GoodShit

In all of the many heartfelt (and deserved) eulogies about author J.D. Salinger, who died last week at 91, one word appears over and over. It is, of course, "recluse." The headline on the Los Angeles Times blog post about his death read, "J.D. Salinger, reclusive author of 'The Catcher in the Rye,' dies at 91." New York magazine called him "the world's most celebrated literary recluse," and the New York Times said that the author had "lived in seclusion for more than 50 years."

I find these portraits of Salinger as a noble loner curious. They certainly aren't accurate. There is ample evidence that he did not lead a solitary life apart from the rest of humanity. Salinger was married three times, and had numerous other long- and short-term romantic engagements.

IN FULL HERE
J.D. Salinger .

The singer Pink’s recent performance at the Grammy's evoked this reaction from comedian Joe Rogan: Her performance was like Jimi Hendrix doing the star spangled banner while Michael Jackson moon walked and Susan Boyle sang back up. The song, "Glitter in the Air," is from Pink's 2008 album "Funhouse." Much of that album was Pink's reflections on the breakup of her marriage to motocross star Carey Hart. But the story between Pink and Hart doesn't end there…

MORE
Pink | MetaFilter.

click here

Late last September a college student who called herself Courtney A. posted a story on the feminist website Lemondrop: “I Slept With Tucker Max, the Internet’s Biggest Asshat.”

Courtney, 21, is a student at Penn State University. Tucker Max, 33, six feet tall, extrovertedly good-looking, and usually photographed latched to a girl, a bottle of booze, or a cheeseburger, is an honors graduate (in three years) of the University of Chicago. He has a law degree from Duke University, whose admissions committee was so impressed with his academic record that it awarded him an academic scholarship. Yet his only experience practicing law to date has consisted of getting fired from a $2,400-a-week summer-associate job at a prestigious Silicon Valley firm for, among other things, showing up intoxicated at the orientation meeting and complaining that he couldn’t see anything because he had lost his contacts in a hookup with a girl he had met at a party the night before; informing a female recruiter at the firm that he was “calling a porn line” when she walked into his office unexpectedly; and getting fall-down drunk at a firm retreat and shouting the F-word at a charity auction attended by the partners and their spouses. His email account of the last escapade made its way to laughs around the country.

Max is famous as a blogger (tuckermax.com), and his website is replete with stories like the ones above, all involving graphically rendered bedroom exploits (if your definition of bedroom includes vans, offices, and the great outdoors), massive quantities of alcohol, and copious vomiting. He is the author of several books, including The Definitive Book of Pickup Lines (2001, out of print but selling for close to $200 on Amazon), the 2006 blockbuster I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, which spent more than 100 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and the forthcoming Assholes Finish First. Beer in Hell, a dramatization of some of his website yarns, became an indie movie hit in college towns last fall (playing to less-than-enthusiastic audiences elsewhere).

Max and Courtney got together because upon reading a friend’s text message late one Monday evening announcing that Max would be at a bar near campus after a screening of Beer in Hell, she jumped up, changed her clothes, and rushed off to await the great man’s arrival. At the bar, she worked her way through a knot of female rivals to meet him.

(Continued)

the HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen which, in 1942, escaped destruction by the Japanese fleet because the crew moored her among other small islands and covered her in a thick layer of tree branches, thereby disguising her as a small island.

via Warship camouflaged as tropical island.

FACT OF THE DAY:
Wedding rings are often placed on the third finger of the left hand because ancient Egyptians believed the vein in that hand (which the Romans called the “vein of love”ran directly to the heart. – Provided by RandomHistory.com

“A wine barrel is returned by police to Tony Pazich’s cellar during Prohibition.”

via via

via.

[note: this is not an Am. post making a claim so we can justify something or other but rather a Saudi source]

Recently, it was discovered that several of Osama bin Laden’s children have been in Iran since 2001, where they have been held under house arrest. The discovery was made after bin Laden's daughter Iman called one of her brothers from the Saudi embassy in Tehran, to which she had fled after evading her jailors.[1] Subsequently, it was reported that the Saudi authorities were negotiating with Iran to permit her to leave the country and return to Saudi Arabia.[2]

In a sarcastic article, Saudi columnist Muhammad Al-Milfy wrote that this incident sheds light on the ties that exist between Iran and Al-Qaeda.

Following are excerpts:[3]

(Continued)

NJ teacher admits guilt in cash-for-grades scheme .

For Students at Risk, Early College Proves a Draw .