some long form reading

some of you may have heard of / read the bestselling book, "born to run", featuring ultramarathon runner micah true's relationship with a remote long-distance-running mexican tribe. he recently went missing and was found dead in the wilderness of new mexico, and the new york times published a really great feature on him. check it out if you have some time.

His story was exuberantly molded into legend in the 2009 best-seller “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall. Caballo Blanco, however private and self-effacing, was suddenly delivered to the world as a prophet, “the lone wanderer of the High Sierras.” To many, he represented the road not taken, a purer path, away from career, away from capitalism, away from the clock.

McDougall, himself a runner, was one of the dozens who had hurried to southwestern New Mexico to join the search, as had the actor Peter Sarsgaard, who was about to direct a movie based on the book. In just a few days, the Gila Wilderness had become a lodestone to a who’s who of ultramarathoners, athletes with loose limbs, lanky bodies and now a shared sense of dread.

“We’re thinking he could be lying out there hurt, unable to get help,” said the ultrarunner Luis Escobar, who had driven all night from California. (via)

the master

skyfall trailer

i know that you are supposed to say that sean connery is the best james bond, but i think daniel craig is my favorite. and javier bardem is in this one. see you guys there.

i know right?

happy friday!

 [via]

gchatz with starla

me:  i hope my dvr recorded this

http://gawker.com/5911222/a-little-person-competes-on-toddlers--tiaras

 starla:  stopitrightnow

 me:  i can't wait to watch that

 starla:  i mean

tlc has really gone above and beyond

 me:  they have certainly gone above and beyond something

i'm just not sure if it's some sort of standard, or simply decorum in general

 starla:  all of the above

how great was the 5th grade?

our students designed slides to talk about their personal growth. i think they are rad. 

Some growth isn't quite as quantifiable

last dance for donna summer

The Queen of Disco is dead.

Go Lady Vols!

really nailed it

people sell the darndest things

plenty of snark about expensive products at The Worst Things For Sale

time travel

there was a version of this story on TAL a few years back. but this movie looks gooooooood.

mariah carey throws mad shade

WTC1 just keeps getting worse and worse

What the city ended up with as a replacement to the original World Trade Center towers is safe and bland, and while you might have thought it couldn't get any worse, it will.  In an effort to save 20 million dollars, The Durst Organization and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have decided to discard the steel and fiberglass shell, designed in collaboration with sculptor Kenneth Snelson, encasing the broadcast antenna atop Tower One.  The Durst Organization has claimed that maintaining and repairing the antenna enclosure would be too difficult and expensive.  Architect David Childs said:

“We are disappointed that a decision has been made to remove the sculptural enclosure at the top of 1 World Trade Center...Eliminating this integral part of the building’s design and leaving an exposed antenna and equipment is unfortunate. We stand ready to work with the port on an alternate design that will still mark the 1 World Trade Center’s place in New York City’s skyline.”

Not only will this change take away the only mildly interesting element of the design, it will also likely negate WTC1's status as the tallest building in the country since the unclad broadcast antenna will not be classified as a spire, and therefore cannot be included in the total height of the structure according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.  The Council will wait to make a final ruling on the height of the structure until it is complete on 2014, but if they ultimately decide the antenna cannot be considered, the total height of Tower One will be 1,368 feet (see below, C2E).

Here's what some idiot commenters over at the Wall Street Journal had to say:

 

While someone at the New York Times insisted it's not too late to get back on the right track and just rebuild replicas of the original towers in the two remaining empty lots.

[NYT]

i need a babysitter

my name is isabella, i live in nashville
and i am very well behaved (just look at that braided bone on my nose for chrissakes) and i need someone to take care of me from may 24-28.

for kylie

via