Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2595

The View From Your Contest, Ctd

by Chris Bodenner

Recently I asked readers if they had any good ideas for presenting the VFYW guesses in a cool and dynamic way.  We have received a ton of really great suggestions - thanks!  I am still testing several of them to see which works best with the Dish.  Below are some of the leading contenders.  Hopefully one might be useful for a project of your own.  A reader writes:

Not that I ever have any luck at guessing, but I do love the VFYW contests and I think I have an idea for your...

About My Job: The Attorneys at Law

by Conor Friedersdorf

On death row:

I am a capital habeas lawyer; I represent people who have been sentenced to death.  People who have not done this work almost always fail to understand that my clients are human beings.  People chose to believe the myth that each of my clients is Hannibal Lecter--the devious mastermind who has no soul, no capacity to have feelings for other people--but I've been doing this a while and I've yet to meet that guy.  Instead, I've met human beings.

In the world...

Cool Ad Watch

by Chris Bodenner

How do you get American kids to eat their carrots? Make them look like cheetos. Neetzan Zimmerman has details:

Ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky were recently hired by Big Carrot to update the packaging of baby carrots with an eye toward appealing to the junk food generation. The $25 million campaign is set to include such innovations as:Doritos-like package designs; carrot vending machines; seasonal tie-ins(e.g., Halloween "scarrots"); and even an iPhone app "powered by...

A Question for Instapundit

by Conor Friedersdorf

Glenn Reynolds writes: "Atlas Shrugged seems prophetic in ever so many ways..."

What ways specifically? 

As a participant in Hipster Shrugged I am curious.

Glenn Reynolds - Instapundit - glennbeckrapedandmurderedayounggirlin1990.com - -

Individual Politicians Don't Matter?

by Patrick Appel

Ezra Klein shrewdly observes:

Campaigns are built to fool us into thinking that we're voting for
individuals. We learn about the candidate's family, her job, her
background -- even her dog. But we're primarily voting for parties. The
parties have just learned we're more likely to vote for them if they
disguise themselves as individuals. And American politics would work
better if we understood that.

This is one reason why I typically don't trust profiles. How can a journalist...

The View From Your Window Contest: Winner #13

by Chris Bodenner

A reader writes:

Now you guys are getting your act together.  This view will get guesses on all continents I imagine.  I'll have to go with Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.  Reason is, I have friends from India and China.  They have spoken to me about how they have personal drivers for their cars, as many people do there.  The little booth in the picture in front of the house would seem to serve this purpose.  But, I'm caught at a crossroads ... China or India?  I"ll split the...

When You Don't Learn From History...

by Conor Friedersdorf

The Los Angeles Times reports:

About 3,200 Mexican federal police officers, nearly a tenth of the
force, have been fired this year under new rules designed to weed out
crooked cops and modernize law enforcement, officials said Monday.

The housecleaning is part of President Felipe Calderon's crackdown on drug cartels, which includes overhauling the 34,500-strong federal police

An additional 465 federal officers have been charged with breaking the law...

An Atrophied Sense of Charity

by Conor Friedersdorf

Big Questions Online, a new Web site published under the always thoughtful stewardship of Rod Dreher (author of Crunchy Cons and a favorite contributor to Culture11), has led me to delve into a lot of the interesting work being done over at The Templeton Foundation, an organization I'd never taken the time to get to know before.

Thus far the site is refreshingly focused on writing that transcends the angry back-and-forth so prevalent elsewhere online.

Example the latest: ...

The View From Your Window

Copan Ruinas, Honduras, 8.31 am

Honduras - Central America - Travel and Tourism - Juan de Dios Castillo - El Salvador

About My Job: The Oldest Profession

by Conor Friedersdorf

Reader number one:

I am a Professional Eroticist. Some call that a prostitute, whore, escort, call girl, whatever.

What people don't know or understand about my job is I LOVE my work, only do what I want to do, meet who I want to meet, and feel it is a spiritual experience. The main reason I do anything in life at this stage is A) it feeds my soul, and B) it makes my pussy tingle. I get just as much pleasure out of it as my clients.  I can't imagine any other motivation...