1. What do nymag.com commenters think of Jerry Brown, Meg Whitman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the California Dream, and Joe Hagan’s postcard from the Golden State (“The Return of Governor Moonbeam,” October 18)? A sampling of wildly divergent opinion: “Go Jerry!” “Jerry! Jerry!” “Good God. How many times do we have to endure Jerry Brown?” “Can’t the Dems come up with anybody better than this reprobate?” “I’ve never understood the antipathy toward Jerry Brown: He’s smart? He’s progressive? … Oh, it’s because he dated Linda Ronstadt 5,000 years ago.” “Brown needs a second chance to finish the job he started of destroying California.” “Of course there will be a learning curve—she is not a career politician like Jerry Brown—but [Whitman] is the best choice!” “I’m voting for the woman Brown’s camp calls a whore.” “I wonder how much these ‘pro-Meg’ comments cost. Ten dollars per word?” “For Governor Arnold to complain about the political process is either disingenuous or naïve. If he wanted to be a dictator he should have taken over a small Central American country or become governor of Arizona. Politics is messy and frustrating because people are messy and frustrating and sexy and cute and ugly and soulful.” “This self-indulgently written article is tripe.” “Very nice, fun, emotional impression of California politics.” “I think this is a wonderful article.” “Mr. Hagan, when you leave California, mop up your slime trail.” “California was unlivable over twenty years ago. Too much traffic, too many people, totally ungovernable.” “I see some Californians are still rooting for collective suicide.” “*sniff* I’m a firm believer in comebacks. It sucks right now, but it’ll get better.” “The sad thing is, a new governor isn’t going to change anything … Still, you’ll have to drag me out of this state when I’m dead.”
2. In the “Home Design, Fall 2010” feature, Wendy Goodman highlighted the apartments of seven New York families. “It’s a wonder anyone in the entire sprawling metropolis can hold their chin up with any modicum of dignity,” noted a blogger at Curbed. “Normal homes just seem so boring compared to the ones unearthed by Goodman. Speaking of—there’s nothing remotely boring about the kind of families featured. Rule No. 1 for being considered for editorial coverage: no nuclear families.” The blog Core77 was similarly intrigued by Goodman’s choice of families: “We’d love if they had included a multigenerational extended family, a family that splits time between two places, or two families that share one home. But the examples they chose are still pretty interesting, even if they chose to focus less on the changing form of the American family and more on … twins.” In general, the homes attracted both praise—“How cool is this?,” wrote the blog Brownstoner about Steve Burns’s bachelor pad; “astonishingly beautiful,” wrote a nymag.com commenter about the Upper East Side home of 2-year-old twins Bunny and Lulu—and envy. “It’s exciting to see but also painful to remind yourself that you will never ever have something that pretty,” sighed the blogger at Mommyshorts. “Each home inspires the kind of jealousy that makes me think I might not belong [in New York] after all. They’re not wondering if four people can live in a two-bedroom apartment. But at least I can feel secure knowing that if a porcelain bird were to ever fall off my marble mantelpiece onto my baby’s head, I would be within earshot to hear the screaming.”
3. Lizzy Goodman’s encounter with nineties alternative musicians Juliana Hatfield and Evan Dando (“171 Minutes With Evan Dando and Juliana Hatfield,” October 18) inspired pity from the rockers’ fans. “Some sad details in it, especially if you were part of the set that grew up worshipping one or both,” noted the blog Stereogum. “Back in the day [Dando] wrote a few of the better indie songs that captured a moment like very few others,” noted a commenter. “This article appears to just poke fun at him. There was a time when reporting on the concert and the condition of his apartment and his wacky political views would have been more subtle. It’s a shame.”
The Readers Vote: Most Viewed Homes
Which apartment did nymag.com’s readers find most interesting? The following chart breaks down where readers were clicking over the past week.
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