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Airport Security and the Social Contract of Slacking
3 hours ago
For instance, these people have to have their shit together. Official White House photo by Pete Souza. Today President Obama met with advisers to address recent air-travel security lapses. He announced revisions to the terrorist watch lists and detailed plans to require passengers coming from 14 mostly Muslim countries to go through extra screening. Obama’s plans, though, fail to address the root cause of these recent breaches. The truth is we don’t need new measures, we just need the preexisting procedures to be followed. The problem is not one of policy, but of execution. In short, certain people just need to stop slacking off. In America, we have an unwritten rule that there are jobs where you can slack off and jobs where you can’t. If you’re a professional basketball player you can slack off, because you were probably up late last night recording your new single. »
The Battle Over Stieg Larsson’s Estate Intensifies
4 hours ago
In his column in V.F.’s December 2009 issue, Christopher Hitchens examined the Swedish literary sensation Stieg Larsson, who died in 2004, at age 50—before the first book in his wildly successful “Millennium” trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was published. Because Larsson never made a will and never married his longtime companion and collaborator, Eva Gabrielsson, Gabrielsson did not inherit the rights to his work or any part of his reported $30 million estate, and she has been embroiled in a bitter feud with Larsson’s father and brother for several years. Two days ago London’s Daily Mail published a wide-ranging profile of Gabrielsson in which she makes some shocking statements and revelations: • On the legal wrangling over Larsson’s work: “It is like someone selling your children [and] placing them in any old whorehouse for the rest of their lives.” • On what shaped Larsson’s staunch feminist views: “When »
Judge Stanley Birch: A Hero Says Goodbye
5 hours ago
Few people talk about her now but five years ago the whole country it seemed had something to say about Terri Schiavo, the poor, comatose woman whose end-of-life controversy literally became a federal case in the winter and spring of 2005. Schiavo’s maligned husband had fought for years in state court to have his wife’s feeding tube removed. Dozens of hearings were held. Evidence was taken. Medical experts were consulted. The byzantine procedures established by Florida’s legislature and its courts were followed and ultimately exhausted. It was time for her to go. But, just when the end was in sight, Schiavo’s parents, who were bitterly opposed to her husband’s efforts to let their daughter leave with dignity for the sweet hereafter, gained the attention of the nation’s conservatives. The Schiavo case thus became more than just a family’s trauma. It became a case about »
Richard Reeves Reads from Daring Young Men
6 hours ago
In 1948, in an attempt to drive out the remaining Allied troops in Germany, Soviet forces placed a blockade on Berlin, isolating the citizens in the city’s western sectors. In response, a group of heroic pilots—many of them veterans who had just returned home after World War II—were quickly mobilized and began to fly around-the-clock deliveries of food, fuel, and medicine. The Berlin Airlift, as it came to be known, sustained more than two million Berliners for almost a year. The brave and resolute response of these mainly American and British fliers—a tale of valor and compassion that has often been neglected by historians—is recounted in Richard Reeves’s captivating new book, Daring Young Men: The Heroism and Triumph of the Berlin Airlift, June 1948-May 1949 (Simon & Schuster). In this exclusive audio excerpt, Reeves describes the chronic hunger and desolation that plagued Berlin before the airlift, and »
Snow Report: Insider Tips for Visiting Vail
6 hours ago
1. Two Elk lodge with the Gore Range in the background. By Jack Affleck. 2. Dynastar’s Sultan 85 skis. 3. Kelly Liken restaurant. 4. Vail Square. By Jack Affleck. 5. Wildwood's signature chicken wild rice soup. By Kimberly Gavin. Vail, Colorado, home of Olympian Lindsey Vonn, is beloved for its low-key alpine village and some 5,000 acres on which to carve turns. While in recent years an influx of new development (the ultra-lux Arrabelle at Vail Square and the completely redone Lionshead base area—and a new Four Seasons resort is on the way) has given the town a facelift, many local spots have stood the test of time. Here are some of Vf Daily’s favorites. »
Little Green Men Dominate PGA Nominations
7 hours ago
