NOVEMBER 19, 2010

Full News Archive

• Headline: Censure Vote for Rep. Rangel. Impact: Rangel's censure set off a chain reaction of lawmakers suddenly discovering ethics. This led to a temporary surge in honesty, which alarmingly caused the invention of the 'ethics committee'—a group dedicated to investigating themselves.. Fact: Did you know the term 'censure' comes from the Latin 'censura,' meaning 'to judge'? So, essentially, Congress just decided to play judge and jury on a guy who probably thought he was just doing politics..
• Headline: Cynthia Ozick's Tribute to Henry James. Impact: Cynthia Ozick's homage inspired writers to think they could just revisit classic novels like a bad sequel, leading to a literary trend of 'homages' that are really just excuses to copy greats like James while pretending they're being original.. Fact: Fun fact: Henry James once wrote about Americans in Europe, which means he probably would've loved the idea of being endlessly referenced by authors who can't let go of the past..
• Headline: Exploring Saul Bellow's Literary Mastery. Impact: Bellow's quest for the vernacular sublime led future authors down a rabbit hole of using 'big words' in everyday situations, resulting in coffee shop conversations that sound like they were lifted from a literature class syllabus.. Fact: Did you know Saul Bellow once won the Nobel Prize for Literature? Apparently, it's easier to win that than to represent two-fifths of your own work accurately..
• Headline: Echoing Obama, Bernanke Presses China on Imbalances. Impact: Bernanke's comments about China's currency imbalances ignited a worldwide debate about economic fairness, leading to countless memes about currency valuation that still haunt the internet today. Who knew economics could be so meme-worthy?. Fact: Fun fact: 'Undervalued currencies' are like that friend who always says they're 'just being modest' when in reality, they know they're the best at everything. Thanks for the honesty, guys!.