The Hungry Hungry Hipster.

Hipster 2.0 is here.

2007-11-11T23:31:00.000-05:00

So, I've decided to convert this blog into a weird-news blog because - well, frankly, there is no because. I've got the space. You, apparently have the time on your hands. So let's make fun of some sick, sad, stupid people together.Where to start? Oh, so many choices. How about...Here?Gift horse surprises girl after pony mutilation(This, by the way? Not at all funny, and weird only in a

FSU student diagnosed with meningitis.

2007-08-27T17:57:00.000-05:00

Tallahassee Democrat, page 1BDec. 17, 2006by Adam WeinsteinDEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER As thousands of friends and family members converged on Tallahassee Saturday for FSU’s commencement exercises, university officials announced that a student living on campus was diagnosed with contagious bacterial meningitis earlier in the week. “Individuals who were in closest contact with this

What a news day.

2007-08-18T19:51:00.000-05:00

Huh. Interesting weekend so far. I did more journalism today than in my first two days of J-school. And I did it all from my porch.First, there was the dog on 149th Street. Walking down Broadway to the subway, I notice an NYPD auxiliary standing in the street over this curly-haired, limping dog. Turns out the dog had darted across the street and been clipped in his rear legs by a passing car.

Our town: SoHo of the South

2007-08-18T00:54:00.000-05:00

Tallahassee Democrat, Aug. 11, 2006By Adam WeinsteinI had a revelation at lunch the other day.I was sitting in a little bagel joint near Lake Ella, mentally mapping out the responsibilities of a new job here at the Democrat, when I noticed three older working men enjoying their morning coffee at the next table. These guys wore jeans, faded T-shirts, ripped ballcaps and an impressive volume of

9/11: In the terror, we find connections

2007-08-18T00:45:00.000-05:00

Tallahassee Democrat, Monday, Sep. 11, 2006In the terror, we find connectionsBy Adam WeinsteinEveryone has a 9/11 story. Mine has a difference or two.You see, the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 saved my grandmother's life. I haven't told that story much in the past five years. But I want to tell it now.Sept. 11 was a Tuesday, the second day of my senior year at Columbia University. It was warm and

Here's one gang that's out to take your money

2007-07-01T20:09:00.000-05:00

Tallahassee Democrat, June 23, 2007Here's one gang that's out to take your moneyBy Adam WeinsteinI grew up in South Florida, where there are gang shootings in shopping malls and you make a point of avoiding certain neighborhoods. At my inner-city high school, dice games in the hall sometimes ended in stabbings, and you could always buy an assortment of drugs in the bus lot at lunch time. Compared

Gun control: The juvenile and pointless debate continues

2007-07-01T20:05:00.000-05:00

Tallahassee Democrat, May 21, 2007Gun control: The juvenile and pointless debate continuesBy Adam WeinsteinMy father is a gun nut. He collects them, new ones and old ones, and he derives unfathomable glee from shooting, cleaning and studying them. Thanks to him, I can field-strip an M-16, shoot a Winchester '86 and tell the difference between a matchlock and a flintlock.But when I turned 21 and

Freedom doesn't march

2007-07-01T18:44:00.000-05:00

Tallahassee Democrat, Nov.19, 2006, page E5By Adam WeinsteinMore than a week has passed since the big shake-up on Capitol Hill and the news that Donald Rumsfeld is out as secretary of defense. The departure of "the Don" is getting rave reviews all around, especially here in the mostly blue city of Tallahassee.But we still have a problem, folks. A big one.Sure, it's a relief to most of us that

NY Times: Pace is out at JCS.

2007-06-08T15:11:00.000-05:00

So the word is out: Marine Gen. Peter Pace is done as chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Which renders obsolete, before it got picked up for publication, this news story that I wrote on Wednesday:"Missteps by general raise concerns that, in the military, free speech is a right for the few, the proud, the high-ranking" Few convicted felons could count on the admiration of as many luminaries as

Comfort the comfortable.

2007-06-05T13:46:00.000-05:00

An old adage in journalism says that your job should be "to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." Yet here's one Sun-Sentinel journalist's account of how the paper's new leadership set its repertorial priorities:"snippets of reader interviews were shown ... informing us that predominantly white, overweight people want more stories about local restaurants, water restrictions, gas

A letter to my friend at the crappy local newspaper.

2007-06-05T13:27:00.000-05:00

Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2007 14:08:14 -0400From: aw333@columbia.eduTo: ******@sun-sentinel.comSubject: Good Lord. Maybe it's good that print news is dying. Well, I suppose it was time for the obligatory annual "Hi ******, remember me?" email anyway. I was just talking with ^^^^^ and +++++, both of whom you may not remember... I'd caught up with them at last summer's Ely HS 10-year reunion. I went so

Hipster, version 2.1

2007-06-05T13:14:00.000-05:00

We-he-he-ell, now that I am an ex-employee of the Tallahassee Democrat and its parent, Gannett, I have recovered my lame blog from its industrial limbo and decided to put something - anything - up. This summer, it'll probably just be a depository of random observations and an occasional travelogue. But come August, when I move back to Manhattan for journalism school, I'll keep a blow-by-blow and

(Bleep) in a box!