We never realized our Oscar blog’s name—Little Gold Men—would be so appropriate until this year. With no less than three space-alien movies descending onto Hollywood and hovering ominously above the Kodak theater, the Oscars are taking on a distinct sci-fi vibe. The nominees for the Producers Guild of America awards—generally a reliable template for the eventual Oscar nominees—include Avatar, Star Trek, and District 9, shunning more typical but less inspired award bait such as Nine or The Lovely Bones for the adventure of space exploration. Perhaps this is a recognition of the importance of cinematic escapism in this tough year. (After all, if you include Up and Up in the Air, half of the PGA nominees are about air travel in contraptions of varying complexity.) Or perhaps, on the contrary, these sci-fi films are uniquely relevant, approaching real-world issues at oblique but no less poweful angles. »
The Apple Tablet Won't Save David Carr
9 hours ago
Dear David, I read your piece (well, most of it) in yesterday’s Times about how the Apple tablet is going to save print. It occurs to me that you may now be the most dedicated voice for old media—a bit William Jennings Bryan and a bit Pollyanna. “I haven’t been this excited about buying something since I was eight years old and sent away for the tiny seahorses I saw advertised in the back of a comic book,” you say. (Just one more difference between us: I was interested in the glasses in the back of the comic books that let you see through girls’ dresses.) I hasten to say that being smitten by a machine that does not exist makes you less than a savvy consumer of technology (so often these machines are duds, so often they never materialize at all). Indeed, being the first to »
Guzzling Like Gwynnie
9 hours ago
Writing from her tiny Boston apartment, Jilly Gagnon is a 25-year-old struggling novelist who’s starving more than she’s selling. But this month, she’s decided to “Goop” her way to the good life by following the advice outlined in Gwyneth Paltrow’s weekly Internet newsletter. Track her progress with these daily status reports. Day Two As I start my daily Gooping, I thought I should pay homage to those who have Gooped before me, especially Rebecca Dana of the Daily Beast and Richard Dorment of Esquire. Not only have these trailblazers inspired me to take my Gooping to the next level, but they have also pointed me in the right direction when mapping out my Gooping strategy. By this I mean they have convinced me not to try Gwynnie's cleanse. It sounds horrific. That said, I'm more than willing to use Gwyneth's New Year's cocktail suggestions as a rapid-fire, »
Video: Which Superpower Would You Like to Have?
10 hours ago
Cali Carlin of CBSnews.com and our own executive online editor, Michael Hogan, are once again sounding the American psyche with another 60Minutes/Vanity Fair poll. This month’s installment asks respondents how they feel about the Khalid Sheikh Mohammed trial being held in New York, which type of Hollywood movie they’d most like to star in, which American city best reflects American culture and values, and the all important choice of superpower. Check out the video below and read the full results here. »
Bono Experiences the Blogosphere's Unforgettable Ire
12 hours ago
• The suicide bomber who killed seven C.I.A. officers in Khost, Afghanistan, was a doctor who had been recommended by Jordanian intelligence as someone who could infiltrate jihadi groups and maybe even help locate Ayman al-Zawahri. [Nyt] • Here’s a bit of good news: “populist angst aimed at Wall Street” is setting the stage for a revival of the Glass-Steagall Act, the New Deal–era law that once separated wheeling-dealing investment banks from their workaday commercial-bank cousins. [Politico] • Meanwhile, there are two ways of looking at the news that Iraq has signed deals with four non-u.S. energy companies to develop oilfields: the optimistic (gee, looks like that war wasn’t just about oil after all) and the pessimistic (is America really stupid enough to spend $715 billion and get nothing in return?). You decide. [Reuters] • See what you’ve done, Bono? You’ve gone and pissed off the entire Internet! [Hollywood Wiretap] • Tragedy in Los Angeles, »
The Country Has Spoken: The Hurt Locker is Best Picture
12 hours ago
If you follow the Oscar race closely, it’s easy to put too much stock in the regional critics’ awards that spring up across the country in the lead-up to the Academy awards. Taken individually, these awards are little more than various cities’ and interest groups’ faint pleas for cultural relevance. But taken as a whole, these awards offer the best measure we have for the moment of a film’s Oscar chances—that is until the Golden Globes spew forth their capriciously chosen, whimsically-reasoned winners and the game starts all over again. So with that in mind, let’s tally up the victories to see who’s definitely going to win Oscars!* Before we proceed, a few caveats. First, These honors are generally voted on by relatively small groups (honestly, how many professional film critics can there be in San Diego?), many with their own regional or cultural bias (e. »
Follow Those Girls!
20 hours ago
Amid the Hollywood throng of talented young actresses, the author talks to six standouts, who have been shaping their careers in very different ways, parlaying famous last names, Disney hits, and paparazzi pressure into edgier, more grown-up material. Lily Collins, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Isabel Lucas, Amber Heard, and Zoë Kravitz pose for Norman Jean Roy and Patrick Demarchelier as a posse of up-and-coming attractions. »
Which Royal Visited Troops in Afghanistan? Which Royal Wishes He Were There?
4 January 2010 1:52 PM, PST
The Danish royal family began the new year with a bit of sparkle on Saturday as the guests of honor at an event for members of a chivalric order known as the Order of the Elephant. Crown Princess Mary, wife of Crown Prince Frederik, looked lively in a bright-orange gown set off by a stunning ruby tiara with matching earrings and bracelet. Meanwhile, young mother Princess Marie, wife of Prince Joachim, glowed in a pink silk gown, white fur shrug, and a dazzling array of diamonds. Both Princes looked snappy in military uniforms. Dating back to the 15th century, the Order of the Elephant is bestowed mainly on heads of state and royalty. »
Cutting Through the Beltway's Under-Bomber Hysteria
4 January 2010 1:50 PM, PST
Barack Obama is back from the Christmas vacation he never really got, and things in Washington are about the same. The Nigerian under-bomber ruined more than the president’s holiday, of course. He sent a chilling (or, as the case may be, searing) reminder of just how vulnerable the United States still is to attack, and just how imperfect (if not complacent) some aspects of our security system still are. Forget, for the moment, the trumped-up hooey over Janet Napolitano’s meaningless verbal gaffe that the incident showed how the “system worked.” She says she meant that the system worked once the would-be terrorist was discovered and stopped on the plane, and I take her at her word. I’ve spent a little time with her over the years, and she is a smart, sharp, canny politician. She’ll be fine. The Republican umbrage over her remarks is manufactured, and ill-considered, »
Vancouver 2010 Olympics Watch: Ice Dancers Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto
4 January 2010 1:21 PM, PST
Ice dancers Ben Agosto and Tanith Belbin, who are two of the faces of Polo Ralph Lauren's Olympic 2010 collection. Courtesy of Polo Ralph Lauren. They met through what Tanith Belbin, 25, refers to as her coach’s “eHarmony setup.” She recalls, “It seemed right on paper. Then we finally saw each other. You couldn’t predict the chemistry. We just knew.” Although they’ve never been romantically involved—sorry, Cutting Edge fans—the athletes’ compatibility has been the key to their success. Ben Agosto, 27, says, “We’ve been skating together competitively for 11 years, and we’ve never had a fight. People don’t believe us. They think we’re lying.” Having met the pair, near the rink at Rockefeller Center, I buy it. It’s easy to see how this partnership works. Belbin, crowned by Men’s Health as “America’s Hottest Olympic Athlete,” is beautiful, charismatic, and extremely intense. »
Ke$ha Is Blowing Speakers Up
4 January 2010 12:29 PM, PST
According to her Wikipedia page, Ke$ha was “born during a party in the San Fernando Valley.” The 22-year-old singer hasn’t shied away from her beginnings with her record-breaking (610,000 digital downloads) single, “Tik Tok.” In the opening shot of the video, Ke$ha crawls out of a bathtub after a presumably long night of drinking, picks her boots off the floor, and sings, “Wake up in the morning, feeling like P. Diddy.” After waking up like P. Diddy, Ke$ha goes on an adventure fit only for spring break: “Don't stop, make it pop/D.J., blow my speakers up/Tonight, I'ma fight 'til we see the sunlight/Tick tock on the clock/But the party don't stop.” “Tik Tok” is one of those obnoxiously infectious singles ripe with autotune that you’ll hear at the gym, Abercrombie & Fitch, your college-age sister’s bedroom, and, after all that, in your own head, »
My Mother Wants Her Food Network!
