Esquire Editor Makes Very True Sentence [Magazines]

"We're at a fulcrum point in our culture, not just because of the election, but because the world seems to be at a real tipping point right now." [WWD, Previously]

"Tired" Mary-Kate Olsen Pushes Letterman's Buttons [Celebrity Science]

Flannel-loving starlet Mary-Kate Olsen was in no condition to be on David Letterman's Late Show last night. Her excuse for her disjointed, unenthusiastic interview? She was "so tired" after her long trip (on an airplane, of course, not via any illegal drugs or booze or whatnot). Letterman could hardly have sounded less impressed with this, and twice referred back to how sorry he was about Olsen being "tired," by which he meant that she never should have plopped down on his damned couch if she was exhausted. Having been in show business since she was six-months old, MKO should have realized she was breaking the implicit talk-show contract: free publicity in exchange for a little coherent dish. If you're tired, buy a venti half-and-half latte to pull yourself together, or relinquish your camera time. At least Olsen shared some bitchy history on Spencer Pratt from The Hills. Clip of that and her tired-ness after the jump.

Times: "Do Not Submit Ideas Concerning Dog Fights, Cock Fights, Or The Confederate Flag" [The Poors]

Oh, hey, people of The South! The New York Times might like to hire you as a stringer/researcher/ admin/journalistic sharecropper! But please remember: This is an elite newspaper for the elitist elites in fancy New York, so please no redneck type people. To help ensure you are not a hick, the Times has asked you to pre-pitch five stories NOT involving anything the Times has ever covered before (you do take the Times right? It's only $665 per year in trashy zip codes!), and also NOT about cliché things only of interest to the poors: "Please do not submit ideas concerning dog fights, cock fights, or the Confederate flag." Anyway, if you do get the job, you'll be rewarded with good pay and creative freedom. Ha ha, just kidding, you'll tackle "light administrative duties" and also "the pay is very modest," but at least you'll learn how to talk right, and the money will probably go a long way in your shantytown or whatever. Full job listing after the jump!

[JournalismJobs.com]

Right-Wing Media Still Pissed At Al Gore [Books]

CNET Writer's Cozy Sourcing [Conflicts Of Interest]

CNET News.com writer Caroline McCarthy published a nice scoop today on how social networking site I'm In Like With You raised $1.5 million from venture funding firm Spark Capital. Silicon Alley Insider has been chasing the story for weeks! How did McCarthy pull the exclusive out from under their nose? Who's to say! But, um, it's probably worth noting that McCarthy is dating David Karp, founder of blog network Tumblr and an intimate, bed-cuddling, entire-body-carrying friend of I'm In Like With You founder Charles Forman. Karp's company also shares Spark Capital as a venture funding backer. So, basically, McCarthy had sources close to her boyfriend to draw on. (Pictured, the happy threesome of Forman, Karp and McCarthy, as photographed by Richard Blakeley.) Should McCarthy's CNET blog post have carried a disclaimer? She doesn't think so:

The boring truth is that I've known Charles for way longer than I've known David (and no, not "known" in that way!) Because of that, and since the two companies have no formal partnership, I think I'm OK. Otherwise, yeah, that would've been iffy.

Ah, no "formal partnership." Sort of like Karp and Forman!

[Silicon Alley Insider]

Spelling Mystery Behind Hardee Obit [Journalismism]

Setting aside the health implications of fast-food pioneer Wilber Hardee's death at the advanced age of 89, one is drawn to the mystery of his first name. No one seems to know how to spell it. The Times went with "Wilber" for its obit. But hey, Times, how about fact-checking your journalism with that most august and reliable of primary sources, the Hardee's Cool Kids website? As show above and to the right, it renders the name "Wilbur," as do about 3,140 Web pages in Google's index in an exact-phrase search, vs. just 1,510 for "Wilber." And "Wilbur" also wins in a Google News search, with 54 uses (including AP!) vs. just "about 10" for "Wilbur." But wait, there are so many more wrinkles to this obit mystery!

Isn't the company info page on the main Hardees.com site a better source of intelligence than the Hardee's Cool Kids website? It has the name as "Wilber," as shown at top and on the left. So even the guy's own company can't figure out the right spelling.

Maybe everyone at Hardee's is so used to just selecting hamburger and french fry icons on those touch-screen ordering stations that they've forgotten how to properly write.

The most fascinating possibility comes from the website Dos Factotum, which theorizes that Hardee might have swung both ways, name-wise. Kinky! But is anyone ever, truly, bi? Maybe Wilbur just couldn't accept that he was really "Wilber," because of, you know, society.

[Dos Factotum]

The Brooklyn Bridge Waterfalls Have Risen [Art]

Olafur Eliasson's public arts project, man-made waterfalls under the Brooklyn Bridge, has commenced. Click for the video!

[Video via Curbed; Eliasson Waterfall at Brooklyn Bridge from rsguskind on Vimeo.]

Voicemail From the Worst Pickup Artist Ever [Dimitri The Lover]

Presented Without Comment [Fameballs]

Julia Allison, dating columnist/commencement speaker. [via Alex Balk]

All The Sad Young Literary Former Gawker Editors [Alum Report]

Hooray! Now we all get to track down Choire's book proposal! It is called And the Heart Says, "asdjdhslakdsf." [Twitter]

Vice President Bobby Digital! [Good Ideas]

Rocker/blogger Carrie Brownstein on the Vice Presidential selection process: "And once we determine the results, that McCain is, um, Liz Phair and therefore his running mate should be.....RZA, then all we have to do is decide what politician out there is most like RZA. After that we let John McCain's people know." Go vote in the poll! [NPR]