2007-01-04T13:11:00.000-05:00

For those of you who spent the holidays under a rock or in a bottle, you probably missed all of Internet geekdom's viral excitement over this SNL musical sketch with Justin "I'm about to break out the acting!" Timberlake, officially entitled "A Special Christmas Box." It's a slick R&B riff about a special holiday gift, and the versatility of said gift - you can give it for Christmas, Hanukkah,

This just in: Motorcycles aren't that hip!

2006-12-27T22:49:00.000-05:00

Dear hipsters: Having been inspired by the crass commercialism of the holiday season, I’ve decided to chronicle a few high-priced entry points our peers use to prove their hip credentials, starting today with motorcycles. Here’s a brief history of the biker culture, and even a little advice for those seeking a quick route to hipness on a hog.Any suggestions for future hip topics? Leave a comment

Jeb... the good neighbor?

2006-12-16T00:37:00.000-05:00

Folks: I need your help.I need stories! Let me explain:Since I was a young pup studying AP American history in high school, there's been one seeming constant in my life:Jeb.For, you see, ever since that fall of '94, John Ellis Bush has either been running for something - or actually has been running something - in our sunny state. And, like him or hate him, he's been such a fixture for such an

Breaking News: Kids have sex in college!

2006-12-09T14:17:00.000-05:00

So the FSView recently reprinted a New York Daily News article about how my beloved and expensive alma mater, Columbia University in the City of New York, is in fact a house o' learnin' for perverts and sexually promiscuous liberal weenies. As evidence the NYDN reporter cites a bunch of nude soirees, some piped-in porn and the Columbia administration’s hands-off attitude.A couple of responses pop

Did you miss the punk summit?!

2006-12-06T17:11:00.000-05:00

I hereby declare 2006 to be The Year the Whippersnappers Learned Their Place. I have read the writing on the wall, and it states that listening to your elders is not as lame as previously reported. Just look at politics: George Bush Jr. got himself into a fine mess in Iraq, and he's turning to a gaggle of his

Quebec: Hip or Dip?

2006-12-03T03:26:00.000-05:00

Since I've developed a terrible malaise that renders me incapable of writing anything meaningful, I've decided to play a new game with my hipster's apprentices: 'Hip or Dip?' This is an occasional feature in which we will explore a place, issue or person to discern whether said entity is endowed with pure, concentrated hiptitude or is, in fact, just really dippy. Case in point: Quebec. Yes,

Pam Anderson and Kid Rock to divorce? Say it ain't so!

2006-11-28T02:54:00.000-05:00

Well, kiddies, if misery loves company, then I should be truly contented this week. First, I was joined by Kevin "She hate me" Federline in the "first male wives" club. Now comes the news, via the AP, that Kid Rock, too, has been kicked to the curb. Yes, it's true, dear readers. Pamela Anderson, the one-time heroine of Tool Time and fantasy girl of Borat Sadiyev, has had enough bawitdaba in her

Annual "BUY NOTHING DAY" is right around the corner!

2006-11-22T15:44:00.000-05:00

Well folks, if anything screams "pop culture" in our society today, it's the inexplicable urge to spend money on crap we don't need. But there's another way to go, and Black Friday - the fabled day after Thanksgiving that starts the onslaught of Christmas consumption for soccer moms, NASCAR dads, and Playstation punks nationwide - is a great time to start. That's because, since 1997, Black Friday

The Obligatory Britney/K-Fed Blog Post!

2006-11-16T02:06:00.000-05:00

One of my dear readers recently pointed out the lack of coverage of a certain Toxic pop songstress's recent decision to nix her nuptials... I speak, of course, of the Gulf Coast's own Brit Spears and her pirouetting trainwreck of a "baby daddy," Kevin "I wanna be a singer too!" Federline. This is a subject near and dear to my heart, dear readers, since the Hipster had a good relationship go bad

Borat, Fake Stuff, and Real Kazakhs!

2006-11-14T14:52:00.000-05:00

Sorry to go off the reservation and leave all three of you dedicated readers hanging here. The hipster broke out on a little spirit quest, and all it cost him was a month's time, a girlfriend, bail money, and his sanity. Just kidding, folks! About the last two, anyway. So what's new in Pop Wonderland? Honestly, I couldn't tell you, because I've just been too darned busy basking in the

Hipster's got the fever - the vinyl fever

2006-10-16T12:40:00.000-05:00

So about this time last year, I had to go out to California to do a thing. While I was there, I visited the original, very cool Tower Records on Hollywood and Vine. If you haven't heard already, Tower is liquidating its stock and closing its doors forever. Bur as sad as I am, I know that vinyl lives on. L.A. still has the hipster's Mecca, a warehouse of music, movies, and poptitude called

Pop! Goes the Hipster

2006-10-13T13:19:00.000-05:00

Hey, you. Yes, you. Are you hip? Do peers desperately seek out your opinion before buying the new Panic! at the Disco album, or a ninety-dollar Don Ed Hardy t-shirt with the rhinestone-studded snake tattoo monogram? Either way, I've got a secret to tell you: You can always be more hip. And that's where I come in. My father always told me that ninety percent of any job is