The Morning News

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Currently: TMN wishes you a very good weekend equipped with interesting things to read. Thank you, as always, for reading us. http://tmne.ws/h
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Archives

Jonathan Bell

Jonathan Bell
TMN Contributing Writer Jonathan Bell lives in South London. He co-edits Things Magazine and likes to write about architecture.

The Babysitter

The kids are asleep upstairs, and the sitter waits alone in a darkened house—and then the phone rings. If you think you know what happens next, think again. THE WRITERS finish the story. (Spoofs & Satire | October 30, 2009)

Frugal Krueger

Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week, THE STAFF helps a reader in need of creative, recession-friendly Halloween costume ideas. (The Non-Expert | October 23, 2009)

God Save the Queen From You Chumps

Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week, Englishman JONATHAN BELL defends his nation against a cursing student of Anglo-Saxons. (The Non-Expert | July 3, 2009)

Favorite Worst Movies

Summer movies tend to crush box-office records, dumbfound critics, and be terrible. Our STAFF AND READERS tell us about the movies they know they shouldn’t love. (Of Recent Note | July 2, 2009)

One Spring Day

As winter wanes, everyone grows tired of the cold and damp, whether they live in San Francisco, Austin, or London. A day in the life of TMN’S EDITORS & WRITERS on the first day of spring. (Profiles | March 23, 2009)

Attending the NME Awards With Pete Doherty and a Whole Bunch of Actual Musicians, Feeling Nostalgic

When you’re young and you love music, you can’t imagine losing touch with the new sound. And then it happens. JONATHAN BELL attends an award show with a much younger crowd. (Letters From London | March 3, 2009)

Broken Resolutions

Three weeks ago, you swore you’d stop smoking and start running. So far, you’ve only jogged to the bodega. The TMN READERS AND WRITERS know your shame, and confess their lack of resolve. (Of Recent Note | January 22, 2009)

2008

From unearthed media to otherworldly technology to reflection on a personal and economic level, the year was filled with things of every shape, size, and significance. THE WRITERS give us the best of what they noted. (Of Recent Note | December 19, 2008)

Guilty Reading

Whether it’s political nonfiction, extraterrestrial erotica, or some combination thereof, we hold our genres dear. The TMN READERS AND WRITERS reveal their favorite works from the back of the shelf. (Of Recent Note | December 3, 2008)

Fall Food

From wild mushrooms to alcoholic tea, Thanksgiving casseroles to the perfect pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, here are the TMN WRITERS’ favorite foodstuffs for autumn. (Of Recent Note | November 6, 2008)

The Roommate

A woman stops by her dorm room late at night. Careful not to wake her roommate, she never turns on the light. The next morning, she returns to find the police at her dorm. What happens next? Only THE WRITERS know. (Spoofs & Satire | October 31, 2008)

Waiting for George

Our man in Beijing, JONATHAN BELL intended to report this week on the Olympic city’s architecture. Then he discovered President Bush was staying in his hotel. (Letters From Beijing | August 12, 2008)

Today We Learn About Canada

Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. In this week’s installment, JONATHAN BELL uncovers why Americans can so easily sniff out Canadians in their midst. (The Non-Expert | May 30, 2008)

The Last Great Thing You Downloaded

From movies to music to graphic novels and Spanish lessons, here are some of our recent digital world discoveries, as downloaded by our writers and readers. (Of Recent Note | March 21, 2008)

The Coast Is Sheer

Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week, JONATHAN BELL explains how to build a roller coaster in terms a young engineering student may not expect. (The Non-Expert | January 25, 2008)

Online Merchants

‘Tis the season of Amazon and Zappos, but what about those web merchants with more rare offerings, or services you didn’t know were available online? THE WRITERS offer a few of their current favorites. (Of Recent Note | November 27, 2007)

The Stratus Sphere

For a city that’s constantly grey, why is London so obsessed with the weather? Our man in Britannia JONATHAN BELL takes a look at the capital’s skies, which are more colorful than you might think. (Letters From London | October 3, 2007)

One Day on the Internet

In a world that revolves around email addresses and instant messages, much human interaction comes in bits and bytes. THE STAFF spends a day keeping track of their keystrokes around the globe. (Profiles | September 26, 2007)

Bottled Drinks

With Labor Day gaining fast, summer is almost over. Rather than mourn its demise with a sack of hooch, we should toast our memories with a bottle of something special. THE WRITERS have some suggestions. (Of Recent Note | August 28, 2007)

A Mystery of Violence

Terrorism fills the British papers this week, but over the winter a different sort of violence kept London on its toes. Our correspondent JONATHAN BELL reports on the personal impact of a season of murders. (Letters From London | May 2, 2007)

What’s Your Resolution?

