84 new york | february 1–14, 2021
THE APPROVAL MATRIX Ourdeliberatelyoversimplified guide to who falls where on our taste hierarchies.
brilliant
highbrow
lowbrow
despicable
Dr.DeborahBirx’s
reputation-rehabtour
skipsthepartwhereshe
praisedTrumpfor
being“soattentivetothe
scientificliterature.”PHOTOGRAPHS: FOX NEWS (IMPEACHMENT); ROBERT DENTY/CDC (SHOTS INTO ARMS); SONY PICTURES (IRS AGENT); COURTESY OF PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY (PABT); MAHESH BHAT/BARYSHNIKOV ARTS CENTER (SATPATHY); GAGE SKIDMORE/FLICKR (HUCKABEE SANDERS); ABC (BIDEN); SIMSBURY119/FLICKR (BERMUDA); JOAN MARCUS (RENT); GENERAL MOTORS (GM); PHILLIESNATION/TWITTER (SCHILLING); ANDREWYANG/TWITTER (YANG); EUROPEAN SOUTHERN OBSERVATORY/M. KORNMESSER (ALIENS); SUISEISEKI/WIKIMEDIA (BROOKLYN BRIDGE); NJ.COM/YOUTUBE (IGNITED); MARGARITAVILLE/THE MCBRIDE COMPANY (BUFFETT); HULU (IN & OF ITSELF); DISNEY (JUNGLE CRUISE); JOJOSIWA/YOUTUBE (SIWA); UCLA ATHLETICS/YOUTUBE (DENNIS); CLAUDIAMCONWAY/TIKTOK (CONWAY);
SCOTT BOOKER/WARNER MUSIC (FLAMING LIPS); NPR MUSIC/YOUTUBE (MILEY); SUBWAY (TUNA); CBS 2 (GOWANUS CANAL); PATRICK MCMULLAN (F
OY); BIRDCENTRALPARK/TWITTER (OWL)
Republican
impeachment stance:
Eh, let’s not bother.Poland’s near-total
ban on abortion goes
into effect.IRS agent casually
borrows a
suspect’s identity to
buy a UES co-op.The phrase “shots
into arms.”
Enough already!The QAnon
congresswoman once
claimed Parkland was
a false flag.Sarah Huckabee
Sanders is probably
gonna be a governor.Holier-than-thou
Baseball Hall of Fame
snubs Bonds, Clemens,
Schilling again.Forbes cancels
ill-considered “30
Under 30”
Bermuda retreat.We get it, Andrew
Yang—you’re a very
New Yorky New Yorker
who loves New York.Bijayini Satpathy
choreographing for the
Baryshnikov Arts Center
by way of Bangalore.Aliens? Aliens,
says one Harvard
professor.GM says
it’s going all
electric by
2035.A new collection
of old Didion.The Biden
inistration’s sensible,
consequential
executive-order-
palooza.A new plan for the
dilapidated Port Authority
Bus Terminal. It’s
Infrastructure Week in NYC!Lauren Oyler’s
Fake Accounts is
a sharp portrait of life
online and off. Ex–downtown staple
John Lurie’s new TV
act: meditative HBO
painting show.Rent cast to reunite
virtually for 25th
anniversary and force
you to measure
your life in years.Brooklyn Bridge
bikers, rejoice!Hulu’s In & Of Itself,
the rare magic show that
won’t make you cringe.The small joy that is
watching the
sun set after 5 p.m.Miley Cyrus doing
Mazzy Star in a teeny-
tiny bedroom.All hail Nia Dennis,
the viral UCLA gymnast
back for more.André De Shields
returns as Hermes
in charming
podcast for kids.The Flaming Lips’
space-bubbled
concerts. (COVID
efficacy unclear.)Reddit vs. Wall Street:
Fascinating and
exhausting.The Pisces movie.
Merman genitalia
coming soon to
a theater near you.
Central Park’s snowy
owl says,
“Hot duck who?”For $2,000, you can
pay to write advertorial
for Rolling Stone and
feel almost famous.It only took over 65
years for Disney to
admit Jungle Cruise is
a hot racist mess.Jimmy Buffett to
waste away again,
again in Times Square
Margaritaville resort.Naming your
restaurant Ignited and
then (allegedly)
lighting it on fire.e Great Gatsby
show. Haven’t we
ffered enough?Bow purveyor Jojo
Siwa gets swatted
after coming out.Kellyanne Conway
appears to post
a nude photo of her
teenage daughter.Deceiving a rural
community to snag
vaccines intended for
Indigenous elders.Who could have guessed
the franchise that fed
you yoga-mat bread would
get sued for selling
questionable tuna?Gowanus cleanup
barge sinks ... back
into the Gowanus.aamm
A delicious
memoir from the late
Cicely Tyson.TThThh
TTVTVV
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