Here's exhaustive AJR investigation into what it's like to be a crappy commenter.

★★★★ Dying.

Incomplete:

They're also just beautiful if you're into beauty! I recommend this album:

Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder is at it again. Cue the backlash.

"When I hear the words 'ultra' and 'violence,' I think about WorldStarHipHop. What does the phrase mean to you?" - Writer Dana Droppo interviewing Lana Del Rey for Complex. (Note: Del Rey's response doesn't reference A Clockwork Orange, either.)

a poem, by Shutterstock, via Thought Catalog

Buzzfeed attempts to pinpoint the pejorative use of "basic" to Klymaxx's "Meeting in the Ladies Room," which dates back to 1985. When people discuss the origins and use of "basic," they tend to ignore its historical racial implications, as I understand them. The race issue at hand is not just a matter of "black people use this term that white people have now co-opted," but that, like the word "ghetto," "basic" is historically coded to describe black people who behave in ways perceived to be "very black." And if "basic" is being used as an insult, then it means "too black," and implies that being "too black" is undesirable.

This inquiry into one of the world's ancient mysteries is ongoing.

★★★★ It would have been ludicrous to call that discomfort.

Tonight Gawker Media is playing New York magazine in softball. A former New York employee proposed a bet. Since their team is filled with ringers who no longer work there and this is our first game, I put the odds at NY Mag +150/Gawker -165 (I don't understand how baseball odds work). What should we bet them?

The de Blasio family landed in Italy for vacation and, as expected, 16-year-old Dante has captured the attention of media and Italian nationals alike. Via the Times:

MAGIC!'s "Rude" tops the Hot 100 this week.