Rave Review of Racist Book
smartertimes.com

The front of the Times arts section features a positive review of a book by sportswriter Dan Jenkins:

I woke up with a smile on my face every morning during the two or three days I spent reading "His Ownself." It's a casual and sly sportswriter's memoir, albeit with a few egregious missteps that I'll get to, one of those books that reminds you that good stories happen only to people who can tell them.

Lower down, the Times review reports:

His anti-P.C. campaign is where his geezer routine crosses over into something worse. On Twitter in 2010, writing about the Masters Golf Tournament, he made a racist joke that got him into trouble: "Y. E. Yang is only three shots off the lead. I think we got takeout from him last night."

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Dwight Garner Likens Religion to Masturbation
smartertimes.com

Reviewing Barbara Ehrenreich's book Living With A Wild God: A Nonbeliever's Search For The Truth About Everything, Times book critic Dwight Garner writes:

Kingsley Amis once said that religion and masturbation were alike in one regard. Feel free to practice them, that is, but no one really wants to hear you go on about it.

I don't necessarily feel that way about mystical experiences of the sort Ms. Ehrenreich describes. Like her, I am a nonbeliever, and like her, I do not doubt there are many things we don't understand about our universe. But right here and right now, I wish I could say "Living With a Wild God" didn't feel like such a meandering trip.

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Mick Jagger's Penis
smartertimes.com

From a book review in today's Times by staff critic Dwight Garner:

This memoir has its small joys, for sure. The author confronts Keith Richards over his infamous allegation that Mick Jagger has a small penis. Ms. Robinson once lent Mr. Jagger a pair of sheer bikini underpants, in which he was photographed by Annie Leibovitz. Ms. Robinson tells Mr. Richards that Mr. Jagger "actually has quite a big one." He replies, "Mine's bigger."

Mr. Garner doesn't explain why he would find joy, large or small, in this anecdote, but it certainly is a fine example of the Times's ever-shifting definition of what constitutes news "fit to print."

Read More...

Mick Jagger's Penis
smartertimes.com

From a book review in today's Times by staff critic Dwight Garner:

This memoir has its small joys, for sure. The author confronts Keith Richards over his infamous allegation that Mick Jagger has a small penis. Ms. Robinson once lent Mr. Jagger a pair of sheer bikini underpants, in which he was photographed by Annie Leibovitz. Ms. Robinson tells Mr. Richards that Mr. Jagger "actually has quite a big one." He replies, "Mine's bigger."

Mr. Garner doesn't explain why he would find joy, large or small, in this anecdote, but it certainly is a fine example of the Times's ever-shifting definition of what constitutes news "fit to print."

Read More...

Dwight Garner Likens Religion to Masturbation
smartertimes.com

Reviewing Barbara Ehrenreich's book Living With A Wild God: A Nonbeliever's Search For The Truth About Everything, Times book critic Dwight Garner writes:

Kingsley Amis once said that religion and masturbation were alike in one regard. Feel free to practice them, that is, but no one really wants to hear you go on about it.

I don't necessarily feel that way about mystical experiences of the sort Ms. Ehrenreich describes. Like her, I am a nonbeliever, and like her, I do not doubt there are many things we don't understand about our universe. But right here and right now, I wish I could say "Living With a Wild God" didn't feel like such a meandering trip.

Read More...

Rave Review of Racist Book
smartertimes.com

The front of the Times arts section features a positive review of a book by sportswriter Dan Jenkins:

I woke up with a smile on my face every morning during the two or three days I spent reading "His Ownself." It's a casual and sly sportswriter's memoir, albeit with a few egregious missteps that I'll get to, one of those books that reminds you that good stories happen only to people who can tell them.

Lower down, the Times review reports:

His anti-P.C. campaign is where his geezer routine crosses over into something worse. On Twitter in 2010, writing about the Masters Golf Tournament, he made a racist joke that got him into trouble: "Y. E. Yang is only three shots off the lead. I think we got takeout from him last night."

Read More...