A New Rank

The man behind the counter called my name. I walked up with a copy of the Times Literary Supplement tucked under my arm.

"Congratulations, Mr. Marlow. You've passed."

"Excellent," I replied.

I now have a G1 Ontario driver's license, and officially join the club of new immigrants and 16-year-old suburban teenagers who are allowed to drive with their mom.

For those of you (Yan) who dearly wanted me to fail so they could make fun of me for the rest of my life: "Suck it." Because now I am officially on my way to not having an anxious feeling in my stomach when I apply for jobs that require a license.

I am also on my way to driving with my mom, which is awesome; especially when I take turns to fast and she white-knuckles the door handle.

News! Opinion?

As I type the top five articles on the New York Times' Most Popular list are editorials: the first four are columnists, and the fifth is the NYT's editorial blog. Most are about the election. Maureen Dowd's column comes in at seven.

Of the four remaining articles only one is election news.

Translated into slightly bigger picture, this means: People are being told what to think about the election. Or, slightly more accurately, people are choosing to be told about the election.

That's somewhat discomforting. We all know media spin the primaries out of proportion and everyone always complains about the media going over the top with election coverage.

But here is (arguably) the most well-read segment of the United States, tuning into a (n arguably) national newspaper and choosing to abstain from facts to pursue opinion. Discomforting? Its likely dangerous.

Sigh.