress of fearing for my family’s physical well-being.” source

14 Sep 2010 10:35

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Tech: Mark Zuckerberg talks to the New Yorker; we know you won’t read it

  • Can’t wait for “The Social Network” to come out? We have good news for you! The New Yorker has its own take on Mark Zuckerberg, and this one comes from the Jesse Eisenberg-looking man himself. Key line from the entire thing (from when he regrettably called his own users dumb something-or-others over IM): “If you’re going to go on to build a service that is influential and that a lot of people rely on, then you need to be mature, right? I think I’ve grown and learned a lot.” All grown up! And he’s only 26! source

11 May 2010 11:00

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U.S.: Chatroulette’s maker more interested in surprise nudity than school

  • The last three years at school, I haven’t done anything. I just can’t make myself. There’s so much interesting stuff in the world, and I have to sit there with textbooks?
  • Chatroulette creator Andrey Ternovskiy • Regarding his feelings on school. An apparent juvenile delinquent, the Russian teenager created his way out of ever needing to finish school with Chatroulette, which is insanely popular, to the point that he only started making an effort to crack down on the nudity after Ashton Kutcher personally said something to him about it. Which is kind of hilarious. Actually, everything about this story is awesome. Well, except for the nudity. That’s pretty scary. source

08 Mar 2010 11:09

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Politics: Is Timothy Geithner getting the credit he deserves?

  • Barring something unexpected, the bailout will end up costing taxpayers less than the savings-and-loan implosion of the early nineteen-nineties. The government could conceivably end up making money.
  • New Yorker writer John Cassidy • Regarding Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s much-maligned financial plan, which appears to be much less of a nightmare than it seemed a year ago. While many things are imperfect – the high unemployment rates and the bank’s seeming lack of desire to loan money to small business – it is looking like the government’s plan will likely put them in cash flow positive while helping to get the weakened economy out of its doldrums. Will Geithner get credit, though? source

01 Mar 2010 11:19

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Biz, Tech: Conde Nast trying this iPad publishing thing, with a big caveat

  • They won’t do titles other than their most popular unless Adobe and Apple get along. Later this year, you can expect issues of Wired, GQ, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Glamour to hit the iPad in an “experimental” format. But it won’t go beyond that unless Apple can reach an accord with Adobe, because two development tracks is kind of a pain. They do have some encouraging numbers working in their favor. 22,000 people paid $2.99 for an iPhone-formatted version of GQ. source

11 Feb 2010 21:40

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Offbeat: New Yorkers once again prove that any crappy apartment will do

This Brooklyn apartment looks kinda nice until you realize it’s 178 square feet. And at $944 a month, it’s probably the best apartment you can get for the price. source

03 Jan 2010 11:16

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Tech: Life after magazines: Daily Beast editor modestly kicks @$$

Tina Brown, already a vet of Vanity Fair and the New Yorker, has built The Daily Beast into a hype-free News 2.0 beast in just over a year. Not bad. source