April 2004 Archives
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Letters From the Editor
Past Due
Editing should be, especially in the case of old writers, a counseling rather than a collaborating task. The tendency of the writer-editor to collaborate is natural, but he should say...
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Spoofs & Satire
Australia’s Mightiest Heroes
Wherever there is trouble, from marketing to marsupials, they will protect. Super-genius and superhero Dick Smith hatches a new era of costumes and secret identities.
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People
Steve Almond
Author and appropriately-named candyfreak Steve Almond talks to Pitchaya Sudbanthad about the best unknown chocolate bars in America, espionage within the big candy makers, and what it’s like to set off metal detectors with your mouth.
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Gary Benchley, Rock Star
Benchley Triumphant
Aspiring rock star Gary Benchley moves to the epicenter of hipsters’ Brooklyn, gets to know his new neighborhood and roommates, enjoys burlesque, and accidentally attends an A-list blogging party.
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Listening
Xiu Xiu, Fabulous Muscles
Known as much for its abject refusal to bend to the rules of pop music as for its ability to so easily create wonderful ‘pop,’ Xiu Xiu has always presented...
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Stories
My Brush with Terrorism
Being paged at the airport can sometimes be a lucky break, until it’s a federal investigation. A bag search, substance analysis, and interrogation later, you can forget being upgraded to first class. Jerry Mahoney recalls a misunderstanding at check-in.
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Letters From the Editor
Introducing Danny Gregory, and Contest News!
He’s a former sushi chef trained on a cow farm near Osaka. He’s met 80 percent of the Rolling Stones, and slept with two of their daughters. He once...
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Opinions
Remembering Chernobyl
Eighteen years ago today, disaster struck Chernobyl and the world turned to the news—similarly as it has for North Korea’s recent train crash, with just as much misinformation.
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The Non-Expert
Houseplants
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we catalog many popular houseplants, from bulbs to succulents, explaining which would be the best choices for your particular interior décor and style.
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Personalities
Letters from Edinburgh: Bulgarian Rhapsody
In the seventh installment of her letters from Scotland, our letter jets to Sofia to meet a friend, explores the city in all its relative weirdness, and learns to speak, or at least gesture, a new language.
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Stories
Donald Rumsfeld Is Wrong
Predicting the future is a touchy business, especially if you’re banking on the outcome. Our writer reports on a personal history of predictions gone right, wrong, and somewhere in between.
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Listening
Ratatat, Ratatat
A two-man dueling-guitar and beats instrumental combo, Mike Stroud and Evan Mast (who’s also known and loved as electronic percussion wunderkind E*Vax), have finally released their long-lusted-after debut...
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Birnbaum v.
Edwidge Danticat
America may believe in its own exceptionalism, but it’s also been exceptionally involved in Haiti’s history. A conversation with American Book Award-winner Edwidge Danticat about the current state of Haiti and the current state of her stories.
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Personalities
Hobbledehoydom
Being shy or bad at dancing is common for teenage boys, but some men carry on long into adulthood – men who are also called hobbledehoys. Our writer, a self-confessed hobbledehoy, finds company in Trollope while updating the profile for contemporary times.
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Stories
Coming This November
The presidential race is heating up. And at this point, it’s anybody’s game. So, who will be ready to take the oath, and who will be sent home in disgrace? Here’s preview of what we can expect this fall.
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Gallery
The Color of Water
After a week of cold rain, most New Yorkers would kill somebody—anybody!—to spend some time on a tropical beach. Artist Danny Gregory just returned from the Dominican Republic, and brought back a book of drawings and watercolors.
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Reader Letters
No Big Loser
In response to a minor controversy... At first it was difficult and overwhelming, then I realized it was one song, and free at that, so I just chose. The song...
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How To
Huff Your Way to a Healthier You
Turpentine, propane, Marks-a-Lot: Huffers of the world know their poison, and well. Some gourmands, however, see in their hardware store a cellar of fine wines. With little circles around his nostrils, Colin J. Murphy sniffs out some favorite markers.
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Gary Benchley, Rock Star
State of Train
Aspiring rock star Gary Benchley suffers Train—a mental state of anti-rock—and has to make a difficult decision in order to snag his own apartment. Luckily he has The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne to help him with advice.
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Reader Letters
Rules of the Road
Re. How to Walk in New York. Let me add a coda: If you are walking down a sidewalk and you see somebody not looking where s/he’s going,...
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Letters From the Editor
Big Loser
After one too many Pepsis and a rash of difficulty choosing a song to download from iTunes, I decided to post my second winning cap number here, free, for anyone...
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Manufacturing Reality
Reality’s Apprentice
Reality TV may seem a world away from real life, but what happens when Donald Trump’s The Apprentice moves in upstairs? Worse, what happens when it seems to be a sham?
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People
Ari Weinzweig
Food writer and Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig talks about foraging for cheddars in Vermont, how to make a great corned-beef sandwich, and what it takes to create a fine business.
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Guides
How to Walk in New York
Walk or don’t walk? In New York, there is rarely a choice. The ground rules for how you should maneuver the pavement, always showing your best side under special circumstances, and what to do when sidewalk rage hits.
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Letters From the Editor
Introducing Geoff Badner
We’re very excited to announce Brooklynite Geoff Badner has joined TMN as our Contributing Photographer. He’s done lots of features here before, and there are also a bunch...
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Letters From the Editor
More on Winning
Despite my hopes of collecting enough free iTunes songs to score a full album, I simply can’t drink that much Pepsi. I half-gave up after browsing for albums I...
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Listening
Lansing-Dreiden, The Incomplete Triangle
The incomplete triangle’s three sides face a reflective horizon. Its three-sided face disappears into a black mirror. You can oftentimes only see the rope that ties it together. – Dascha...
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Reader Letters
amLiberty
Regarding your Headlines links: ‘Statue of Liberty could have already reopened, but Park Service uninterested, Statue Foundation busy with extra, unaccountable fundraising. And: The investigation begins.’ These stories were first...
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Reader Letters
Pepsi’s Dark Underbelly
This is in response to your distressed tale, Big Winner, by Andrew Womack. My brother and I, being extremely cheap and always looking for a new way to get something...
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Birnbaum v.
George Pelecanos
Most cities (save New York) have a crime-writer-in-residence, and D.C. is lucky to call George Pelecanos a local. A conversation with the author about his new book, the daily grind, and what it’s like to write a TV show with a dream team of novelists.
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The Non-Expert
Economy-size
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we counsel a young man beleaguered by visions of marked-down tuna fish and cases of Two Buck Chuck.
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Letters From the Editor
Big Winner
At long last, with Diet Pepsi stained teeth and a week of trouble sleeping, I’ve bought (and consumed) enough bottles to finally win an iTunes song. ‘One in three...
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Personalities
Pinstriped Portraits
We know our bombers like the backs of our hands—Jeter, Matsui, now the almighty A-Rod—but who exactly are the Yankees’ fans? And is there more to life than hating the Red Sox? Our man in Albany TOBIAS SEAMON finds out what ticks for a few diehard New York fans.