Hey folks, apologies for the brevity of the posts lately. I’m actually working on an entirely new longform platform for you so you’ll have to excuse the infrequent posts here for a bit. Thanks for following along, I’ll be back...

Hey kids, smoking crack is not a good use of your time or talent. “Whitney Houston is dead at 48 years old. The superstar singer and actress’s publicist, Kristin Foster, broke the news of Houston’s passing to the AP. She was found and pronounced dead at the Beverly Hilton...

Sunday Brunch, Happy Birthday, Abe! edition. Now then, three of my personal #longform picks to read while you’re debating how honest you were this weekend in comparison to ‘ol Abe. 1) Whoa. Georgia’s highest court concluded Monday that a state law restricting assisted suicides...

O my. “Former Red Sox pitcher Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd says he probably pitched under the influence of cocaine “at every ballpark” during his 10-year career. “There wasn’t one ballpark that I probably didn’t stay up all night, until 4 or 5 in the...

Snake oil? “Scientists want you to think twice before doubling down on online dating services. A new study published in the upcoming issue of Psychological Science in the Public Interest is shedding light on the science – or lack thereof – behind online dating services....

Enter Jeremy Lin. “”Linsanity” is the word in New York with what undrafted, Harvard-educated, former Development League guard Jeremy Lin — the NBA‘s first American-born Chinese or Taiwanese player — is doing to spark the Knicks. In his last two games, with more...

Who is Taylor Wilson? “The Obama administration is investigating new ways to detect nuclear threats, get portable relief shelters into disaster zones and improve the genetics of sheep — thanks to the next generation of scientists. Those were among the projects President Obama...

It’s been a long time in the making. “An Austrian adventurer planning the highest skydive in history has announced that he will make the record attempt later this year. Felix Baumgartner will jump from a balloon 36.5km (120,000ft) up, where a leak in his pressurised suit could...

For real, for real. “Ricky Williams is retiring from the NFL. Again. This time, however, it appears to be for good. The 34-year-old Williams told the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday he won’t be back to fulfill the second year of a contract he signed in August. Playing as a backup...

That’s deep. ”Russian scientists have drilled into an Antarctic lake that has been sealed off from the rest of the world for about 15 million years. Sampling the waters of Lake Vostok could reveal clues about the evolution of life on Earth and may yield entirely unknown forms...

“Georgia’s highest court concluded Monday that a state law restricting assisted suicides violated free speech rights, a ruling that destroyed a long-running criminal case against members of a suicide group and could reshape the state’s end-of-life policy. The Georgia Supreme...

Sunday Brunch, Superbowl Sunday edition. Sorry for the lack of posts, I’ve been way under the weather (and blankets) all week. Back to your regularly scheduled programming next week. Now then, three of my personal #longform picks to read while you’re watching Tom Brady get sacked. 1)...

Some people have to deal with their demons in public. ”Texas Rangers outfielder and recovering drug addict Josh Hamilton said Friday that he had a relapse that started with “three or four” drinks at a Dallas-area bar this week, apologizing for a “weak moment”...

“Anyone who has been outside in the last week might not have needed a groundhog to tell them this, but Staten Island Chuck went ahead and did it anyway — spring is coming. “Six more weeks of sun and warm weather,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said as he hoisted the rodent...

If you’re younger than 18 or have a child that is, pay attention. “A California college has admitted that one of its officials inflated its SAT scores for six years to boost the school’s place in annual college rankings. The president of Claremont McKenna, a small private...

This might break the ‘all publicity is good publicity’ rule. “Tracy Morgan ’s mother is about to lose her house — and she says her multimillionaire son won’t help her. Alicia Warden, who lives in northeast Ohio (and spoke on the condition we not reveal the exact...

Presented without comment. “No longer dusty, out-of-the-way haunts, dollar stores have grown into a $56 billion industry, a 43 percent increase since 1998, according to the industry research firm IBISWorld. One of the few niches of retail expanding in a dim economy, the dollar store...

Those numbers look awfully suspicious. “Some 12.3 million passengers sailed on U.S. cruise ships in 2011 — but there were only 16 serious crimes reported as investigated and cleared by the FBI last year, igniting concern on Capitol Hill that attacks and sexual assaults on the high...