June 2006 Archives
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Personal Essays
Dawn’s Early Fright
Every Fourth of July, numerous Americans celebrate independence by detonating explosives near their loved ones. From 2006, one family raises the white flag of surrender.
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Watching
Video Digest: June 30, 2006
I have a few minor phobias: I dislike flying; I get queasy on rollercoasters; I try to avoid possums, especially the ones who will lure me on an airplane or...
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Spoofs & Satire
The Future of Organized Labor
From economists to politicians, pundits the nation over argue organized labor is fast becoming extinct. If unions survive, it’s safe to assume not much will change when it comes to ground-level operations. People, after all, will be people. And robots will be robots.
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Listening
Mp3 Digest: June 28, 2006
Austinist has an excellent interview with Red Hunter of Peter and the Wolf, which may or may not comprise 18 members. For those OK with the informal thing, it’s a...
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Personal Essays
The Peril of Ceiling Fans
In South Carolina’s beach country, not having air conditioning, nevermind fans, is these days downright strange. A personal memoir of worried grandmothers and infant decapitation.
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Spoofs & Satire
Dante, Hero of Sinners
You already have your summer getaway planned—but what about your permanent vacation? Given your options, Hell may be less temperate, but its hidden perks make it well worth the trip.
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Spoofs & Satire
Namibia’s Tourism Minister Sends a Plea to Britney Spears
Just because your career takes an awkward turn doesn’t mean your baby’s birth can’t be a cherished event. Before you cancel your reservation at the Namibian birthing palace, we’d like a moment of your time.
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Reading
Book Digest: June 26, 2006
Watching the United States Millionaire’s Club latest so-called debate about the American military adventure in Iraq inevitably lead me back to Karl Kraus, who observed in April of 1917: “War:...
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Watching
Video Digest: June 23, 2006
The most soul-crushing E! True Hollywood Story I ever saw was about the actor Hervé Villechaize. This was dark stuff even by tabloid standards: drinking turpentine, stabbing his own self-portrait,...
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New York, New York
Here Is 47th Street
New York City’s diamond district is a zone of secret laws, hidden shops, and real-estate chicanery. Watching as one-block buff and guide Stephen Kilnisan pulls back the curtain.
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Notes From the Lawn
The Heirloom Ficus
When a loved one’s houseplants are divided up, what you get isn’t a condition of your standing as a relative, but of your ability as a gardener. Our writer has a story of memory and maintenance, and the discovery of a special bond.
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Listening
Maine Accent Chairs
My great-aunt Mary lives year-round on an island off the coast of Maine and still smokes while she watches the tennis or enjoys a nightcap. It’s given her an...
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Gallery
Files Are Not for Sharing
Preschoolers today know that hands are not for hitting and words are not for hurting. But learning about ethics doesn’t stop there. An illustrated primer for everyone still unclear on the rights and wrongs of intellectual property.
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Spoofs & Satire
Gastroeconomic Indicators
On special today we have a sampling of menus and social strata. But before you order, remember: Who you are depends on what you eat.
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Reading
Book Digest: June 19, 2006
As a fairly private citizen I should be pleased that this week has gone by without a particularly egregious depredation occurring in the literary world—but as a journalist I...
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The Non-Expert
Rachael Ray’s Secret Travel Tips
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we help a reader combine travel and eating—with knowledge cribbed from the Food Network star.
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Watching
Video Digest: June 16, 2006
Before I started assembling these video digests, I had no idea how many pets could talk, chug Fanta from a bottle, or pledge their love to Montel Williams. My own...
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Gallery
Orchidaceae
An interview with photographer Tanyth Berkeley about her inspirations, muses, and settings, and a gallery from her “Orchidaceae” series of pictures.
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Listening
Mp3 Digest: June 14, 2006
It was Bauhaus’s cover of “Ziggy Stardust” that turned me (and I suspect many others) into a David Bowie fanatic. I’d heard their version of the song long...
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New York, New York
One Day in New York City
June 1 dawned humid and hot. The forecast: a high of 84 degrees and possible late-day thunderstorms west of town. But forecasts—for the temperature or for a busy day of work and play—aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.
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Personal Essays
Do-Re-Moo
A report from the world of cow singing in England, where cattle stampede to hear Johnny Rotten imitations.
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Letters From the Editor
Stage Directions
Pornography Soap Operas Movies for the Lifetime Network Voiceovers & Commercials Reality Shows Movies for Other Cable Networks Television Hosts (Most) ↑ OUTSIDE THE ACTOR'S STUDIO ↑ ···································································· ↓ INSIDE THE ACTOR'S STUDIO ↓ Television Hosts ...
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Reading
Book Digest: June 12, 2006
The faux short-fingered vulgarians (a little inside joke) at Coudal Partners have come up with a swell idea, not the least of which because they have shown dubious judgement in...
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Fight or Flight
No Man Is an Island
Considering what may lie ahead otherwise, no amount of money is too great to devote to the fight against avian flu. But while everybody’s spending against each other’s contingency plans, we’re all left risking something too precious to lose.
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Watching
Video Digest: June 9, 2006
On Tuesday, I saw The Omen, which I’m ready to declare the comedy of the summer. I didn’t see it because I thought it would be good—a...
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Personal Essays
Shirtless Summer
Come summer, a line is drawn between guys who doff their tops and those dressed in jacket, tie, and sneer.
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Interviews
Stephen Wright’s Literary Landscape
UFO freaks, plant-loving vets, and science-minded slave owners people Stephen Wright’s novels. Maybe a little off the wall? Maybe not. We talk with the writer about his books and their reflections of the human condition.
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Listening
Strangers on the Doorstep
Two nights ago, our buzzer rang at around 11 o’clock. We weren’t expecting anyone. On the stoop stood a tall guy with a backpack, staring through the front gate....
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Letters From London
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?
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Birnbaum v.
Lawrence Weschler
Writer and off-the-charts associater Lawrence Weschler talks about his new book, Everything That Rises: A Book of Convergences, plus publishing as an act of citizenship and the joy of sideways learning.
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Reading
Book Digest: June 5, 2006
With regularity there is much caterwauling and ululating directed to the depredations and idiocies that emanate from the newspaper book review that people love to hate (guess who?)—this is...
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Watching
Video Digest: June 2, 2006
Last week’s American Idol finale has left a lot of TiVos with nothing to do. Fox has responded with a second season of So You Think You Can Dance,...
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The Non-Expert
Am I a Hypochondriac?
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we introduce a paranoid reader to our personal physician, Dr. Google, who has induced paranoia in more patients than anyone.
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Spoofs & Satire
Barbaro Responds to Fans
The nation falls in love with an injured horse and a thousand weepy editorials and get-well cards salute his courage. Now our equine hero responds to his well-wishers via his assistant.