3 October 2002

  • New York's currently: having bizarre fever-dreams
  • $18 million worth of reduced-price HIV drugs, intended for Africa, intercepted by pirates to be sold in Europe.
  • Stupid hurricane threatens Womack/Cotton wedding.
  • Ex-cop in Stuyvesant Town snipes preschool teacher.
  • When you hear a rumor about Barbara Streisand (attributing Shakespeare to a Web writer, misspelling Dick Gephardt), turn to Streisand's Truth Alert! Related, but not really: Lunching with Tina Brown: I'm suddenly reminded of a dinner party in our garden in New York last summer, when Martha Stewart's chair collapsed and she went flying--head over heels, legs in the air--into the azaleas. Without dropping her canapè, and without the slightest change in her politely-interested facial expression, she rose without a crease from the flowerbed.
  • McSweeney's, Open City, Fence, and Verse to open a group site, Big Small Press Mall, to sell books, promote authors. Site is located here, but does not seem to be ready. Related: McSweeney's interview with Kurt Vonnegut, part one, part two, part three. [via wdnc]
  • EPA drops effort to impose security regulations on chemical manufacturers.
  • Lovely short movie: Today I Found a Red Passport. [via coudal; check out slowtron]
  • Photos taken by Richard Russo to reflect Empire Falls, including this bridge that we have crossed. Related: What it's like to translate Haruki Murakami. [via bs]
  • You will admire Anthony Lane, even if he may need some help with his suits.
  • Nigella Lawson, now writing for the Times, has recipes for British home cooking: Toad-in-the-Hole and Fish Pie. We hope she finds better recipes soon (and we do not mean pasta with clams). Related: A fairly useless batch of lessons on how to open and decant wine. Want to learn about wine, the internet way? Try Purple Sunshine.
  • In case you haven't heard, blonds actually will survive the next 200 years.
  • Sven Birkets discusses his new book, a memoir, and being bullied by Joseph Brodsky.
  • The world's funniest joke is not very funny, and certainly does not beat the zero and the eight joke, nor the gay horse, and it's miles from the welder joke.
  • American conservationists fight strip-malling, town by town.
  • One way to build a house: Invite design students to camp out.