Alyssa Rosenberg writes about the launch of Bill Simmons' new site Grantland (a reference I presume to Grantland Rice, but I may be wrong.) It is a pretentious name for Simmmons, whose stuff I really really like, to adopt. And it justifies Rosenberg's observation:

The challenge Grantland faces, I think, is to convince readers that even though they might not be familiar with the subject of the piece, and even though it might take a serious chunk of time to read, it’s consistently worth the investment. Very, very few publications have that kind of pull: the New Yorker for one kind of audience, the New York Review of Books for another. If Grantland can become the first web-native publication to pull that feat off, it’ll be impressive.

As I wrote before, I really really like Simmons' work, but he's not going to produce that type of material, imo. His strengths, as I see them, are apparent in his column at espn.com and in his podcasts. Funny, quick and well paced. I do not think "30 for 30" is all that Simmons thinks it is. And it seems he might be going for a "30 for 30" vibe. In any event, Rosenberg does raise an interesting question - can longer form writing be successful commercially and creatively on the Web? Let's think about that on the flip.

Alyssa Rosenberg has a very good new blog at Think Progress on pop culture (before she guest posted on Matt Yglesias' blog.) This post on Shia LeBouef beefing with Megan Fox about Transformers hack director Michael Bay and feminism is a nice example of how Rosenberg can discuss inane subjects with great intelligence.

Imagine Transformers and feminism in the same sentence. Hard I know. But Rosenberg does it very well. Her site is an excellent addition to the Think Progress offerings.

Open Thread.

First female Executive Editor of the New Yorkl Times. But she might be a pagan:

Ms. Abramson said that as a born-and-raised New Yorker, she considered being named editor of The Times to be like "ascending to Valhalla." "In my house growing up, The Times substituted for religion,” she said. “If The Times said it, it was the absolute truth."

Valhalla? Substitute for religion? What's that all about? Snark. A great day for Ms. Abramson and a historic day for women at the Newspaper of Record. Congratulations to her and to the New York Times.

Speaking for me only

Bump and Update: Journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad has been found dead near Pakistan. His body showed signs of torture. R.I.P. Mr. Shazad.

Time Magazine asks: Was the ISI involved?

Original Post 5/30: Pakistani Journalist Feared Kidnapped by ISI

Syed Saleem Shahzad, Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief, and author of the newly released book, Inside al-Qaeda and the Taliban: Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11, has been missing since yesterday when he left his home to do a TV appearance and never got there. The Hindu Newspaper has more. [More...]

Via TPM:

MSNBC host Ed Schultz is known for his hyperbolic attacks on Republicans but it looks like he may have crossed the line on his show yesterday by labeling Laura Ingraham a "right wing slut." "President Obama is going to be visiting Joplin, Mo., on Sunday but you know what they're talking about, like this right-wing slut, what's her name?, Laura Ingraham?" he said on his radio show. "Yeah, she's a talk slut. You see, she was, back in the day, praising President Reagan when he was drinking a beer overseas. But now that Obama's doing it, they're working him over."

You know how I know it was sexist? Because if it was a man, he would not use that word.

Speaking for me only

TMZ and other outlets have disclosed that the former household worker for Arnold Schwarzenegger is 50 year old Mildred Patricia Baena. While they posted a picture of her and her son, at least they blocked the face of the son. They said he looks very much like Arnold.

It only takes a bit of internet sleuthing to find the pictures on My Space. The mother only has one "friend" on My Space, the My Space employee that every new member gets, which makes me wonder if it's really her My Space account, or one that the person who leaked this all to the media set up to post the photos. It's hard to tell though, because the photos have a date, which I assume is the posting date, of October, 2008. [More...]

Noam Chomsky does the Noam Chomsky thing (according to Chomsky, bin Laden never stated that he was involved with 9/11) and then Ann Althouse does the Ann Althouse thing:

This is the kind of thing that Barack Obama might have said before he became President. (Or do we only imagine that he used to say things like that?)

(Emphasis supplied.) That would be the "imagining" thing there, Professor Althouse. In fact, Obama promised to do what he did "before he became President." It was actually the Bush Administration that asked for "permission slips" for American military action in Pakistan against Al Qaida.

Speaking for me only

Pretty funny. Sample:

I. Match that quote:

1) “He got the position himself. I didn’t get it for him.”

A) Donald Trump, on Donald Jr.’s job as an executive vice president at the Trump Organization.

B) Wisconsin lobbyist whose college-dropout son was named to an important state job and then given a promotion and 26 percent raise two months later.

C) Hosni Mubarak on how son Gamal rose to be general secretary of the Egyptian government’s policy committee.

D) Queen Elizabeth on naming Prince William the Duke of Cambridge.

More thread.

Don't miss Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight (ABC, midnight ET) on the killing of Osama Bin Laden. Transcript below: [More...]

From Ranker.com's list of top 50 funny Internet reactions to Osama bin Laden's death, this blooper someone posted on You Tube tops their list. A Fox News anchor mistakenly announcing President Obama was dead.

Also on the list, some funny graphics, including this and this; this Facebook replica, and another, in which someone named Victoria truly didn't know who Osama was (scroll through, she really didn't).

And this You Tube video creation of Donald Trump as Hitler, fuming and becoming unglued when he learns of Osama's death.

The list is bound to grow.

Via Glenn Reynolds, Mickey Kaus:

it’s easy to overestimate the significance of Osama’s demise: Remember when we thought finding Saddam would turn the tide in Iraq?

What do you mean WE, Kemo Sabe? I remember Howard Dean being excoriated (by the likes of John Kerry too no less) for saying capturing Saddam was not a panacea for the Iraq Debacle.

Speaking for me only

Update: Raves everywhere for the dress, designed by Sarah Burton.

It looks like Kate Middleton's wedding dress designer may be Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen. In a few hours, the world will know for sure. Here are some photos showing her sense of style. She looks great in everything.

Queen Elizabeth announced this morning the couple will become the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

For those staying up tonight (or rising early Friday) to watch it live, here's an open thread. If you think a particular network is doing a good job, please let us know.

If you aren't interested in the wedding, we get it, but there's no need to tell us in this thread. There are plenty of other threads to comment on. Let's keep this one for people who are enjoying the event.