I quit reading Maureen Dowd years ago. Too chaotic and crazy for my tastes. For reasons unexplainable, Sarah Palin Saves Feminism, from the Sunday, January 24 issue of the New York Times, caught my eye. It’s a fine piece of writing. Nicolle Wallace, a former W aide and, now, the writer of novels with political overtones, wrote Sarah Palin, Rage Whisperer for the Times on Monday. It, too, offers worthy insights into the woman for our times.

Senator Ted Cruz and Senator Ted Cruz, Redux reflect what MRW has done to expose Ted Cruz, charlatan. Why D.C. Hates Ted Cruz by Molly Ball for The Atlantic provides deeper insights and explanations for the Ted Cruz phenomenon. What’s really sad is the fact that outrage sells, and the public that wants outrage has a seemingly limitless capacity for it. In the moment anger may soothe and satisfy, but it’s a cheap thrill, and it won’t solve anything! (Here, for those who need a dose of Cruz every day, is Cruz Campaign Admits His Story about Having No Health Insurance Was Baloney by Dartagnan for Daily Kos.)

I have not yet read The Wreck of Amtrak 188, but a journalism professor friend, J.S., called it “an example of fact-based, elegant long-form narrative journalism at its best.” It’s the cover story in the coming week’s Sunday’s New York Times magazine, and I look forward to reading it. (It’s on line now, but I will wait until Sunday to read it.)

Playboy—yes, that magazine—did really have it going on, back in the day. From 1964, here is Martin Luther King Jr.: A Candid Conversation with the Nobel Prize-Winning Civil Rights Leader. The interviewer is Alex Haley and it’s quite a read. Note that when you get to the bottom, you need to click on part two.

I know we’re a little NYT-heavy here at the Curator this week. Apologiers to anyone who cannot abide the Gray Lady but … get over it! Sam Sifton’s piece, The Bulgogi Slider is a Delicious Curveball caught my eye, despite its being more than four-years-old. Here’s the recipe: Bulgogi Sloppy Joes with Scallion Salsa, and the picture:

And, because Facebook has decided it is memories time, here’s lunch from January 26, 2014, with the tagline, “Stay tuned for my new blog, Mark Rubin Writes, featuring a little law, some sounding off about matters on my mind … and food!!!