Gawker

Etan Patz Murder Update: Suspect Arrested [Etan Patz]

Caity Weaver — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:52:00 EDT

The New York Times reports that police have now arrested Pedro Hernandez, the man who earlier confessed to choking 6-year-old Etan Patz to death in 1979, on charges of second degree murder. More »

Food Critics Are Worthless [Shit List]

Drew Magary — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:20:00 EDT

For some reason, I decided to torture myself the other day by reading Pete Wells' four-star review of Le Bernardin in the New York Times. The Times sent Wells there to reaffirm that Le Bernardin is a really good place to eat and — SURPRISE! — it still is. Not that you'll ever be able to afford to eat there. There are only three people who can afford to eat at a place like Le Bernardin: Rich assholes, food critics, and other chefs who run other restaurants that only serve rich assholes, food critics, and other chefs. Here is a glimpse of Wells eating like a goddamn king: More »

Kanye West Just Premiered a Short Film Experience at Cannes. Here's What You Need to Know About It. [Kanye West]

Caity Weaver — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:56:33 EDT

Kanye West debuted a 26-minute film titled Cruel Summer at Cannes Wednesday night. He is credited as a writer, producer, and director on the project. Here's what you need to know about it: More »

Behold the London Olympics' Creepy 'Brand Exclusion Zone' [Olympics]

Adrian Chen — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:34:25 EDT

Everyone knows the London Olympics is going to be an advertising shit-show. But a full understanding of the Olympics' all-enveloping corporate embrace requires a trip into the "Brand Exclusion Zone," a desolate region of London where only Official Olympic Sponsors can survive. More »

Propaganda Contractor Admits to Running Smear Campaign Against USA Today Reporters [Smears]

John Cook — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:17:38 EDT

Camille Chidiac, the minority owner of Leonie Industries, which we identified last month as the Pentagon information operations contractor that ran an operation against two critical journalists, has admitted playing a role in the subterfuge. More »

Unabomber Sorry He Can't Make Harvard Class Reunion But He's Still In Prison [Unabomber]

Neetzan Zimmerman — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:17:20 EDT

Ted Kaczynski, better known to mail recipients everywhere as the Unabomber, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing three people and injuring nearly two dozen others, so it came as little surprise to his former Harvard classmates that he was unable to attend their 50th class reunion. More »

Nicole Kidman Will Semi-Erotically Pee on Zac Efron in Actual Scene from Actual Movie that Is Real [Pee]

Max Read — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:17:20 EDT

Clockwork ballerinas Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron are starring in a new movie called The Paperboy, directed by Precious' Lee Daniels; it just premiered at Cannes, and Vulture's Kyle Buchanan saw it. Tell us, Kyle, what was the best part? Was it... the part where Nicole Kidman pees all over Zac Efron? More »

Man Picks Up Beer, Walks Away Unhurt After Getting Run Over by Train [Lucky To Be Alive]

Neetzan Zimmerman — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:55:00 EDT

Canadian Pacific Rail employees searching for an Alberta man who had just been run over by a train were shocked to find him unhurt underneath the 26th car. More »

Riff Raff's Got a Record Deal: Making Sense of the Most Viral Human Being in Music [Video]

David Shapiro — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:50:34 EDT

One night last week, Houston rapper/viral phenomenon Riff Raff was sitting in my living room in Brooklyn, eating a bag of Wise BBQ potato chips. The day before, he'd flown to Daytona Beach, Fla., to shoot a music video with 19-year-old viral rap ingénue Kitty Pryde, and now he was in New York to do photo shoots and interviews for two major rap magazines. He was scheduled to play The Bamboozle festival in New Jersey the following day. He sat on the couch next to the two attractive women that he'd brought with him—"my girl and her friend," he explained—and while his girl's friend rolled a small joint, Riff Raff and I played NBA Street Vol. 2 on my PlayStation 2. More »

Reagan Blood Auction Called Off, Seller Will Donate Vial After All [Blood Donation]

Neetzan Zimmerman — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:35:30 EDT

Well, so much for cloning Ronald Reagan in my basement. More »

Internet Mascot Maru turns Five, Celebrates by Being Cute [Video]

Neetzan Zimmerman — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:05:00 EDT

Marvel Invents New Hearing-Impaired Superhero for Child Who Refuses to Wear Hearing Aid [Heartwarming]

Neetzan Zimmerman — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:25:00 EDT

After her four-year-old son Anthony told her he didn't want to wear his hearing aid to school anymore because "superheroes don't wear hearing aids," Christina D'Allessandro wrote Marvel asking if there was a hearing-impaired superhero she could use to prove Anthony wrong. More »

Worst Roommates Ever Arrested For Terrifying 'Marathon Torture Session' of Newbie Roommate [Psychopaths]

Jessica Benjestorf — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:05:00 EDT

Ah Utah. Always upping the ante on truly abominable, horrifying things. More »

Oh God Jennifer Holliday What Are You Doing [Video]

Rich Juzwiak — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:58:13 EDT

The Pap Problem; or, How to Not Write Like Mary Elizabeth Williams [Opinions]

Hamilton Nolan — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:48:27 EDT

The thing that every "Life" or "Style" or "Pop culture" columnist must keep in mind at all times is that the things they write about are not important. (I include much of Gawker.com's content in this sweeping generalization.) These types of columnists do not write about economic policy, or international relations, or genocide or poverty or war. They just write about the latest bit of eye-catching news-lite distraction, like everybody else on the internet. Because of this, there is absolutely no excuse for these pap columnists not to take a firm stand on the "issues." Because it doesn't matter! More »

Husband Leaves Wife Because Her 550 Cats Kept Stealing His Food [Crazy Cat Lady]

