ComPost: January 9, 2011 - January 15, 2011

Post-RNC break up, top job ideas for Michael Steele

Michael Steele just withdrew from contention for Republican National Committee chairman. But make no mistake, this was a break-up. "It's not me -- it's you," the Republican Party explained. "Look, I just feel like I've grown a lot over the...

By Alexandra Petri  | January 14, 2011; 4:40 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (2)
Categories:  Bad Advice, Petri, Top Lists  | Tags:  Michael Steele, RNC, Rent Is Too Damn High  
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Miracles, beatification, and Gabrielle Giffords

I've always wanted to be beatified. Whenever I tell this to people, they seem startled -- "That would take a miracle!" At first I thought they were just being cruel. But -- as we see with the beatification of Pope...

By Alexandra Petri  | January 14, 2011; 2:53 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Categories:  Big Deals, Petri  | Tags:  awareness, miracle, science  
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Wikipedia and the demise of the dilettante

Wikipedia, light of my life, fire of my loins. Five syllables, trippingly off the tongue. Wee. Kee. Pedia. Thursday was Wikipedia's tenth birthday. According to the About Wikipedia page, it contains 3,528,071 articles and 22,902,598 pages in total. "There...

By Alexandra Petri  | January 13, 2011; 6:10 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (2)
Categories:  Only on the Internet, Petri, Worst Things Ever  | Tags:  Google, kids these days, the power of myth, wikipedia  
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New zodiac sign dates are ruining my life! And what's an Ophiuchus?

Dear Minnesota Planetarium Society, I'm losing it here. Today you emerged with the information that we've been off on our Zodiac signs all these years. The dawning of the age of Aquarius is not where it used to be....

By Alexandra Petri  | January 13, 2011; 12:45 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (11)
Categories:  Bad Advice, Big Deals, Petri  | Tags:  Star Wars, astrology, oops  
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Is Miss America to blame for Sarah Palin's 'blood libel' video?

Watching Sarah Palin's eight-minute video today about the Tucson tragedy, I was reminded of nothing more than the Miss America channel on YouTube. A single phrase -- "blood libel" -- has defined this video so far. But there's so...

By Alexandra Petri  | January 12, 2011; 5:19 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (5)
Categories:  Big Deals, Petri, Reality? Television  | Tags:  America, Miss America, Sarah Palin, scary  
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The Palin principle

Why does everything always have to be about you? I find myself shouting this at Sarah Palin at least once a day. "You brought this on yourself!" I picture her shouting back. And maybe that's true. We seem to have...

By Alexandra Petri  | January 12, 2011; 1:30 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (26)
Tags:  America, Sarah Palin, Tucson, media  
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Why Western mothers are inferior to 'Chinese mothers' (but feel better about it)

I am the child of Western parents. According to a recent piece in the Wall Street Journal by Amy Chua, Western parents are mistakenly fixated on tending to their children's fragile psyches, in consequence wreaking more havoc than they...

By Alexandra Petri  | January 11, 2011; 6:02 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (11)
Categories:  Epic Failures, Petri, That's awkward  | Tags:  art, kids these days, science  
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Ted Williams detained by LAPD: Why we care

(Ted Williams YouTube screengrab) Ted Williams, the homeless man turned sportscaster by the power of the Internet and his "golden voice," is the story that has taken the nation hostage and refuses to let go. He's the houseguest of...

By Alexandra Petri  | January 11, 2011; 12:12 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (1)
Categories:  Petri, Seems Suspect  | Tags:  America, Ted Williams, celebrity  
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EVERYONE NEEDS TO STOP YELLING AT US TO KEEP IT DOWN

Everyone is shouting. It starts innocently enough. You see someone else shouting. "Stop shouting!" you say. He doesn't stop. "Stop shouting!" you insist, more loudly. "You need to stop shouting and be quiet!" Suddenly you find that you are shouting,...

By Alexandra Petri  | January 11, 2011; 9:18 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (1)
Categories:  Epic Failures, Petri, Reality? Television, Worst Things Ever  | Tags:  America, Glenn Beck, Keith Olbermann, Sarah Palin, censorship, media, the power of myth  
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The Great Gatsby in 3D? Yes, please!

There are rumors that Baz Luhrmann is thinking of filming his movie version of the Fitzgerald classic The Great Gatsby -- starring Carey Mulligan, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Tobey Maguire -- in 3D! This is a great idea! I want to...

By Alexandra Petri  | January 10, 2011; 3:32 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (7)
Categories:  Petri, That's awkward, Worst Things Ever  | Tags:  art, books, bow ties, oops  
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Giffords shooter Jared Lee Loughner's YouTube message to the world

This weekend, the New York Times focused on the idea of the digital afterlife -- what becomes of our Online Presence when we shuffle off our mortal coils? But in the aftermath of the Tucson shooting, another question emerges:...

By Alexandra Petri  | January 10, 2011; 1:57 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (6)
Categories:  Big Deals, Only on the Internet, Petri  | Tags:  America, YouTube, online comments, scary  
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