Nicholas Ciarelli

IAmA former Olive Garden employee who was sent to Tuscany for their "Culinary Institute" - Reddit

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 23:01:57 -0400

IAmA former Olive Garden employee who was sent to Tuscany for their "Culinary Institute" - Reddit

"You can hire a family. The Tokyo agency Hagemashi-tai, meaning ‘We Want to Cheer You..."

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:18:00 -0500

“

You can hire a family. The Tokyo agency Hagemashi-tai, meaning ‘We Want to Cheer You Up,’ is one of ten outfits in Japan that supply clients with adult actors willing to impersonate any blood relation you require—a loving dad to pick up your kids from school; reputable parents to vouch for you at a matchmaking party; noncomplaining, huggable grandchildren to spend the day with you; a trial husband who leaves towels on your bathroom floor to help you practice for your upcoming marriage.

Scott Rosenbaum, a thirty-one-year-old former Internet marketer who lives in New Jersey, read a newspaper article about this phenomenon and founded Rent-a-Friend, in October, 2009. The company has a database of more than three hundred thousand members around the world who can be employed, by paying subscribers, for platonic companionship. … Occasionally, Rosenbaum said, the client’s request is more unorthodox. When a college student was caught drinking on campus, he hired surrogate parents from Rent-a-Friend to accompany him to the disciplinary meeting with a dean. A friend in need is a friend in deed, indeed.

”

- The Borrowers: Why buy when you can rent? - The New Yorker

The forbidden railway: Vienna–Pyongyang - 36 hours in North Korea without a guide

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:06:35 -0500

The forbidden railway: Vienna–Pyongyang - 36 hours in North Korea without a guide

"Obviously the story is bizarre, that’s why I made a film about it, but I’m still shocked by the..."

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:38:00 -0500

“Obviously the story is bizarre, that’s why I made a film about it, but I’m still shocked by the level of skepticism. I guess I have to accept that people think I’m full of shit. But I’m not clever enough to have invented Mr. Brainwash, even the most casual on-line research confirms that.

Besides, if the movie was a carefully scripted prank you can be sure I would’ve given myself some better lines. I would’ve meticulously planned my spontaneous off-the-cuff remarks. I love that famous Jack Benny come-back to a heckler—’You wouldn’t say that if my writers were here.’ But I’ve always wondered—did his writers tell him to say that?”

- Banksy on Exit Through the Gift Shop

Who subscribed me to this?

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 21:41:09 -0500

Who subscribed me to this?

How Real Does It Feel? - The New York Times

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 10:33:00 -0500

How Real Does It Feel? - The New York Times:

“In a year of true hoaxes and fake documentaries, accuracy was in the eye of the beholder.”

The Glory of the Rails by Tony Judt - The New York Review of Books

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 13:59:11 -0500

The Glory of the Rails by Tony Judt - The New York Review of Books

"Conan listened to Gaspin, still with a faraway look in his eye. Finally he did have something he..."

Sat, 30 Oct 2010 10:01:19 -0400

“

Conan listened to Gaspin, still with a faraway look in his eye. Finally he did have something he really wanted to say, something that was all but burning a hole in his chest. ‘What does Jay have on you?’ Conan asked, his voice still low, his tone still even. ‘What does this guy have on you people? What the hell is it about Jay?’

Neither of the NBC executives had an answer and cast their heads down. Conan thought they were working at looking sympathetic, following some lesson that had been taught at corporate school.

”

- The Unsocial Network - Vanity Fair

Seating for Jedis Only (via Re-Signed)

Sat, 02 Oct 2010 13:12:00 -0400

Seating for Jedis Only

(via Re-Signed)

Tabloid

Sun, 26 Sep 2010 19:47:56 -0400

Tabloid

Trailer: Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields

Sun, 26 Sep 2010 19:46:42 -0400

Trailer: Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields

Brothers Nev and Rel Schulman on Their New Documentary, 'Catfish' — New York Magazine

Sun, 26 Sep 2010 19:45:34 -0400

Brothers Nev and Rel Schulman on Their New Documentary, 'Catfish' — New York Magazine

"And for those with overdue library books in New York City, I spoke with a librarian at the New York..."

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 19:39:43 -0400

““And for those with overdue library books in New York City, I spoke with a librarian at the New York Public Library’s reference desk this morning who said she only remembers one Amnesty Week years ago and there are no current plans for another one.””

- It’s Amnesty Week - Book Bench - The New Yorker

Shaq Accused of Computer Hacking - The Daily Beast

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 19:32:32 -0400

Shaq Accused of Computer Hacking - The Daily Beast:

1. Is this called “haqing”? “Shaqing”?

2. Is the Hack-a-Shaq defense admissible in court? (via @sampjacobs)

Teaching materials from the David Foster Wallace archive

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 19:32:00 -0400

Teaching materials from the David Foster Wallace archive:

(via @zseward)

Absolutely No Mary Poppins (via Re-signations)

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:04:00 -0400

Absolutely No Mary Poppins

(via Re-signations)

No Nazis (via Re-signations)

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:02:00 -0400

No Nazis

(via Re-signations)

The Atlantic on electronic monitoring

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 14:47:00 -0400

“The truly revolutionary BI devices are the new generation of GPS trackers, which monitor criminals’ real-time locations down to a few meters, enabling BI to control their movements almost as if they were marionettes. If you were a paroled drunk driver, for instance, your parole officer could mandate that you stay home every day from dusk until dawn, be at your workplace from nine to five, and go to and from work following a specific route—and BI would monitor your movements to ensure compliance. If your parole terms included not entering a bar or liquor shop, the device could be programmed to start an alert process if you lingered near such a location for more than 60 seconds. That alert could take the form of an immediate notice to the monitors—’He’s at Drinkie’s again’—or even a spoken warning emanating from the device itself, instructing you to leave the area or face the consequences.

The market for monitoring devices seems destined to expand, as the technology involved becomes more widespread and hardware costs continue to fall. Already, I have an application on my iPhone that broadcasts my exact location to selected friends at all times. If I were ever convicted of a crime and forced to submit to GPS tracking, I would, in theory, need only to add my probation officer to my Google Friends list and keep my phone handy. When I showed the app to BI’s Jennifer White, she had trouble fathoming that anyone would use such a thing without a court order. ‘Do you keep that on all the time?’ she asked suspiciously.”

— Prison Without Walls, The Atlantic

A conversation with Jeff Bezos - Charlie Rose

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 23:35:03 -0400

A conversation with Jeff Bezos - Charlie Rose

TV's Crowning Moment of Awesome - Esquire

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:31:00 -0400

TV's Crowning Moment of Awesome - Esquire:

“In thirty-eight years, The Price is Right never had a contestant guess the exact value of prizes in the Showcase showdown. Until Terry Kniess outsmarted everyone — and changed everything.”

(via longform.org)