Richard Jewell and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It seems that many of you are enjoying this site thanks in large part to Meg's wedding photos. While you're here, you might as well enjoy a little more:

Richard Jewell, the man who was accused of the being the 1996 Olympic Park bomber, died today. He was relatively young, 44, but for the last 10 years of his life his name was smeared because everyone thought he was the one behind the plot that killed one person and injured 11. He wasn't. Eric Rudolph was, and he has since been jailed.

Nevertheless, Jewell spent a lot of time suing the assorted media organizations who libeled him, and rightly so. One of those places was the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Today, not long after the AP ran an obituary about Jewell, the AJC ran their own story. Although it was cloaked as an obit, the newspaper defended their shoddy reporting skills. The AJC still stands behind the sources that told them Jewell was a suspect, and made a point to mention that the newspaper never settled with Jewell, unlike other places that did.

While it's true the newspaper never settled, pointing this out in an obit about Jewell falls into the category of Extremely Bad Taste.

Anyone who has ever taken a media ethics class knows that the Richard Jewell case comes up time and time again as to why you have to be incredibly careful when using anonymous sources, especially during a police investigation. But what does the AJC care? It's not like it cost them anything.

Meg And Stacy Get Married!

I've known Meg since high school, when the two of us were in many advanced French class together. She did her homework and earned good grades, while I earned the nickname "La Bavarde." Loosely translated, it means the girl who won't shut up. We also sang and did plays together and eventually ran off to colleges in different states.

Years passed and eventually Meg met this really cool guy named Stacy. They got married on Saturday and I was there, camera in hand. The whole set can be found here.

Meg got married at the church where we all went growing up. It was a great ceremony, especially when her brothers walked her down the aisle.

Here's where the picture-perfectness starts. It took me a while to figure out the lighting in the church. New, fancy cameras can be tricky that way.


Here are two more high school friends, Liz and Lauren. Liz teaches Spanish up in Boston. Lauren splits her time as a journalist between Cairo and Baghdad. I kid you not.


No wedding is complete without a bagpiper.


I had a few hours to kill between the church and the reception, so I went home to get Le Doug and I fixed my make up. (It was 90 degrees outside.) Yes, I am wearing clothing in the pic.


Three old skool, Brien McMahon High School ladies.


The reception was on the water, at sunset...


...complete with cool, marine-themed centerpieces.


...and sand dollar placecards!


Why have a weeding cake when you can have wedding cupcakes?


For their first dance Stacy and Meg did this awesome, choreographed number to "It Had To Be You."


It was adorable.


Eventually everyone got up to dance. I should mention that half the state of Michigan was there, and when the DJ played the Michigan State fight song, they all got up and cheered...


...and then started a congo line.


Here are Christine and Liz


Shoes and dancing don't always go together.


Speaking of dancing, here is Lauren and I.


Liz and one of Meg's friends


The bride and Le Doug tear it up.


Yeah! Journey!


No one is quite sure what this shot is.


Despite all this rug-cutting, the wedding hairdos held up. Go Aqua Net!


Give me pouty...


This little guy was all wedding'd out.


Bridal fleurs.


The fellas love Liz!


"Piano Man" by Billy Joel was the last song of the evening. Unprompted, everyone made this huge circle and started singing along.




Left side of the room:


It was sweet. Then random people started shouting, "Miracle! Miracle!" I thought they wanted another song. But no. Then this guy came out and started doing one-armed push-ups while everyone counted and cheered. I can't explain it. It must be a Michigan thing.


Le Doug and I call it a night.


Good times, good times.


Mozart loved the sand dollar I brought home.


You know, I think these kids are gonna make it.

Ladies and Gentlemen, New York is Crumbling

Today on The Simon I explore the various ways New York is falling apart at the seams. Please enjoy it as I focus my energies on other things, such as work.

Just Asking...

It's monsooning again in New York City today...does this mean that pipes are going to explode and I'm going to come home to another swamp-filled apartment?

To be safe, I locked my laptop in my armoire.

It's Melissa's Shower and Bachelorette!

Back in 1998, I landed an internship at Elle magazine in New York City. I didn't know what to expect, but over the next few weeks I shared an intern desk with a gal named Melissa, who also went to Syracuse with me.

Melissa and I stayed friends through the remainder of the undergraduate experience and beyond. Melissa is getting married in October, and so a shower and bachelorette party was in order.

My whole set can be found here.

Kristin Burns' whole set can be found here.

Our story begins off the 7 train, in Sunnyside, Queens.


I stopped in a photo shop on the way over to pick up a new memory card, and the cute man who ran the shop spent 20 minutes showing me how to work my camera. I already knew how, but I felt rude interuppting him.


I don't know much about Queens, but there were some pretty fancy looking buildings.


Trees, apparently, grow in Queens.


Here is our blushing bride, ready to be showered with gifts and mimosas.


She got lots of cool stuff, everything from tongs to thongs, as well as this apron.


Here is the official, red velvet, bridal shower cake, made from scratch! Good job, Kristin!


It was already a pretty girly day, but a few hours and a change of clothes later, we all met back up at the Dashing Diva on 8th Street for the second part of the day -- the bachelorette party.

Nothing beats pedicures and Bartles y James!


Moi, Avec Bartles y James


Steph and Kristin Glam It Up


This is Christy, a latecomer that evening but nonetheless welcome.


We had an hour to kill between the salon and dinner, so we set up camp at a little coffee shop. There, I found a geography book from the 1980s, which I actually have back in CT, which referred to Russia and its satellite countries as the U.S.S.R.


Dinner was at Agave in the West Village. It's a fancy Mexican joint with obscenely good sangria.

Cheers, everyone!


Here is my fierce manicure. The color is called "Hot Tamale," which was very appropo considering the restaurant.


I'm not really a foodie (I survive mostly on coffee and Power Bars) but this chicken salad I had for dinner was worth remembering.


The Ladies


Melissa and Sue, who came in from Boston.


One last shot with the bride before I see her in October in her full regalia.