On Friday, the Los Angeles Police Department released the Notorious B.I.G.'s autopsy report, more than 15 years after the rapper's murder. But, in keeping with their thus far stellar work on the case, they failed to first notify Biggie's family. Now, of course, they've apologized for the incident, blaming an administrative mistake.
Buried within the Movie section of this weekend's New York Times is an interview with Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen, who are promoting their upcoming project The Guilt Trip, a movie about which I have no opinion. Between the title ("It's a road trip with a physical destination, yes, but it's also an emotional trip, you know?") and the awful winking posters plastered everywhere, it seems safe to say it will not be good, but nothing is certain. That said, this interview is full of absolute treasures, every single one of which falls from Barbra Streisand's lips. Seth Rogen said things too, but they are of no interest for our purposes (he likes working but also being at home, he seems smart and unobjectionable and I have nothing else to say on the matter).
This has been a truly excellent weekend for expedition-related news. If Paul Salopek's seven-year Out of Eden trek wasn't enough for you, perhaps British adventurer and official "greatest living explorer" Ranulph Fiennes' The Coldest Journey will suffice (it's worth clicking through for the pictures of the ice-clustered, bristling set of eyebrows on Ranulph alone).
The New York Times Magazine has created a terrifying "video gallery of dreams and transformations" of thirteen different actresses "whose performances defined the year in film." Here you will see talents like Naomi Watts and Marion Cotillard doing all of the things we love to see our bravest, most creative actresses do: lying down, blinking, opening their mouths and leaving them open for minutes at a time, looking, smiling quietly to themselves, clenching their fists, weeping silently at the sky, and twirling - always twirling. That said, it also shows us what Rebel Wilson would look like as a mermaid, which is tremendous and a gift and well worth seeing.
Tonight, of course, marks the first night of Hanukkah and Jewish children everywhere are getting ready to receive their first pairs of socks.
After the quite-good Comedy Issue of Vanity Fair (guest edited by Judd Apatow) was released this week, I was a little surprised to learn that it was only the third single-subject guest-edited issue in the magazine's history. Bono's "Africa" Issue (which focused on just...all of Africa, I suppose) seemed more in keeping with the magazine's general approach of describing lavish fundraisers and celebrity chandeliers than excellent Freaks and Geeks retrospectives and Tig Notaro interviews.
Perhaps you have already been following reporter Paul Salopek's Out of Eden project, a seven-year attempt to follow the migration patterns of early humans as they radiated outward from East Africa's Great Rift Valley across Europe and Asia to the New World. Perhaps you already follow him as he details his preparations for the trip on Twitter and have found your throat enveloped by the haggard claw of envy as you picture how much of the next seven years you'll spend sitting in front of a desk as this intrepid journeyman fulfills the deepest longing of your once-adventurous heart. If you have not yet heard of it, however, you are in for a true delight; as the Nieman Lab reports, Salopek will be broadcasting narratives from his journey every 100 miles or so.
Bill Clinton, the man who famously "did not inhale," is definitely getting ready for the inevitable legalization of marijuana. We're pretty sure that he and Hil' have a gorgeous vaporizer all picked out and ready to go.
Attention all: this is not a promotional photo of Jack Donaghy from 30 Rock, it is Alec Baldwin's brother, Stephen's actual, honest to God mugshot.
Sir. Sir?
Have you ever shopped at a "Fresh & Easy?" No, me neither. (If you said "yes," you are an outlier, you are not representative, do not answer any more rhetorical questions.) You probably haven't shopped there because Fresh & Easy has "a novel store format that is bigger than a convenience store but smaller than a supermarket, and focused on fresh-food offerings." No wonder it's going out of business.
Now that they're done pepper spraying defenseless protesters, the NYPD is working with Occupy Wall Street to combat crime. In the weeks after Hurricane Sandy, the Red Hook neighborhood in Brooklyn was without, as the New York Post puts it, "power or electricity," leaving residents and businesses vulnerable to any number of crimes. And yet, no storm-related crime was reported, despite spikes in other NYC neighborhoods. The reason?
Imagine if the married 48-year-old man who somehow acquired your phone number and texts you a picture of his dick everyday instead texted you a picture he had just drawn of Charlie Brown saying your name. That would be romantic right?
Legendary jazz pianist Dave Brubeck died of heart failure in Connecticut today en route to a routine appointment with his cardiologist, his longtime manager has confirmed. Tomorrow would have been Brubeck's 92nd birthday.
It's about to be the worst Christmas ever for more than 11,000 Citigroup employees, who will soon be unceremoniously dumped by their Grinchly employer during the happiest time of the year.
Earlier this week, an Egypt Air flight from Cairo to Kuwait was forced to make an emergency landing after a cobra bit a passenger. The snakebit man was reportedly a Jordanian reptile dealer who'd smuggled the poisonous snake aboard.
