Americans are constantly in search of an upgrade. It's a sickness that's infused into our blood, a dissatisfaction with the ordinary that's instilled in us from childhood. Instead of staying connected to the divine beauty and grace of everyday existence -- the glimmer of sunshine on the grass, the…

Sign up for the Gawker.TV Daily and get one great story in your inbox each day. Join Gawker.TV on Facebook. Click "Like" to get the most important stories in your News Feed. The season four premiere of Mad Men is just a few days away and the whole world is giddy in anticipation. Need a refresher? We…

May 9, 2010 | by jessethorn | Permalink In honor of Mothers’ Day, a reprint of a piece I originally wrote for my mom’s birthday about six months ago. (me and my mom, 1981) My mom’s current (modest) salary, as a Junior College professor, is the most she’s made in her life, and living alone in San…

It fell to Barack Obama, as is often the case, to identify the problem. But, as is often the case, he had no solution. Speaking in Strasbourg, France, deep in the subsidized heartlands of the European Union in April last year, Obama deplored a growing mutual antipathy, bordering on open hostility,…

- - - - Sleuthers, emerald miners, etc! The time has never been better to buy the infamous Clock Without a Face—our home-plate-shaped board book that holds the clues to the whereabouts of actual treasure buried in the actual ground. Usually, it's $19.95. But today, for you: $15. - - - - - - - - I…

In 2007, the iPhone was truly revolutionary and everyone was just grateful to have them at all. Every June since, there’s been a new model. Apple typically kept adding features like 3G, GPS, the ability to run third-party apps … features that seemed thrilling and exotic within the context of the…

This originally appeared at The Monkey Cage: We’ll probably never know what exactly went down between Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James as they made their final decisions about where to play next year, but according to the media, it was certainly all LeBron all the time. But what about…

Since the launch of the App Store, there’s been continuous discussion (and quite a few complaints) about the very low average price of apps. The complaints have mostly come from software developers, w

When it comes to covering technology, there are some things that I just assume everyone knows, and don’t even bother explaining them. It’s something we nerds need to learn, that not everyone is like us. In fact, we’re more unlike them than they are unlike us. Every time there’s an Instapaper update,…

ryanirelan: Brilliant essay on Maradona and #ARG http://j.mp/bx6AnZ

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Sallust, the Roman historian who made his name by connecting great events to the moral outlook of the people involved in them, said it more than 2,000 years ago: “The golden age is before us, not behind us.” Twenty centuries later, we still don’t seem to have learned his epigrammatic lesson: We—both…

The Commonwealth Fund is out with a new report showing that the United States spends twice as much as any other country on health care, but still has a system with unbearably low quality, efficiency and equality standards: The Commonwealth Fund is out with a new report showing that the United States…

What bees and dented cars can teach about what it means to be poor - and the flaws of economics.

How should you spend your time off? Believe it or not, science has some answers.

Posted By Duncan On June 1, 2010 @ 3:59 am In Work | 3 Comments Posted By Duncan On June 1, 2010 @ 3:59 am In Work | 3 Comments Posted By Duncan On June 1, 2010 @ 3:59 am In Work | 3 Comments By Max Fawcett – Illustration by Yarek Wazu [1]It seems almost incomprehensible to me now, like waking up…