YOUNG PEOPLE ARE THE FUTURE

A 26-year-old has been hired as managing editor of The New Yorker.

Amelia Lester, a Sydney native with a Harvard degree, used to be a fact-checker at the publication who checked all-star writers Sy Hersh and Jane Mayer, The New York Observer reported last Thursday, Aug. 27.

She’s replacing Kate Julian, who is moving to Washington, D.C., where her husband just got a job.

GTA FOR REAL

In one of the most violent cities in the world, a law has been proposed to ban violent videogames and toys.

Reuters reported last week that in Caracas, Venezuela, a bill is making its way through the legislative process in an attempt to curb crime. So while you might be shot in a cell phone theft, you won’t be able re-enact the crime on your X-Box.

There are nearly 100 reported murders per 100,000 inhabitants in Caracas, and that rate is only second to Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. The bill prohibits the sale and purchase of violent merchandise across the board, unlike legislation in other parts of the world where the sale of violent games is age-restricted.

THE GEOGRAPHY OF VICE

Kansas State University has mapped American sin. According to the Las Vegas Sun, geographers have measured the seven deadly sins and produced maps exposing the most sinful places in America.

The data pulls together sources from crime, business and health. Most highlighted are urban centers, based around New York and Los Angeles, though Texas is big on gluttony (calculated by fast food restaurants per capita) and Florida is big on envy (theft).

Lust is mapped according to instances of sexually transmitted disease, and ironically the so-called “Bible Belt” is most concentrated in this sin.

The maps are colour coded – green for envy, red for wrath. I wonder what colour Alberta would be?

A ROOM WITH A VIEW

The latest peep-show in New York isn’t in a seedy dive, it’s a five-star hotel where Calvin Klein parties.

The New York Post reported this week that a new hotel in New York’s meat packing district is promoting itself as an opportunity for guests’ exhibitionism. The Standard Hotel features floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook a new city park, but apparently the windows are more for the interior view. The hotel is making a name for itself as a venue for public sex performed by naughty guests for all passerby to observe.

Everything from masturbation to professional porn shoots have been reported by binocular-toting park visitors. Apparently the hotel more or less encouraged the behavior, until the press gave them a scare and they took down a website endorsement for “sex all the time, and you’re the star.”

It’ll set you back at least $320 to put on your own show, so why not just get it on in Times Square? I’m sure the misdemeanor fine is less than $200.

Published in Volume 64, Number 1 of The Uniter (September 3, 2009)