4 January 2010 11:35 AM, PST
My mother’s lost the Food Network. She is 84, her feet hurt, she no longer drives (thank goodness), and the weather is too bad to go outside, and now she find herself the victim of the war between Cablevision, which provides her cable service, and Scripps, which distributes the Food Network. Cablevision and Scripps were unable to come to an agreement about how much Cablevision should pay Scripps to carry the Food Network (as well as Scripps’ other channels, including Home & Garden). So that’s it for the older women in Northern New Jersey and Long Island—there goes their Food Network. “We wish Scripps well and have no expectation of carrying their programming again,” said a Cablevision spokesperson, who is either heartless or playing hardball. Cable brinksmanship is suddenly a new paradigm. Fox and Time Warner Cable went down to the wire the other day, with Time Warner taking »
Gooping to the Good Life Begins
4 January 2010 9:56 AM, PST
Writing from her tiny Boston apartment, Jilly Gagnon is a 25-year-old struggling novelist who’s starving more than she’s selling. But this month, she’s decided to “Goop” her way to the good life by following the advice outlined in Gwyneth Paltrow’s weekly Internet newsletter. Track her progress with these daily status reports. Day One I have never wanted to be in the capital “S”: Spotlight. I never went after a part in a high-school musical, I have a deep and abiding fear of public speaking, under which heading I include the standard “tell us your first and last name and one activity you enjoy” at forced getting-to-know-you events, and I have chosen to live my life in Boston, a town renowned for its lack of glamour and abundance of sweatpants in public. Just because I don’t want my face on the cover of Us Weekly, »
The New York Times's Latest Experiment: If You've Got It, Publish It
4 January 2010 9:56 AM, PST
Two weeks' notice: Vf.com's imagining of what the January 17 issue of The New York Times Magazine might look like. Illustration by Hamish Robertson from photograph by Pete Souza/The White House. When a print magazine has a hot story these days, they have to make a decision: do they rush it onto their Web site before any of their rivals can steal the scoop, or do they wait until the hard copies have been distributed and show that, yes, a magazine can still break news in print? The New York Times Magazine faced just such a dilemma with its article “Inside Obama’s War on Terrorism,” in which reporter Peter Baker reveals details of the president’s anti-terror strategy and of how the handover from the Bush administration was handled. In an unprecedented move, the Times Magazine chose to publish the story on NYTimes.com today, nearly two weeks »
Annie Leibovitz Comments on Tiger Woods Cover Photo
4 January 2010 9:18 AM, PST
Our February 2010 cover, featuring an Annie Leibovitz portrait of Tiger Woods, is attracting plenty of interest. Here is what Leibovitz herself had to say about it: “Tiger is an intensely competitive athlete—and quite serious about his sport. I wanted to reveal that in these photos. And to show his incredible focus and dedication.” There will be more images from the shoot in the upcoming issue, available on newsstands in New York and L.A. this Wednesday and nationwide next Tuesday. Read Buzz Bissinger’s cover story, “Tiger in the Rough.” »
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