YESTERDAY! TODAY! FIVE MINUTES AGO! NOW!

Nowadays many literary functions in New York consist of some hummus and maybe a glass or two of white wine and everyone’s home in time to catch The Daily Show.

Some Occupy veterans have complained that 'The Newsroom'’s depiction doesn’t do justice to the best ideas and impulses of the movement, but, truth be told, neither did the movement itself.

These are empty, shallow people, the script seems to say, and yet wouldn’t it be wonderful to be one of them? The hypocrisy of the concept isn’t even worth condemning. It would waste energy, much as televising the show wastes precious electrons. “If it sucks, we can always bail,” Seth says en route to the party. The earlier you bail out of “The O.C.,” the richer your life — or at least your Tuesday night — will be.

Sipping Brooklyn Summer Ales and slurping oysters felt more like an outing with old friends then a literary reception.