Neetzan Zimmerman — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:35:00 EDT

In divorce papers filed with a Rabbinical Court in the southern Israeli town of Beersheba, a man claimed living with his wife has become unbearable ever since she took in some 550 cats. More »

Boy on Toddlers & Tiaras Is Possessed by a Creepy Little Devil [Video]

Rich Juzwiak — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:20:57 EDT

Andy Samberg was Harvard's 2012 Class Day Speaker [Video]

Neetzan Zimmerman — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:11:55 EDT

How Your TED Talks Get Made [Ted]

Adrian Chen — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:06:13 EDT

The internet is enraptured by those knowledge suppositories known as TED talks. Mostly because the slick 18-minute YouTube lectures about Big Ideas let procrastinating office workers pretend they're doing something productive by watching them. But how are TED talks made? Here is a peek inside the searing forge fire mind of a TED presenter. More »

Bodybuilders Are Weird [I Of The Tiger]

Hamilton Nolan — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:05:00 EDT

In the world of "fitness," there are a few distinct "tribes" that you see everywhere: the "weekend warriors," who come and go with the seasons; the "health nuts," always on that treadmill and drinking the soy milk shakes; and then the real life bodybuilders, who are, to a person, bizarre, inhuman freakazoids. (Not saying that in a judgmental way.) More »

Ohio Man Fined for Littering After Money Handed to Panhandler Accidentally Falls to the Ground [Wtf]

Neetzan Zimmerman — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:52:45 EDT

John Davis of Elyira says he was pulled over by a Cleveland Police officer and given a ticket for littering after one of the two dollars he gave a wheelchair-bound panhandler was accidentally dropped. More »

Here Is the Funniest and Creepiest Stock Video of All Time [Stock Photos]

Max Read — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:23:55 EDT

Buzzfeed's Keith Hernandez flags this Getty stock video, entitled "DOLLY: Successful business." Is this where Herman Cain got the idea for this? Tags include "Cooperation," "Partnership," "Females" and "Adults Only." [via Getty Premium] More »

UPDATE: Police Claim a Confession in Etan Patz Case [Crime]

John Cook — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:10:00 EDT

It looks like there is yet another lead in the 1979 disappearance of Etan Patz: New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly announced today that NYPD detectives had obtained an incriminating statement from a new suspect. More »

Toddler Rides Toy Scooter Through Busy Chinese Intersection [Video]

Neetzan Zimmerman — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:05:00 EDT

How the Most Adorable White House Photo Ever Came to be Taken [Backstory]

Neetzan Zimmerman — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:40:55 EDT

Revealed in yesterday's New York Times is the backstory to one of the more iconic White House photos shot by resident photographer Pete Souza: President Obama's hair being stroked by then-five-year-old Jacob Philadelphia. More »

The Great GoogaMooga Disaster Was Worth It, If Only for This Incredible Fake Menu (UPDATE) [Check This Out]

Neetzan Zimmerman — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:15:00 EDT

By most accounts, last weekend's inaugural Great GoogaMooga Festival sucked the great googamooga. More »

Let's Take a Moment to Reflect Upon How Horrific Mexico Has Become [Mexico]

Hamilton Nolan — Thu, 24 May 2012 09:59:16 EDT

Sometimes when you wake up in your nice comfortable (or at least reasonably comfortable) bed in your nice (or at least moderately serviceable) house or apartment here in the United States of America, it is useful to take a moment to reflect upon how fortunate we all are, by comparing ourselves to those in countries that may be our geographic neighbors, but whose state of life is quite different. One good way to do this is simply by taking in this, the very first paragraph from a Washington Post story by William Booth today: More »

'Shticky' Ukrainian Reporter Who Kissed Will Smith Blames the Actor: 'He Moved His Head So Fast' [Video]

Neetzan Zimmerman — Thu, 24 May 2012 09:40:00 EDT

Bill Clinton Caught on Camera Hanging Out with Porn Stars at a Monte Carlo Casino [Bill Clinton]

Neetzan Zimmerman — Thu, 24 May 2012 09:20:00 EDT

Say what you will about Bill Clinton, but the man knows how to be a retired president. More »

Do Try This At Home: How To Make Vietnamese Coffee [Video]

Neetzan Zimmerman — Thu, 24 May 2012 08:46:45 EDT

You Will Never Not Be Watching The Olympics This Summer [Television]

Caity Weaver — Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Remember in 2008, when the Summer Olympics in Beijing took over television? More »

Bow Before Your New Idol, America [American Idol]

Caity Weaver — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:12:00 EDT

This young man, Leesburg, Georgia native Phillip Phillips, has just been crowned the new winner of American Idol, Season 11. More »

India Legalizes 'The Most Dangerous Game' [India]

Caity Weaver — Wed, 23 May 2012 22:20:00 EDT

India has taken inspiration from Richard Connell's 1924 short story "The Most Dangerous Game," in an effort to aid in population control. More »

Men Like Their Women Like They Like Their Coffee: Sleepy, Dumb, and with Lots of Slutty Friends [Men]

Caity Weaver — Wed, 23 May 2012 21:00:00 EDT

Slate Magazine featured a write-up Wednesday of two recent studies out of University of Texas-Austin that suggest the hottest thing a woman can do (in the eyes of a gentleman on the prowl for a one-night stand) is look sleepy, drunk, and/or unintelligent. More »

Government Bans Fly Orgies in Beijing Public Restrooms [Beijing]

Caity Weaver — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:00:00 EDT

Chinese flies looking to build a beautiful life for themselves in the public toilets of Beijing were dealt a crushing blow earlier this week, after government officials rolled out a new set of sanitation guidelines including a "two fly-maximum" rule for restrooms. More »