Today there is one less large thing named after a man from Ohio, and the other men from Ohio are hopping mad. “Our beloved Ohio man needs his name on the large thing,” they cry. Their cries fall on deaf ears: Alaska’s Mt. McKinley is now Denali.
He's our first president, he could not tell a lie, and he's Britain's greatest ever foe. Yes, George Washington has had this dubious honor bestowed on him by the National Army Museum. Washington beat out such notable adversaries as Michael Collins and Napoleon Bonaparte. I guess now would be the appropriate time to start a "U.S.A.!" chant?
This Sunday, some of the world's most famous chefs are getting together in Manhattan and "honoring the editors,writers and staff of the legendary culinary publication Gourmet Magazine." The only thing missing: Gourmet staffers. Um...you know any?
Victory is ours! After losing the top spot in the annual survey of the nation's angriest drivers, New York City has once again risen to the top of the heap, beating out Miami, which placed No. 1 last year. "New Yorkers were most likely to wave their fists or arms. They were most likely to lay on the horn and they were most likely to make some sort of obscene gesture," explained Michael Bush, of the marketing firm Affinion Group, which commissioned the survey. You knew all of this, of course. But a little validation goes a long way. [NYDN]
Michael Bloomberg presented keys to the city this morning to Chesley Sullenberger and four other members of the crew of Flight 1549 for their heroic efforts in saving the lives of 155 people a couple of weeks ago. "These true professionals are not there to just serve drinks and snacks. They are there to keep us safe," the mayor said in his opening remarks. It's nice to see Sully receive an honor he rightfully deserves, but "drinks and snacks"? What airline is Mayor Bloomberg flying? Oh, right, that's the one. [NYT]
It's a question we've pondered for ages: Who's the best competitive figure skater-turned-famous fashion designer, Vera Wang or Richie Rich? We may finally have an answer! Wang will be inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame on January 23rd, although Richie can take some comfort in knowing the coveted honor is for Wang's "contribution to costume design," not because she, like, had better technique or anything. [WWD]
It's truly been a week for healing and personal triumphs for Paris Hilton, who, fresh off her Late Show with David Letterman appearance, in which the talk show host publicly apologized for their last contentious meeting and offered the heiress full access to his Ed Sullivan Theater to plug her various, completely immaterial projects and ventures, was also crowned "woman of the year" yesterday by the Harvard Lampoon. It was an honor she showed up in person to accept, where she gave the Ivy League institution her trademarked, temperature-based papal blessing:
In what must be the most trying and unheralded period of Britney Spears's career yet, any sort of achievement—even topping a UKTV Gold poll honoring the "most embarrassing dance sequence of all time"—must come as welcome news. Surely learning not even the mass cringing elicited by Elaine Benes's thumb-flinging pas de incontinence could approach that of her own VMAs performance should be enough to comfort Spears with the knowledge that 2007 wasn't a total wash.
