Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Best Restaurant in Boston: Radius

Radius is perhaps the best restaurant in Boston. Everything was absolutely spectacular, from the miniature potato gnocci with peas and chanterelle mushrooms to the cod prepared two ways (one with mustard and chanterelles, one milk breaded over greens), to the cookie sampler for dessert (double chocolate with cherries and macadamia nuts, toffee and mango).

If you're in Boston and want a very fancy dinner, Radius should be your pick.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

New Obama Ad

New Barack Obama ad running in several different states across the country.



The question is, with the number of Americans who think Obama is a Muslim/America-hater/black supremist/liberal/Yankee/radical, is this ad really going to chance their mind? Are there people who still don't know what a remarkable individual Obama is and actually can be convinced?

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

McCain: Not much maverick left

Matt Taibbi writes a scathing portrayal of how John McCain is running for president as the same disgusting Republican candidate that the Bush/Rove mentality has created, and that many Americans are buying it.

Highlights:

"Immediately after his speech in New Orleans, a pair of sweet-looking old ladies put down their McCain signs long enough to fill me in on why they're here. 'I tell you,' says one, 'if Michelle Obama really doesn't like it here in America, I'd be very pleased to raise the money to send her back to Africa.'"

"...I catch up with a man named Ron Saucier and a woman who would only identify herself as Mary. Ron says his problem with Obama is the integrity thing. 'He exaggerates too much,' Ron says. 'He's not honest.'....'OK,' I say. 'What does he exaggerate about?'...'Well, like that time he was saying he had a white mother and a white grandmother'...I ask him how this is an exaggeration....'Look, you either are or you aren't,' [Mary] says....'And he aren't,' Ron says, nodding with relief."

Monday, June 16, 2008

M class planet, anyone?

Astronomers have identified scores of new exoplanets (planets outside our solar system).

The exoplanets other the past decade have tended to be very large and very close to their stars, due to a selection bias in the detection method. With each new round of planets, astronomers move away from this bias, bringing us closer and closer to detecting an Earth-sized planet at a reasonable distance from a star.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Meet the Press with Chuck Todd

Political Insider's Taegan Goddard suggests NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd (formerly of the National Journal) as the new host of Meet the Press.

Goddard is spot on that Todd is perhaps the only journalist at NBC with the breadth and depth of political knowledge to be successful in that role. Furthermore, Todd has the potential to grow into the guy of everyman-gravitas that Russert so beautifully embodied.

More on Russ

Howard Fineman tells an incredible story about what a fundamentally decent human being Tim Russert was.

Bob Herbert on American families and economics

Bob Herbert had an excellent piece in yesterday's NYT about how unbelievably stretched American families are.

Since this president has no desire to improve their situation, the next president will have a large task ahead of him.

Friday, June 13, 2008

The loss of Tim Russert

Tom Brokaw just announced on NBC that Tim Russert has passed away. This is a huge loss to the political world.

Read more about it here and here.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Webb and Jindal

Good profiles on Webb and Jindal, two potential V.P. candidates. Wouldn't it be great if the vice presidential nominees were even more exciting than the presidential nominees?

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

It's Obama

This is really it. Barack Obama will be the Democratic Nominee for President of the United States.

Read his speech tonight here.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Primary Predictons: 6/3

Montana: Obama
South Dakota: Obama

The Comeback Ego

Fascinating piece in Vanity Fair about post-president Bill Clinton.

World Science Festival a Big Hit

This past weekend's World Science Festival in New York was a huge success, drawing well over 100,000 people to an outdoor festival and 46 other sold out events. One of the best was Alan Alda's staged reading of the play QED, which Alda premiered on Broadway a few years ago, about the physicist Richard Feynman at the end of his life.

Read festival co-founded and Columbia Physics Professor Brian Greene in yesterday's NYT.