Thursday, July 03, 2008

Can we just go ahead and call it the long weekend already?

Maggie says:
I'm antsy over here in my office, totally on vacation already in my head. Correspondingly:

  • The Bizarre Origins of 8 Wedding Traditions
    No surprise at all that most "traditional" wedding customs are hopelessly chauvinistic. While I've ruled most (although not as many as Mikaela did) of these out, I still love the stories. For example: "The best man stands guard next to the groom right up through the exchange of vows (and later, outside the newlyweds’ bedroom door), just in case anyone should attack or if a non-acquiescent bride should try to make a run for it." Lovely!
  • One Angry Man
    A fantastic New Yorker profile of Keith Olbermann, as meaty with insider Olbermann stuff as it is with insider media stuff. "Phil Griffin, the senior vice-president in charge of MSNBC ('Phil thinks he’s my boss,' Olbermann says), raised the matter of tone. Why did Olbermann need to end his commentary by telling the President of the United States to 'shut the hell up'? 'Because I can’t say, ‘Shut the fuck up,’ that’s why, frankly,' Olbermann responded. The line stayed in."
  • For the Sake of the Girl with the Beautiful Swing
    Garrison Keillor issuing the pre-Independence Day call as only he can, with soothing words of baseball, parenthood, vacations, and the black hole this presidency has created for Little Leaguers everywhere.