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Up for Sale: The New Republic hires Blackstone to find a buyer. Horrible Tipper: John Castle, of Castle Harlan, breaks a waiter's finger when presented with the check. Chapter 11: Hostess Brands, which makes twinkies and Wonder Bread, may go bankrupt again. Subtle Sexism: Why women have a hard time raising money for startups. In focus: Romney's political ascent pushes private equity into the crossfire, according to Breaking Views. And Ron Paul defends Romney. Unbanked: Why Felix Salmon likes Suze Orman's approved card a little less today. Minimalist: Meet the guy who only owns 15 things. Sparking Up: One joint a week doesn't harm the lungs, study says. Playing the Wrong Game: The secret to tablets that Apple and Amazon knows but CES tablet peddlers don't. Dealing with the Devil: Why MG Siegler hates what Android has become.

Yahapocalypse: The Yahoo fun will continue into the next month with Q4 results, proxy fight and a board in flux. Watch Out for Shady Stockbroker mentors: The eight best career movies of all time. Did Gawker get punked? A former Keith Olbermann employee claims Olbermann rages, has temper tantrums and wears ill-fitting suits. Finally a Deal: Brocade has hired Qatalyst and has received first round bids. Expansion: Netflix launches in the U.K. and Ireland. That's O.K.: Rupert Murdoch apologizes for bad spelling on Twitter. See Ya: William Daley resigns as Obama's chief of staff. Untrue: The most crowded subway cars are at the front.

Changes Finally: Yahoo's board looks like it will finally change. Heidrick & Struggles hired to find new board candidates. Culpability: SEC to no longer allow companies to "neither admit nor deny." What did you Say? Mental decline actually starts as early 45 years of age, not 60. Drop that Muffin: How to lose weight playing video games. Calling All Shoppers: Apple to open stores within Target stores this year. Posthumously: A Facebook app lets you leave messages to loved ones after you die. Gaining Favor: John McCain will endorse Romney in N.H. today. R.I.P. Lucky: Military dog who survived five Iraq tours dies of cancer. Being Honest: This is a little old but here's five lessons learned from a non-technical founder. Finally Transparency? Freddie Mac clears Newt Gingrich to release his contracts as an advisor.

Fight: HBO has stopped providing DVDs of its shows to Netflix. Stop the Presses! Gigaom introduces "What a Man Needs" series for the fashion challenged. Deal: Billionaire Ron Burkle will buy Elliot Management's stake in Relativity Media. Not So Fast: Apple, of course, threatens to sue In Icons over the Steve Jobs action doll. Taking the Challenge: Mike Bloomberg vows to learn code in 2012. Only London: RIM cancels the Blackberry Colt and Milan. Mad Runner: Brad Feld's love affair with Treadputer. When the Cheddar Moves: Founders define reality and give hope, according to Jason Calacanis.

Come Back: How Twitter messed up verifying the fake Wendi Deng Murdoch over the real Wendi. And, Fake Wendy Deng  closes her account Too Many Friends: No one goes to Facebook anymore. Everything that dies someday comes back: Thirty years ago "Nebraska" was released. More than $100 Mln: Microsoft and Nokia's plans for marketing the Windows Phone. Same Old Problems: Yahoo now has a new CEO but retains the same board. Deal: Barnes & Noble puts Sterling Publishing up for sale. What to Wear to Comic-Con: Headphones get the Princess Leia upgrade and are available in blonde, brown and red. Fire Sale: MF Global sold assets to Goldman before it collapsed. Not Done Yet: Netflix jumps 9.3% after reported online viewing is more than an analyst's estimate.

Startup Secrets: The most important skill entrepreneurs should learn isn't programming. What were They Thinking: Google supposedly sponsored hundreds of blog posts to promote Chrome. Stocks: S&P 500 closes at its highest since late October. Stop Being Ladylike: What women need to succeed in tech and companies. Today's Apple Rumors: The January event will focus on education and iTunes. Too Soon: The Steve Jobs action figure from In Icons looks really realistic and goes on sale in February. Best of 2011: Is Larry Page CEO of the Year? Not according to Gigaom. Too White: Some think Iowa is too much of an outlier to shape presidential politics. See Ya: RIM is expected to oust Balsillie and Lazaridis as co-chairmen and replace them with Barbara Stymiest. Guess who is on Twitter: Rupert Murdoch begins tweeting but his wife, Wendi Deng, is not. Death and Taxes: Why now is the best time to sell your company. Flying the Coop: Brian Crecente, E.I.C. of Kotaku, has resigned.

Out of Bankruptcy: Friendly's to stay with Sun Capital once it's out of Chapter 11. Party On Marc: Sun Capital's Leder expected to ring in the New Year in typical outrageous fashion. The Runup: Romney gets a 45% edge over Prez Obama in telephone poll. One Great Step: China wants to put an astronaut on the moon likely after 2020. Can't Take a Hint: Ex-HP CEO Mark Hurd made romantic overtures to an independent contractor over several years. And here's the sexual harrasment letter that got Hurd fired. Righting Itself: Samoa is skipping Friday, Dec. 30. That's right. The country's just cancelled the day. Rumors: Now Apple won't be releasing the iPad 3 at MacWorld or CES. Facebook IPO: Goldman, Morgan Stanley considered top contenders to handle the FB IPO. Tests Positive for Holy Water: What will happen to Tim Tebow in 2012? ESPN readers weigh in. This will be the last First Read of 2011. Here's wishing everyone good deals and happy tweets in the New Year!

A Nerd: If all the world's Android users were mashed into one person, this is what he'd look like. Outrageous: Verizon to charge customers $2 fee in 2012 for paying bills online and over the phone. Quietly Building: How Wayfair is expected to produce more than $500 mln in 2011 top line sales. Closing: Here's a list of the 79 Sears and Kmart stores to be shuttered. Better than Fingerprints: Researchers have developed a butt scanning system that lets them identify who is driving a car based on the shape of the butt. Creating Buzz: How to recruit programmers to your startup. Dump Go Daddy Day: Express your rage at their open support of SOPA. On Fire: Amazon in December sold over 1 mln Kindle devices each week.

Holiday Cheer: Here's Fox's Christmas Card which thumbs its nose at its rivals. Life: Nasa finds earth-sized planet outside the solar system. Start-up Jobs: U.S. graduates are taking jobs in India. Election Nears: Obama's approval rating rebounds. Season Pass: iTunes users can now upgrade to a full season of a TV show. Skin in the Game: Felix Salmon tells us about the plight of the 1%. Earnings: Oracle's Q2 profit misses forecasts. Where's Newt? California AG sues Fannie and Freddie. Plan B: AT&T may look to buy DISH now that T-Mobile deal is over with. And, DISH shares rise. Deal: Apple reportedly buys Anobit for up to $500 mln. Consolation Prize: T-Mobile gets 7-year 3G roaming deal, 128 markets of AWS spectrum from AT&T. Deutsche Telecom gets $3 bln. More Miserable: Study of Twitter use finds that the general public appears to be less happy.

Playing Santa: Unknown donor pays off Kmart accounts in Indiana. Yahoo: Here's a holiday poem for everyone's favorite takeover target. It's Official: Heather Harde leaves TechCrunch. Another One: Fitch lowers France's triple AAA rating to negative from stable. View of the World: Do any real people support SOPA? R.I.P.: Chris Hitchens, who wrote about God and Bill Clinton's infidelity, has died. OWS: Wall Street protesters causes cancellation of Law & Order shoot; Writers Guild is upset. Rumors: Apple to launch a 7.85 inch iPad before Q4. Who Next: Gawker pitches Bono as CEO of the New York Times.