Ms. Pac-Man isn’t the only new addition to the iTunes Store this week. The New Yorker magazine, in cooperation with RingTales, has released animated versions of some of its cartoons (iTunes link) as free downloads. The cartoons are about twenty seconds long; you can watch them via the iTunes Store or download them to your iPod. According to the description, new cartoons will appear three times a week. —MacUser

The staple on the top is from the Times mag. (You can tell because of the word “mixtapes.”) The staple on the bottom is from the New Yorker. Note how the David Remnick-approved fastener does what a staple is supposed to do. The two pointy ends fold down onto the crease, forming precious little crescent moons that keep the center-spread firmly in place. In stark contrast, the ends of the Times’ staples stick out, ramrod-straight, just waiting to impale a misplaced fingertip…. —“Why Your ‘New York Times’ Mag Always Falls Apart,” Gawker [Still, the cover of The New Yorker tends to get mutilated quickly, especially if you carry it around for a solid eight or nine days; can’t have everything, though. Unless someone wants to invent a cover to slip the magazine into every week—I’d buy that, if it didn’t look too ridiculous.]

Chris Ware, sometimes described as an “alternative cartoonist” because his works are not quite comic books and not the normal graphic novels, opened a new exhibition, Chris Ware, with a talk and reception on February 16 at Sheldon. More than 350 attended, overflowing the auditorium…. To view and hear Chris Ware’s talk at Sheldon on February 16 click here: Chris Ware Talk. —“Exhibitions: Chris Ware,” Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery [Thanks, B.K.!]

Declaring that “the impact of slavery and segregation reaches into every facet of modern life,” administrators at Brown University announced on Saturday a number of new institutional projects, including programs to assist local public schools and a possible new research center on slavery and its legacies.
—David Glenn, “Brown U. Announces Projects in Response to Report on Its Role in the Slave Trade,” The Chronicle of Higher Education [subscription only; also see “Peculiar Institutions,” by Frances FitzGerald, in the September 12, 2005, New Yorker]

In addition to his New Yorker covers, [Arthur Getz] did hundreds of pen and ink spot illustrations for the magazine, as well as illustrations for Esquire, Fortune, The Nation and other publications. He also created murals for public spaces, including one for the 1939 World’s Fair. He was also a well-respected instructor at the School of Visual Arts in NYC, the University of Connecticut and other schools…. Feeling his name as an illustrator would interfere with his gallery work, he exhibited his gallery paintings for many years under the pseudonym of his middle name, “Kimmig.” —Charley Parker, “Arthur Getz,” Lines and Colors

Slate Magazine announced today that noted critic Ron Rosenbaum will write a bi-weekly culture column for the online magazine beginning Feb. 26…. Rosenbaum, described by David Remnick as “one of the most original journalists and writers of our time,” most recently wrote a culture column called “The Edgy Enthusiast” for the New York Observer. Many of his pieces have been collected in four volumes, the last titled “The Secret Parts of Fortune.” —“Ron Rosenbaum to Join Slate Magazine,” Business Wire