grazing the internet, November edition

Clams and embryos and career success and a whole lot of links about the future of media

Lately: I went with my husband and some friends to the Phillips Collection Sunday afternoon and was reminded that it might be my favorite museum in D.C. It’s not part of the Smithsonian, so admission does cost money, but if you go in for the final hour it's open (after 4 p.m.), it’s pay-what-you-wish. … After that evening of culture, we picked up dinner at Raisin’ Cane’s in Union Station. I have a million things to say, all of them good, about how close I live to D.C.’s major train station. It makes getting to New York (or anywhere up and down the East Coast) so simple. But it also provides me with the equivalent of a mall food court every time I get off the Metro. Cane’s! Chick Fil A! Shake Shack! Is this great for my health? Absolutely not. But it’s a specific kind of treat, and one I’m happy to indulge in every once in a while. … Anyways, enough of this wind-up. Here’s the best of what I waded through online in November:

Clam South — by Caroline Hatchett in The Bitter Southerner … read this if you:

• adore shellfish

• are clam-curious

• want to see some stunning photos

Out-of-context excerpt: Clam sex, says Gallivan, never gets old.

The Way Harris Lost Will Be Her Legacy — by Tressie McMillan Cottom in The New York Times … read this if you:

• are still curious about the election (and I don’t blame you if you aren’t)

• need reminding that Tressie McMillan Cottom is brilliant

• don’t need reminding that Tressie McMillan Cottom is brilliant

Out-of-context excerpt: Her campaign did not challenge gender conventions so much as it selectively subverted some gender expectations (and left others intact) for her political benefit. She has this in common with Sarah Palin, another first who almost went the distance.

Meet the Florida Billionaire Who Wants to Be a Newspaper Baron — by Benjamin Mullin in The New York Times … read this if you:

• are curious about the future (or lack thereof) of mid-sized and smaller newspapers

• have any interest in local news in St. Louis, which is one of the markets this billionaire is eyeing

Out-of-context excerpt: Mr. Gaddis said that the Hoffmann Media Group’s plan to transform Lee’s newspapers involves reinvesting in journalism to build a more substantial digital subscription business. The company would do that, in part, by consolidating the company’s printing business to regional hubs and reducing its real estate footprint.