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Daily Bafflements
November 17, 2014
• A group of dancers sued their employer, a Manhattan strip club, for minimum wage violations, and won $10 million. • Just as corporate cash has infiltrated politics, the trappings of political races have infiltrated big business: check out this hedge fund’s attack ...

Daily Bafflements
November 14, 2014
• Thanks to Jacqui Shine for the walk down memory lane yesterday, when she included The Great Grunge Hoax of 1992 in her comprehensive history and analysis of the New York Times Styles section for The Awl. Shine says she’s been working on this piece and studying this ...

Nightcrawler: Flourishing in the Dark
November 13, 2014
Nightcrawler, a new thriller with a sense of humor by Dan Gilroy, is a recession-era American Psycho. It’s a story that grasps the misery of low wages and lower cunning. Or perhaps it could be described as the Hunger Games of capitalist exploitation, couched in a critique of ...

Daily Bafflements
November 13, 2014
• “Only the Birds Will Be Shocked” is the title of a photo slideshow accompanying a New York Times feature on the “master (or mistress) of the universe bathrooms” in New York penthouses, with floor-to-ceiling glass sides. “It was like you were peeing ...

Out of Hand, or Hand to Mouth?
November 12, 2014
Isn’t it all now a “bit out of hand?” That’s what the distinguished food critic, novelist, and essayist John Lanchester asks in a recent issue of The New Yorker. What he means is the media madness that’s afflicting food culture today, from blogs to television shows. ...

Daily Bafflements
November 12, 2014
• Pizza Hut seeks to appeal to the Next Generation with its “Flavor of Now” ad campaign, a new logo and staff uniforms, and the addition of new toppings like Sriracha and banana peppers to its menu. The Guardian reports: “On a call with investors on Monday, ...

The American Soldier at the End of History
November 11, 2014
In the racket of post-midterm exegeses, one line of analysis was missing—a lament for the paltry number of veterans serving in Congress. Of course, there were a couple high profile victories by veterans in this election, making up a colorful, if not altogether nutty, cast of ...

Daily Bafflements
November 11, 2014
• The luxurious Survival Condo, built in a former missile silo, is selling units for $3 million each, reports the Wall Street Journal. Amenities include round-the-clock armed guards, a movie theater and indoor swimming pool, and the feeling of security you get when you know ...

Death of an Enemy: Warren Anderson, 1920-2014
November 10, 2014
How do you grant humanity to those who would deny yours? Warren Anderson, CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the industrial disaster in Bhopal, India on December 2-3, 1984 that killed over 20,000 people, died in Florida last month, although news of his death became public only ...

Daily Bafflements
November 10, 2014
• Elmo Keep writes for Matter about how 200,000 people have applied to join a much-hyped, one-way mission to Mars in 2025…which may or may not turn out to be one big scam. (Via Longform.) • Today in Billionaires, and Billions: Oxfam, the organization that recently ...

On Pelf
November 10, 2014
We’re very pleased to launch our new issue online today, no. 26, if you can believe it. It’s entitled “Sickness and Pelf,” and inside you’ll find multitudinous tales of woe and profit from the culture of medicine in America. If you’re curious: ...