Leibniz*

Sono i giorni della convention repubblicana a New York. Oggi parleranno la First Lady e il grande governatore della California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Noiosa quanto basta l’intervista a Laura Bush uscita su Time (si salva solo quando ricorda che non i libri contro suo marito, ma quelli di Harry Potter sono i veri primi della classifica). Grandioso l’editoriale del (filo-Bush) NY Post, che vede la «mano invisibile» anche a Gotham City:

Some may wonder what the Republicans are doing here. After all, New York is hardly fertile GOP territory: In 2000, Al Gore carried Gotham with 78 percent of the vote. A new poll suggests that 70 percent of New Yorkers disapprove of the job Bush is doing. But Republicans didn’t choose New York to harvest votes. Rather, they came to show their faith in the city, and solidarity with it in the wake of 9/11. And though the protesters and those grumbling over traffic and security hassles will garner much attention, most New Yorkers appreciate the GOP’s presence ? even if only because of its expected financial boon: Yesterday the city’s Host Committee predicted the confab would generate more than $265 million in economic activity.

Gopconvention – Time – NYPost

A Chicago già si sogna il quarto rientro sul parquet di Michael Jordan, il più grande cestista di tutti i tempi. L’hanno visto allenarsi con Antoine Walker e Michael Finley. Purtroppo non è sufficiente
Chicagoist

Leibniz, in materia di feed aggregator, si sta trovando molto bene con Sage, una saggia extension di Mozilla Firefox: personalizzabile, pronta per gli Atom e pesante solo 42k. Qui una presentazione animata in Flash.
Sage – Programwitch

Dave Itzkoff è un redattore pentito di Maxim (ne ha scritto anche un libro), uno che però nel suo lungo articolo-confessione racconta la formula segreta per confezionare un «lad-mag» (giornale da ragazzino brufoloso). Ecco la formula, simile a quella di un cocktail:

- Tre parti di «babe features comprising pictures of under-dressed starlets of varying degrees of celebrity»
- Una parte di «sex feature dispensing bedroom advice, illustrated with more pictures of models»
- Una parte di «personal benefit/service feature providing step-by-step guidance for when you find yourself, say, confronted by a terrorist or eager to build a potato cannon from PVC pipe»
- Una parte di «true crime/”gritty read” feature that is actually thoroughly researched and reported, and often well-written»
- E una parte di «humor feature comprising even more pictures of women and punchlines that depend on phrases like “man-paste” and “pierc[ed] taco”»

Amazon – NYPress (visto su Romenesko) – Ladsmag

Noi 10 ori, 11 argenti, 11 bronzi. Loro, una mente malata e Photoshop.
Ansa – Worth1000

Su McSweeney’s hanno preso i titoli delle 10 migliori canzoni degli ultimi 10 anni e poi li hanno remixati tra loro.
McSweeney’s

Bush ha accettato la nomination repubblicana con un discorso di rito. Il New York Times crede ci voglia di più per essere rieletto:

«When President Bush accepted his party’s nomination last night, he energetically presented himself as the man who could keep America safe in a time of international terrorism. His handlers believe that is the key to his re-election. But if Mr. Bush intends to have a second term, he needs to do something more – particularly if he hopes to win by more than 500 votes this time. The president needs to speak to the large number of moderate voters who feel that things have been going in the wrong direction over the last four years, and convince them that he has the capacity to learn from mistakes and do better. On that count, his acceptance speech fell short»

Ma George W. ha letto parole che avrebbero commosso anche un democratico:

In the heart of this great city, we saw tragedy arrive on a quiet morning. We saw the bravery of rescuers grow with danger. We learned of passengers on a doomed plane who died with a courage that frightened their killers. We have seen a shaken economy rise to its feet. And we have seen Americans in uniform storming mountain strongholds, and charging through sandstorms and liberating millions, with acts of valor that would make the men of Normandy proud.
Since 2001, Americans have been given hills to climb and found the strength to climb them. Now, because we have made the hard journey, we can see the valley below. Now, because we have faced challenges with resolve, we have historic goals within our reach, and greatness in our future. We will build a safer world and a more hopeful America and nothing will hold us back.

NY Times – Usa Today

L’economist scrive che ora, dopo la convention democratica, parte il contrattacco di Kerry. Invece il primo sondaggio di Jfk lo dà sotto rispetto a Bush.
Economist – UsaToday

Il film di Spielberg, The Terminal, racconta di un uomo che passa anni all’aeroporto di Parigi: lì si lava, mangia e dorme. Il Guardian ha fatto fare la stessa cosa a una sua cronista.
Imdb – Guardian