The confetti’s been tossed, the funny hats are crumpled in the corner, and at least three of us had a little too much champagne. At the start of a new year, THE WRITERS offer an answer to the question everybody’s asking. (Spoofs & Satire | January 2, 2007)

Live at the Isle of Wight

Home to past rock festivals, model villages, and other dinosaurs, this wedge in the English Channel makes for an inviting family vacation. JONATHAN BELL takes his brood island hopping. (Letters From London | November 8, 2006)

The Vanishing Date

Halloween: time for stories of headless horsemen, escaped psychos with hooks for hands, and ghosts other than the white-sheet variety. But the same stories year after year can get a little dull. THE WRITERS retell a scary tale. (Spoofs & Satire | October 31, 2006)

London

When you’re a twentysomething in love with the urban life, parks can seem invisible. But, as they say, having a kid changes everything. JONATHAN BELL on the city’s parks, gardens, and—yes—playgrounds. (A Walk in the Park | August 10, 2006)

London Sprawling

The British capital is never empty, and only major television events can clear the streets. So why do movies and science fiction teem with vacant blocks? Does urbanism have room for emptiness anymore? JONATHAN BELL looks for answers. (Letters From London | June 6, 2006)

New Fathers, Round III

Are you ruining your child’s chances at future employment by blogging about his poop? By becoming a father yourself, do you finally understand your own dad? Our staff fathers tackle once more the challenges of contemporary paternity. (Roundtables | January 9, 2006)

Vexed in The City

London is constantly changing—surviving bombs, rebuilding flats—so what’s there to hold onto when even the subway map’s an abstraction? Our longtime Londoner may notice only what’s missing, but his son sees the city for the very first time. (Letters From London | November 29, 2005)

Holiday Travel Hell

It’s a toss-up for what’s worse about Thanksgiving: visiting the family homestead, or simply getting there. Travel stories by THE WRITERS, collected by intern Nicole Pasulka. (Personal Essays | November 22, 2005)

Big Brother Nation

The London bombers were identified by the city’s vast camera system, recording footage of them humping their deadly backpacks, so did Orwell get it wrong? Are these spies more helpful than sinister? Our man in the U.K. explains how the capital keeps tabs on its citizens. (Letters From London | August 23, 2005)

London Underground

Terror strikes twice in as many weeks. A major city is disrupted, and discomfort is widespread. Our London correspondent sends us three days’ dispatches about life on the tube. (Letters From London | July 28, 2005)

New Fidelities

Our perceptions age with the cities around us—old thoughts are razed, new theories go up, the subway seems less confusing. But what about that band we loved as teenagers? What happened to them? Jonathan Bell revisits Whitehouse 13 years later, now wearing earplugs. (Letters From London | March 11, 2004)

An Evening Out

Though New York now has its own Soho club, it’s London where the eating club has its roots, though only in recent years for celebrities with hungry noses. Our man in London Jonathan Bell makes the rounds. (Letters From London | November 10, 2003)

Raising the Game

As New York recovers from Sept. 11 with construction, it would do well to look abroad for ideas. Jonathan Bell reports on the history of London’s skyline, and how architecture heals. (Letters From London | March 25, 2003)

Royal Memories

As Britain prepares for the Golden Jubilee—the 50th anniversary of the Queen’s throning—Jonathan Bell reflects on the pomp, circumstance, and correctly colored ties in the monarch/subject relationship. (Letters From London | May 30, 2002)


TODAY’S FEATURE

The Game of Love

Anyone who says video games shouldn’t appeal to adults, let alone women, has never flirted with General Carth Onassi. MARIE MUTSUKI MOCKETT explores a virtual courtship.

OUR MAN IN BOSTON

More From Gore Vidal

Like the man himself, Gore Vidal's scrapbook of the past half-century is unparalleled.

SOCKING STUFFERS

If a Bird Can’t Fly It Walks

Sanguine and adhesive, our bumper sticker makes a swell gift for anyone who’s swearing off excuses in the new year.
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TMN TALKS

RoseLee Goldberg

RoseLee Goldberg is an art historian, curator, and author of Performance Art: From Futurism to the Present. In 2004, she founded PERFORMA, a non-profit arts...