March 2004 Archives
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Personalities
Letters from Edinburgh: Term Break Fashion
In the sixth installment of her letters from Scotland, our writer, who is living in Edinburgh for a year, considers the weather on her term break, then jaunts down to London and attends an alternative fashion show.
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Listening
Phoenix, Alphabetical
Four years ago Phoenix released their debut album United, a partly ironic, partly dance-y, altogether fascinating Gallic amalgam of funk, pop, and electronica (three gross music words that go well...
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Gary Benchley, Rock Star
Acclimatizing
In his long-anticipated second installment for TMN, aspiring rock star and Manhattanite Gary Benchley describes his search for a proper loft to rock in, the roommates who would love to see him fail, and a certain girl who falls for the Benchley charm.
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Gallery
People in My Neighborhood
Live in a neighborhood long enough, you get to know everyone by face, if not by name. But who are these people, really, and what do they do? Rosecrans Baldwin describes a few local characters from Brooklyn, and Danny Gregory draws blind.
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The Non-Expert
Breastfeeding a la Carte
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we dive into that testy political swamp where culinary and maternal matters mix juices: When is breastfeeding (in)appropriate in restaurants?
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Letters From the Editor
Short-Term Memory
Recently I was faced with a crisis. Not a major crisis, but one where skill and memory were of utmost importance. This steak is supposed to be cooked to temperature,...
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Birnbaum v.
Laurie Lynn Drummond
We know the lives of cops from TV shows, movies, and maybe an uncle who retired from the squad, but those versions are rarely true to police officers’ real struggles. A chat with former cop and lauded storyteller Laurie Lynn Drummond about life behind a Louisiana badge.
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How To
Virtue: Volunteering From Home
You planned to spend the morning hammering together a shelter for the homeless, but your hangover is better suited to a cup of coffee and the Sunday paper. In the second installment of her Virtue series, Margaret Berry shows you how to get off your duff without leaving the couch.
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Reader Letters
The Battle Over Shiloh
I would like very much to see an article on the hospital auxiliary thrift store. We have some very interesting history there. It was founded in 1952. The original building is...
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Letters From the Editor
24 Hours of Weird
I’ve never, ever, ever had a 24-hour stomach flu. At least not that I can recall. I’ve heard about them, sure, and always thought, hey, what a lucky...
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Listening
Tulsa Drone, No Wake
The instrumental explorations of Richmond’s Tulsa Drone spread across a stark, moody landscape that equally recalls the prog rock of the mid-’90s Chicago scene and the later moments...
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Opinions
Unexplained Snacks of America
“Grits” only sound edible if you know what they are; and even then you could argue otherwise. An Australian guesses what’s in the boxes of our popular foods.
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Letters From the Editor
I Make Bad Trebek
People who live in glass houses should not throw stones, and people who write questions for contests should avoid ambiguous phrases, lest they spend their weekend in the library double-checking...
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The Non-Expert
Doing the Date
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we come to the aid of a confused, heartbroken Romeo with a story of her someone else’s troubles in dating.
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Letters From the Editor
Bootlegging
Those DVDs you see all over New York, the ones the guys sell on the sidewalk – with the Xeroxed covers and all that – the ones you walk by and wonder,...
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New York, New York
All the King’s Men
The king of Albania always has a seat at Sam’s Place on 39th Street, which is more than he can say for his home country.
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Reader Letters
Mixmaster
Wow! I totally agree with what that no-name singer said about Liz Phair! I feel the same way! I was basically as good as Beck in the early ‘90s. Sure,...
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Stories
That’s All I’m Going to Say for Now
An ill-planned duck hunting trip sours under the media scrutiny. Justice Scalia makes a firm statement, and Matthew Summers-Sparks tails him through a day of saying not much else.
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Letters From the Editor
Limericks with Texas City Names in Them
There was a girl who moved to Corpus Christi Who told everyone, ‘Call me Misty’ Which wasn’t her name But it was all just the same Since last week...
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Listening
The Elected, Me First
The Elected makes a kind of beautiful, traditional pop music that jumps deep into your heart and lives with you, maybe forever, with delirious Beatlesque melodies, all heavily rouged with...
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Birnbaum v.
Francesca Delbanco
It’s easy for twenty-somethings to believe their lives are monumental and truly complex, but what if it’s true? A conversation with first-time novelist Francesca Delbanco about the pleasures of Los Angeles, solidarity in friends, and going nuts in Montana.
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Gallery
Sugar
Who knew Toronto’s sugar fleet could be so gorgeous? A photo gallery from Marshall Sokoloff, and a contest sponsored by Jewelboxing that could win you a framed print from the series.
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Letters From the Editor
The Weekend Never Comes
Sometimes the hope for the weekend seems just around a corner you’ll never turn. Likewise, the weather in New York has been bumpy, up and down, leaving everyone without...
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Personalities
Swimming
Spalding Gray’s body was identified this past Monday, having been pulled from the East River after he committed suicide. Pitchaya Sudbanthad remembers the actor and monologuist.
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Letters From the Editor
The City is Smarter Than We
Last night I stepped onto the platform at 14th Street, ready to be on my way home to Brooklyn after a long day in the city. So were the other 2,000...
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People
Mike Drake
Musician Mike Drake on punchy girls in Paris, touring with Van Halen and the artificial hip, and trying not to sound candy-assed while paying tribute to Kris Kristofferson.
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Letters From London
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?
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Personalities
Letters from Edinburgh: Lazy Sunday Afternoon
In the fifth installment of her letters from Scotland, our writer, who is living in Edinburgh for a year, settles into a routine abroad, learns from a friend how she needs to break away from the everyday, then does her Sunday shopping.
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Personalities
Letters From Russia: The Housewife’s Hay Market
Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment is still so modern we can relate to its passions and fits, and, if we know where to look, even its landmarks. Veronica Khokhlova takes us through 11 stops of modern St. Petersburg.
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The Non-Expert
Pet Names
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we help couples understand how cute lover-names can become butt-quaking insults.
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Opinions
Children’s Music
We’ve seen their drawings of Radiohead songs, they tell us the Strokes make their heads hurt “like 100 dogs,” but how do we feel about their songs? A panel listens to children’s music, weighing in on the state of the pint-sized.
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Listening
Decibully, City of Festivals
Formed from parts of The Promise Ring and Camden, and with a history that’s too confusing to even attempt recounting, Milwaukee’s Decibully oozes the kind of damaged beauty...
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Spoofs & Satire
The Passion of the Christ: Blooper Reel
No film set exists without its share of gags and accidents, even the filming of Mel Gibson’s crucifixion epic. A transcript of scenes that may never make it onto the DVD edition.
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Letters From the Editor
Obsessive Groceries
At the grocery store around the corner, Saturday afternoon. There are four stacks of baskets. No clear contender, since each of the baskets on top contains a piece of trash:...
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Personal Essays
It’s Not Phair
The early ‘90s were a great time to be a female singer-songwriter; that is, if your name was Liz P-something. The former Zuzu’s Petals lead singer listens to a long-avoided album, and lays her axe to rest.