About a lifetime ago, the Justice Department announced that it would hold the trial of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York City, where plenty of terror suspects had been tried and convicted before without incident. But this time was different. Even politicians who supported civilian trials of terrorists somewhere just didn't want this one to be held in New York City, for numerous reasons, including the costs of securing a densely populated downtown area, the (even greater?) threat of a terror attack, and the emotional element of subjecting 9/11 survivors and victims' families to the trial. The Justice Department backed down, but with Attorney General Eric Holder finally "close to a decision" on where to hold the trial, the question of its possible location has returned. Attorney General and Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo, for one, said yesterday that he didn't want it in New York. And today, in response to a reporter's question, Cuomo clarified that he wasn't just talking about the city, but the entire state.

"We spent a lot of time looking around the world for the best people, and we have a list of people in mind, always trying to think if any of our commissioners or deputy mayors ... You know, the way I phrase it: 'got hit by a truck' — just as a euphemism ... I know pretty much who I would make my first call to, to see if we could get somebody to fill in right away.” —Michael Bloomberg dismissed criticism about the confidential search process to find New York City's new schools chancellor. Regularly picturing his underlings being crushed by a semi, he explained, ensures that he's always prepared with a list of replacements.

Bloomberg Defends Secretive Selection of Schools Chief [Metropolis/WSJ]

New York's Suzanne Mozes was in negotiations to work with Full Fathom Five, the publishing company created by the controversial author James Frey. (You can read the full story here.) The company ended up rescinding its offer, but not before sending one of its unusually restrictive contracts, which offers authors a mere $250 up front. Veteran publishing attorney Conrad Rippy said he had never seen anything like it:

It’s an agreement that says, “You’re going to write for me. I’m going to own it. I may or may not give you credit. If there is more than one book in the series, you are on the hook to write those too, for the exact same terms, but I don’t have to use you. In exchange for this, I’m going to pay you 40 percent of some amount you can’t verify — there’s no audit provision — and after the deduction of a whole bunch of expenses.”

Business Insider says Tumblr, David Karp's micro-blogging platform, which has recently found a fan in print media, got a "very big and competitive" investment from Sequoia Capital, the same Silicon Valley venture capital firm that's backed Apple, YouTube, and Google. Sequoia's Roelof Botha, who was head of finance at PayPal with Elon Musk, will join Tumblr's board. Last month, Karp and Tumblr president John Maloney, who previously worked as Karp's boss at Urban Baby, flew out to the Valley looking for cash. Tumblr's earlier investors, Fred Wilson's Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital, which has a strong presence in New York, were both local. Although it once seemed like Tumblr might not get past its image as a niche platform known for launching blogs-to-books (see: Look at This Fucking Hipster and This Is Why You're Fat) and supporting the life-casting habits of one Julia Allison. The addictively easy to post and share interface has built up the networks' traffic to 46 million people per month. The fact that it's looking out West for investment could mean the site, which Business Insider says still has "little to no revenue," needs the Valley's expertise in scaling up or a bigger influx of cash than it could find here to fight off newcomers like Posterous and Instagram.

Tumblr Lands "Very Big and Competitive" Round From Sequoia [Business Insider]

Name: Waris Ahluwalia
Age: 36
Neighborhood: West Village

Occupation: "Explorer." (Also: jewelry designer, actor). On Saturday from 1 p.m to 4 p.m. he'll be co-hosting the Creative Time Tropical Brunch Social at the Hurricane Club.

Who's your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
It's a toss-up between William Kunstler and Al Capone.

What's the best meal you've eaten in New York?
Dinner at my mother's. Growing up, we never ate out. Now I go with friends to her house for dinner about once a week — sometimes every other week. I need my fill of Indian home cooking.

In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
Varies from season to season but mostly answer interview questions about jewelry, acting, and general Proust-type questionnaires like this one.