Arthur S. Brisbane, the Public Editor of the New York Times, ably demonstrated Sunday why the New York Times requires the Public to be Edited:

The controversy over The Times’s use of the term “torture,” which was discussed two years ago by my predecessor, Clark Hoyt, has its roots in the newsroom’s aspiration to be impartial in a dispute that is both political and legal…

For his part, [Executive Editor Bill] Keller affirms that The Times has not “banished the word ‘torture,’ but we are careful how we use it” and avoid its use in contexts where it might appear The Times is taking sides.

Ummm, taking sides in what? Is the Times afraid that torturers will view its news coverage as unfair?

Actually, yes.

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Everything you need to know about the keyboard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyfZOZwuFM8

She’s got Gould speed and it’s note perfect … jaw drops ….

He is officially beyond self-parody:

Title: “The Notes: Ronald Reagan’s Private Collection of Stories and Wisdom”

Author: Ronald Reagan

Rank: 50

Blurb: “The Notes encapsulates a lifetime of reflections on work, marriage, and family in classic one-liners such as ‘Flattery is what makes husbands out of bachelors’ and ‘Money may not buy friends, but it will help you to stay in contact with your children.'”

Review: “It would not be a stretch to claim that Reagan was the best orator of the 20th century and rivals the great orators of the American founding.”

Customers Also Bought: “The Roots of Obama’s Rage”, by Dinesh D’Souza

Footnote: Jefferson stole his one-liners from Franklin.

The Notes [Amazon]

Buy or Die [Stinque@Amazon kickback link]

Cooking Julia Child’s beef bourguignon again – seems to be a 3 times a year sort of dish.  Posting the recipe again because, as I followed it, I noted a few places where it wasn’t clear. Also, unlike the photo, this time I used frozen pearl onions. Take a crack at it Stinquers!

Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients

• One 6-ounce piece of chunk bacon
• 3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)
• 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cloves mashed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• A crumbled bay leaf
• 18 to 24 white onions, small
• 3 1/2 tablespoons butter
• Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)
• 1 pound mushrooms, fresh and quartered

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Whitehouse Post is a special-effects shop that would like your business, if your business has a need for digital simulations of shit blowing up.

If not, please enjoy this head-asploding demo reel on the house.

[via Nerdist]