Brilliant cover on this week's New Yorker.

Speaking of New York publications and stadiums, I want to play "Pin the jackass on the donkey."

Articles like this one -- "New Lineup of Food Choices at Yankee Stadium" -- make it easy to clown New Yorkers because:

A. It lists all the upper crust premiums of a totally gratuitous baseball stadium for the richest franchise in the league, while the rest of the U.S. is freaking out about where their next mortgage payment will come from.

B. Tit-for-tat name-dropping.
"There will be chains like Johnny Rockets and Brother Jimmy’s BBQ, and sandwiches from the premium butcher Lobel’s (at the new Yankee Stadium). But those who settle into the 4,000 or so well-upholstered seats of the various club and suite areas, which can cost as much as $2,500, will have access to much more... Morimoto... chefs from Le Cirque... Spotted Pig..."

C.This photo:
(Seriously folks. This gives me horrid flashbacks to when my junior high history teacher asked me to come to school in a yukata during a section on post-war Japan... flashbacks that make "Jacob's Ladder" look like a Jonas Brothers concert.)

D. The New York Times

E. It invokes another easy-to-clown-city. Los Angeles.
"In the Great Hall stadium entrance, there will be a small market with fresh fruit and other items from Melissa’s Produce of Los Angeles, as well as sandwiches and $3 hot dogs."

[Note: So as not to come off as a total misanthrope, I want to say for the record that I am fundamentally a Yankees fan and lover of NYC, but am completely annoyed by the new stadium, and well... when am I not complaining about The NY Times...?]