That’s why we should be writing about John Edwards now. We had something to learn from the fairly extensive coverage of Rudy Giuliani‘s disastrous campaign, and now we have something to gain from looking back at the results of Edwards’ approach and the details of his inconveniently mellow-harshing story and concerns. I want to hear about what he’ll do next. Don’t discount him just because we love a bullfight.
Does God exist? Tonight Christopher Hitchens and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach are debating it at the 92nd St. Y. I’ll be there. Potential highlights include God, appearing Marshall McLuhan-style, strolling onstage to declare to Hitchens, Boteach, the audience, or some combination of the above, “You know nothing of my work.” (Afterward: While that didn’t happen, exactly, there were certainly insults a-flyin’.)
At least we can be confident that Eustace Tilley exists, as did his creator, Rea Irvin; as Jason Kottke reports, the winners of the Tilley retooling contest have been notified. I’ve been enjoying the discussions on the contest’s various Flickr threads; entrants commune, commiserate, and praise with Threadless-like generosity and swap ideas for drawings that coulda been. Dan Savage has gotten involved, too. This contest has clearly been a hit—what’s next in user-generated interactoolery, do you suppose?
Finally, my carnivorous friend Paul Lukas has updated Joseph Mitchell’s juicy, tender, and well-done ode to the beefsteak (as Paul explains, “The term refers not to a cut of meat but to a raucous all-you-can-eat-and-drink banquet”)—which you can reread in Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink—with a sizzling, bacon-wrapped Times story (with video!) on how we beefsteak now. Sorry, cows of the world (and environment, etc.); I apologize from the bottom of my ostensible soul, and I’m saving you for special occasions these days, but in the list of things that are sacred, I’m going to have to include the occasional indulgence in just this sort of ritual.