In an online discussion with Times Magazine editor Gerald Marzorati, an American solider writes: "I love the magazine, best part of the Sunday paper. Regrettably, I can't get The Times over here in Iraq and reading the mag online just isn't the same... Anyway, my question: How did you make the decision to add the story/comic book section?"

The Best Writers at the New York Times (2006) Running out of ideas. What's next, a piece on who picks the "Quotation of the Day"?

An article on Sunday reported on efforts by the Democratic Party to revise its election-year calendar for 2008 to include an early caucus in Nevada and an early primary in South Carolina. It said that William M. Gardner, secretary of state for New Hampshire, was reached at his home on Saturday and said, "Do not call me here," and hung up the telephone when the reporter tried to get comment on how these changes might affect his state's first-in-the-nation primary.

• We really ARE overdue for a George Michael assfucking scandal, aren't we? Don't worry, it's about to get much better: the former pop star was caught having a "seedy liason" in a public park with the hot piece of twat pictured at right. 58-year-old unemployed van drivers who live with their cat sure are irresistible, aren't they? [Sun UK]
• Tomorrow Russell Simmons will be named a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, putting him on the well-worn path to becoming Angelina Jolie. Perhaps he's splitting with Kimora over whether or not to adopt an Ethiopian AIDS orphan. [FishbowlNY]
• You know what's wrong with magazine publishing? The people who are running it, specifically those at the Magazine Publisher's Association who believe a mascot named Captain Read is going to do a goddamned thing other than inspire mockery and ensure irrelevancy. [AdAge]
• Though we wouldn't put it past Simon Dumenco to hook up with Cap'n Read. [AdAge]
• Conde Nast will master these internets yet, even if it means going the route of incredibly boring trade sites. [Craigslist]
• Is somene pushing a Times-ian frenzy surrounding the raising admission fee for the Met? At the current rate, they'll churn out 60 pieces by November, which will almost be enough to satisfy Bill Keller. [Seth Mnookin]
• It doesn't matter how fantastic a "trailer" for a book may be, because it'll never half as good as the trailer for Snakes on a Plane. That's just a fact. [Guardian]
• Greg Gutfeld's still life with Arianna Huffington. [HuffPo]
• Dallas Mavericks bloggy freakshow Mark Cuban has an open job offer for anyone who can think of a new way to market movies. On the downside, you'll be working for Mark Cuban. [Blog Maverick]
• Who Wore It Best? — crotchety Sun Valley mogul edition! [WSJ]
• Why does the Regal Union Square movie theater smell like Chinatown on a simmering July afternoon? [Cinecultist]

Thanks ever so much to those who submitted possible sin-erasing obituaries for ex-New York Times staffer Jayson Blair. The challenge was to come up with a first line that could successfully supplant likely references to Blair's career crash at the NYT. Hardly any references to hard drug use, disappointingly. The winner and honorable mentions, after the jump.

We're glad to see that disgraced New York Times journalist Jayson Blair is larding his self-pity with more angry cynicism these days. However, in Matt L. Perrone's otherwise charmingly angry extended interview on PopMatters (conducted when Blair served as MC at a high school awards ceremony in Virginia), the man shows the strain a bit. When asked how his death notice would read, a grin-deflated Blair responds, "I cannot imagine anything I could do, no matter how long I live, that will change that first line of my obituary."

The most disturbing thing about this photo? It's meant to suggest that these two are fucking. It is way scarier than the actual article. House & Home, you should be ashamed of yourself.

The Gray Lady leaves no angle unexplored.

We were recently directed to PX This., the "witty, irreverent (star-studded) four year journal of a struggling New York commercial-artist/fashion-designer moonlighting as a maitre d' at some of Manhattan's most well-known restaurants." While perusing its contents, we came upon the following entry (all contents completely [sic]):

As you may have seen, The New York Times, in a cost-cutting measure, has decided to reduce the trim size of its paper by an inch and a half. While rising newsprint costs and declining readership probably made this move inevitable, we, as Times readers, are concerned that a smaller Paper of Record might result in less in-depth news. So we gathered our staff together and came up with a solution that addresses every issue: Newsprint costs are reduced with absolutely no loss at all of valuable Times material. In fact, we feel that this will actually result in better-informed NYT readers. Let us know what you think.

Here's another dose of whimsy from noted humorist Ann Coulter, 45. Asked by WWD's Jacob Bernstein what she thought of the recent anthrax scare at The Times, Coulter "not only responded, but claimed to be the sender of the mysterious powder.

If the sweat wasn't making your eyes burn and consequently swell shut, you might have enjoyed this week's edition of the Times Book Review. Such is not the case, however — and so you can barely keep your eyes open while you dangerously head towards a heatstroke. You don't have much time to catch up on your literature before you pass out, so do enjoy this abbreviated guide to the review courtesy of Intern Alexis. After the jump, Josef "father of Jessica" Joffe gets slapped, The OC gets praised, and Benjamin Kunkel gets misty for a life lesson-filled memoir.

Our Lexis/Nexis account has expired, so we're not one hundred per cent sure, but it looks like this is one of the first times The Times has used the word "shit" in its pages. (Or on its screens; maybe they prefer to use the web to work blue.) The occasion, of course, came during a conversation between President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, which the president did not know was being transmitted over a live mike:

Three questions inspired by this weekend's Times:

On Friday afternoon, a white substance was found in the 8th floor mailroom in the New York Times building, causing the evacuation of that floor, where the Styles and Travel sections are located. Hazmat was on the scene but by the end of the evening, the following update went out:

Titillating advertisements are a nearly fail-safe way to capture consumer attention in a slower, more competitive market. But their existence also raises the question of how to sell real estate — whether salacious advertising is a smart strategy that can win buyers or a lazy tactic that lacks creativity and alienates viewers. It is an ideological tug-of-war between the stately and the cheeky, between white gloves and bare skin.

• UES explosion video! Don't pretend like you're too classy to watch. [NYP]
• Ashley Judd is flakier than you might think. [Tacitus]
• Why are people assholes on line? They're trying to act like journalists. [Guardian]
• Gail Collins says "sorry 'bout that" for the whole WMD thing. [E&P]
• There is no direct correlation between the amount of food left on the plate and the request for a doggie bag. [NYT]
• Following up on a Page Six report that former *NSYNC star Lance Bass was seen in a gay bar in Provincetown, Mass, ABC's Buck Wolf takes a look at the ethical issues concerning the "outing" of celebrities in - wait a second. "Lance Bass"? "Buck Wolf"? Who did the spotting here, "Bruce Hung"? [ABC]
• Speaking of Provincetown, it's nice to see that the gays can be as intolerant as the rest of us. [Boston Globe]
• A propos of nothing, we're pretty sure the YouTube dude sold us pot at a Phish show back in '93. [NYP]

This is completely unconfirmed, but we're hearing that a "white substance" has been found on the 8th floor of the Times building and that everyone has been evacuated. We'll refrain from making the obvious cocaine joke until we know what exactly is going on (if anything).

Contrary to the below: Jack Shafer at Slate rudely dissects the dynamics of success behind the New York Times' drearily infamous "What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage." Since the NYT article features author Amy Sutherland applying animal behavioral training to her husband Scott, Shafer should know the likely consequences of provoking a man brainwashed like Shamu. Marine biology documentary Orca (1977) has this to say about the title character's psychology:

While in Paris for the couture shows, Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn went golfing with perhaps the only man on earth who could comprehend her prattling on about how she longs for "le pouf," Anna Wintour's mantoy Shelby Bryan. As if that weren't awkward enough, Horyn wore her golf attire to the shows: