LARRY ROIBAL

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From athe angelic Corot “Portrait of a Girl” springs a mystery filled with corruption, shady characters and alleged drunken debauchery.

This story caught my eye yesterday, but it’s getting better.

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Ivan Nova has been in the Yankees minor league system for the past six years having signed as an undrafted free agent in 2004. In his first two starts in the majors the 23 year old has given the Yanks a badly needed shot of adrenaline, going 2-0.

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In his short life, Satoshi Kon was an illustrator, comic book artist, magazine editor, screenwriter, animator, and director of animated films. Tuesday he lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 46.

Have a look at some of the most imaginative imagery on film.

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A recipe from the acclaimed chef of Alto, Convivio and Marea, Michael White.

Click here for recipe: Garganelli With Ragu Antica

From todays NYT

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Here’s an issue that you would think Lazio would like to raise. Did Cuomo, while the head of HUD, put ideology ahead of good fiscal policy when they set goals for lower income home ownership? And did said goals contribute to the sub-prime mortgage crisis that devastated our economy and cost New Yorker so may jobs?

The fact that the Bush administration raised the goals and deepened the exposer to Fannie and Freddie will ensure that we will continue to hear about Islamic Centers.

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“Let me be clear. I have never taken steroids or HGH,”

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As part of his prize for winning the Bravo reality show, “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist” Abdi Farah’s show “Work of Art: Abdi Farah”, opened at the Brooklyn Museum.

Abdi is a 22 year old, likable, talented young artist, and having watched a few episodes of the Work of Art, he seemed to be the only one who could draw and paint. So, if someone had to win, I’m pleased it was a traditional artist. But is the work that he completed in the 3 month window imposed by the reality show worthy of a solo exhibition in a major museum?

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It’s well documented that Lou Gehrig suffered many concussions playing ball. Now a study shows that brain trauma can mimic ALS or Lou Grehrig’s Disease.

See todays NYT article.

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The new home to the football Giants and Jets opened last night for an exhibition game. The designers of the stadium had to be neutral in their color choices out of respect for the two teams that will call it home. The Times describes it as Switzerland, that gains it’s life from the fans sporting the colors of their respective teams. But before the fans were able to breath life into the stadium, it took many hard working, dedicated people to build it.

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General David Petraeus is on a campaign to regain public support for the mission in Afghanistan.

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11 years in a Russian prison camp, swapped for 10 Russian sleeper agents by a US president, and he still says he’s not a spy.

Somehow, this doesn’t add up. Stay tuned.

In todays NYT

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R.I.P. Glen D. Lapp, Tom Little, Dr. Karen Woo, Brian Carderelli, Mahram Ali. Ahmed Jawed, Cheryl Beckett, Dr. Thomas L. Gram, Dan Terry and Daniela Beyer.

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Alex Rodriguez became the 7th player in major league history to hit 6oo home runs.

Check out this Zapruderesque recording by a couple of lucky kids at the game.

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Green Mountain Coffee, an eco-friendly company, wrestles with questions about it’s non-recyclable, non-biodegradable, single-use coffee pods.

Read the article in todays NY

Full discloser: We have both a traditional coffee maker and a Keurig on our kitchen counter. It’s convenient for that afternoon cup when you don’t want to put on a whole pot. We buy Green Mountain Coffee Pods and enjoy their product but I do hope they come up with a greener packaging solution.

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The Sing Along With Mitch TV show aired from 1961-66. Of course it was on past my bedtime, so I never did get to see it live. But my parents must have been fans because they had his albums and I remember breaking them out at Christmas time, looking at the liner notes and yes, singing along.

He was 99.

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Sing Along

I remember this record

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Being the White House press secretary is a tough job.

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I applaud Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera for rejecting a request by the Catholic Church to pardon imprisoned military personnel that served during Pinochet’s rule. It’s hard to understand why the Catholic Church was championing those responsible for the killing or disappearance of over three thousand people and the torture of tens of thousands, including former President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet.

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Governor Chris Christie is betting on Atlantic City to come back, but will end the subsidies for New Jersey horse racing.

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An Agricultural Department director of rural development in Georgia helped a farmer to save his family’s farm. Imagine.

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Day after day, week after week, year after year, the stories arrive on our doorsteps: high unemployment, partisan bickering, natural disasters, corporate greed, oil spills, deepening recession, government debt, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Thank you Star Ledger for publishing today’s profile of Dr. Megan Coffee. It gives me hope that there is still good in the world.

Read it HERE

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As the recession deepens dems look to extend unemployment benefits.

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Oosthuizen dominated the oldest tournament in professional golf, becoming the 150th British Open champion. He’s the fourth South African to win the title. Tiger finished thirteen strokes back in 23rd place.

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Her bid to become the Republican nominee for the US Senate seat from Connecticut is forcing Linda McMahon to defend the policies of the $1.2 billion wrestling empire she built with her husband Vince.

In todays NYT

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The new media moguls aren’t measured by net worth and listed in Forbes magazine, they’re measured by traffic and followers and are on the A list of the twitter class.

Read todays NYT profile.

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As a fan I appreciated George’s drive to win, but I didn’t have to work for him

Harvey Green, a former Yankee PR guy, suffered the wrath of George many times having been fired by him on four occasions. Of his years with the Yankees he said “The phone would ring in the middle of the night and you knew it was either Mr. Steinbrenner or an illness in the family. After a while, you started to root for an illness in the family.”

George hired and fired Billy Martin five times.

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George Steinbrenner had to be the best at everything. When he was mean and insensitive, he was the meanest, most insensitive. When he made stupid baseball decisions, they seemed the stupidest. But when he bought a baseball team, he bought the best, got the best deal and always wanted to put the best team on the field. As a Yankee fan, I thank him for that.

RIP Mr. Steinbrenner

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The NT Times paints a picture of a company driven to maximize profits by cutting corners ignoring safety.
Read the article.

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Baseball, green grass, pinstripes, peanuts, cold beer, and Bob Sheppard… I can’t think of one without thinking of the others. For more than half a century he was the public address announcer at Yankee Stadium. It was his deliberate, precise voice that welcomed you to the stadium and announced your favorite players coming to bat. Always the position, jersey number, name and finally repeating the number. He was an original.

RIP Mr. Sheppard. He was 99.

Watch HERE

and HERE

Over at the brilliant Alex Belth’s Bronx Banter, Yankee Stadium weekend organist Ed Alstrom remembers the great Bob Sheppard. Click HERE

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Keeping the British invasion theme going from yesterday. Queen Elizabeth II braved 100 degree temperatures yesterday in her first visit to New York in more than fifty years. She addressed the United nations and visited ground zero.

Tomorrow Ringo Starr reaches his 70th birthday… and all he had to do was act naturally. Happy Birthday Ringo!

Watch him HERE becoming a big star

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Lobbyist Tony Podesta’s job, as he sees it, is to dole out “information” to our leaders so they can make “informed” decisions regarding the fate of his clients. And business is booming for The Podesta Group, earning $25.7 million last year from a clients list that includes BP, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Wal-Mart, American Coalition for Clean Coal, Harrah’s Entertainment, and Google.

NYT article

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Larry King announced his retirement. In an age when media personalities die with a mike in their hand. At 76, people are taking note that he’s getting out while he’s practically middle aged (by Washington standards.)

Okay, so he admits that he once smoked up to three packs of cigarettes a day, ate all the wrong foods and never exercised, he could live to be 152.

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A former White House Council and one time member of the Democratic National Committee agrees to rehabilitate the public image of one of the most corrupt, oppressive and undemocratic rulers in the world, for one million dollars a year.

The NYT article

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Reposted doodle from July 09

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I thought the funniest line in the 80’s movie “The Big Chill” was delivered by Jeff Goldblum’s character: a writer for a glossy magazine. He said his magazine’s editorial policy was not to write anything longer than the average person could read during the average crap.

That’s why when Rolling Stone announced it’s redesign in o8 would have the mag looking more like it competition, I cringed. I really thought it was the death knell for the great magazine known for it’s in depth … Continue Reading