Bear Meat and Suicide Forests
I’ll post a more thorough update on our first few nights in Tokyo soon (when I have a moment or two to breathe), but we arrived in Kawaguchiko (河口湖) yesterday, a small lakeside resort town at the base of Mt. Fuji. More »
Itadakimasu, Danny Meyer-san
Sophomore year, I was working part-time as a restaurant host at Blue Smoke, one of New York restauranteur Danny Meyer’s fine establishments.
Meyer, as you probably know, owns a small collection of some of the city’s most critically adored and popular restaurants which, together, form the Union Square Hospitality Group. These eateries include Shake Shack, Blue Smoke, The Modern, Eleven Madison Park, Gramercy Tavern, Tabla, the newly-opened Maialino, and the company’s flagship restaurant: Union Square Cafe.
By the time I arrived in Japan last week, I’d eaten at almost all of them (save Maialino and, oddly enough, USC itself). I am a well-known Shake Shack addict (the staff at both locations recognize me on sight, and some employees at the park location have my order memorized), I’ve eaten a lifetime’s worth of Blue Smoke (mostly just by virtue of working there), and I recently celebrated my college graduation at Gramercy Tavern. I’ve been to Tabla and EMP twice.
But it was a surprise to me when I learned at some point in 2008 that Union Square Cafe had a Japanese counterpart — Union Square Tokyo. So when I wandered into Tokyo’s Roppongi neighborhood a few days ago and recalled this fact, I decided I had to visit.
On That Thing That You’ve Probably Heard About
So, um, a lot has been made about this whole Gizmodo/iPhone/search warrant thing. I’ve put off weighing in (which has been extremely difficult for someone who, like me, is fascinated by issues like media ethics and criminal law), but so much of the commentary thus far has seemed so incredibly off-base (especially regarding the legal, procedural elements of the case) I felt compelled to add my two cents.
But first, standard disclaimer: I’ve been an intern at Gawker Media, which owns Gizmodo, since last July. That said, I learned about this story the same way (and at the same time) everyone else did. I haven’t discussed the story with anyone at the company, I don’t have any insidery details, I’m not a lawyer, I don’t know anything about what the lawyers are actually thinking, and my take on this whole situation is a complete armchair analysis that in no way reflects or represents the position of my colleagues or employers. In fact, my opinion is based almost entirely on too many Law & Order re-runs and a handful of journalism and law classes (including First Amendment and criminal procedure). We all know what educations in those fields are worth these days, so take it with a proverbial grain of salt. More »
The Case of NYU’s Phantom Philanthropy Records
An interesting story in today’s Washington Square News where my intrepid former colleagues, quite literally, “follow the money” and expose both NYU and the state’s Department of Education as — at the very least — shoddy record keepers, and maybe (but probably not) part of a $30 million fraud conspiracy!
The article in question is interesting for a number of reasons, but especially for its underlying suggestion that NYU may or may not have accepted a $30 million donation from Saudi Arabia shortly after September 11th, lied about it to avoid the public relations shitstorm, and got away with it because neither NYU nor the state agency NYU is required to report foreign donations to can find that year’s records!
More »
Confessions of an Orphaned Intern
So I know these Oprah posts are bringing in killer pageviews and all (an aggregate 138,000 so far), but I’m kind of bummed (although not surprised) that this “Mickey Kaus Oppo Research Project” post isn’t getting a little more attention. It was actually a lot of fun to work on, and these two comments totally made my day:
destor23: The mere fact that you were able to figure out who Mickey Kaus is means that serious candidates should hire you guys for big money.
accountabilibuddy: Mental note: Be on good terms with Gawker staff before running for office. The level of research that went into torpedoing a candidacy of zero importance for the fun of it is rarely seen outside of bored 4chans.
Also, look into hiring John and Sergio to destroy enemies.
Great stuff gentlemen.
A fellow intern asked me today how I was “dealing” with John Cook’s departure. Incidentally, today was his last day at Gawker, and it is — of course — a bummer (even though my internship ends in three weeks, anyway).
But more importantly I’m excited to see what happens next (for him at Yahoo, and for me… um, in life?), and all I can say is I’m grateful for the chance to have worked with and learn from him, and humbled to be now or ever have been considered anywhere near even just the orbit of this dude’s league.
