February 2008 Archives
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Watching
Video Digest: February 29, 2008
I would like to dedicate this digest to a colleague, whose fascination with Cuba began with his “first sight of Fidel Castro and his bearded cohort during the early and...
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In Hindsight
Here’s the Beef
In February, the largest beef recall in history capped weeks of speculation about sick cows, then prompted many to wonder where all that meat went off to.
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The Rooster
Judges for the 2008 Tournament of Books
We interrupt our normal publishing schedule to bring you further news of the following sponsored event: The 2008 Tournament of Books is just one week away, and we’ve got some judges we’d like you to meet.
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Listening
Going Steady With the Singles
Richard Ayoade said it best on an episode of Time Trumpet as to why, every day, he was compelled to watch an ape being savagely raped on television because “he...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
The Hottie and the Nottie
As the battle for the Democratic nomination tightens, Kevin Guilfoile and John Warner look back at the candidates that have been left behind, theorize about what constitutes plagiarism, and wonder about the Clinton political monster that wasn’t.
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Personal Essays
Sins of Admission
Growing up with strict Muslim rules can be tough in mainstream America. Throw in prank calls to sexually excitable old men and the going suddenly gets harder.
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Reading
Book Digest: February 25, 2008
Last week I introduced my new headline-grabbing, star-fucking, gambit—which entails begging various writers of my acquaintance to offer some literary tidbit that I may incorporate into this space. This...
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Gallery
Antiquities
Robots and androids aren’t the sole property of science fiction. Christopher Conte’s sculptures are more like old-fashioned studies rendered with today’s materials: anatomical forms on the verge of motion.
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Kirsten Kay Thoen
Vera Balyura
Birthplace: Kiev, Ukraine Occupation: Jewelry designer by day, rock star by night. How would you describe your look? A cowboy who shows his emotions in song mixed with a Winteria...
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Of Recent Note
Movies for What Ails You
It’s winter, and chances are you’re sick or you’re about to be. Even though you may feel like you’d rather curl up and die, we recommend curling up with a good movie instead—and the writers’ answer to most ailments is Jimmy Stewart.
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Watching
Video Digest: February 22, 2008
Occasionally we invite guests to edit the weekly Digests. This week, we’re happy to be visited by Jad Abumrad, host and producer of perhaps the most innovative show on...
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The Rooster
The 2008 Tournament of Books
We interrupt our normal publishing schedule to bring you news of the following sponsored event: Now in its fourth installation, the 2008 Tournament of Books is coming soon, and we’ve got the nominee list to prove it.
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Listening
Deconstructing Valentines
Less than a week since Valentine’s Day, the investigation of a unique and more or less distinct shared set of cultural ideologies recognized as post-Valentinism is appropriate and well...
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Albums of the Year
The Top 10 Albums of 1987
Because year-end album lists shouldn’t happen just once a year. In this installment: The lists and timeline converge.
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Reading
Book Digest: February 18, 2008
Recently I sent a note to Richard Russo: In an obviously crass attempt to piggyback on the name recognition and star power of others, I am going to introduce a ...
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Gallery
Polaroids
For photographers, the Polaroid was toy and tool, means and end, and Mapplethorpe handled it magnificently: roughly with sex, playfully with himself, carefully with faces, studiously on the body.
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Watching
Video Digest: February 15, 2008
The Writers Guild of America strike is over! Hooray! I’m looking forward to an as-yet-unspecified day in April when Gossip Girl will return to the iTunes store and my...
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America, America, Burning Bright
Coiffed Beast Saunters
Soaring rhetoric is getting the short straw this campaign season, so how about some pointed poesy?
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Pitchaya Sudbanthad
Jon Armstrong
Hometown: I’ve lived in New York for more than 20 years Your first novel, Grey, is a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award. Has 2008 presented any developments that point...
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Listening
The February 2008 Leak Report
Although it’s formally considered his side project, Bradford Cox has been involved in Atlas Sound far longer than he’s been recording with his better known outfit, Deerhunter. Started...
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Personal Essays
A Writer by Any Other Name
Describing a character over 300 pages is one thing—reducing yourself to three lines is another. One man struggles with a writer’s greatest challenge: the byline.
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New York, New York
My Man Mac
When the talking heads won’t stop drubbing McCain for his supposed crimes against conservative principles, what’s a supporter supposed to do?
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Reading
Book Digest: February 11, 2008
The proliferation of journals unfortunately referred to as “blogs” has naturally led to a burgeoning bibliography dedicated to pointing out the coincidence of the decline of civilization and the rise...
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Gallery
To Brooklyn
No longer thriving with industry, Brooklyn’s industrial waterfront is now being remade by developers and planners who have cafés and green spaces and expensive rents on the brain.
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Watching
Video Digest: February 8, 2008
We had a lovely Super Tuesday in San Francisco, thank you. I agonized over my choice of presidential candidate for days, but ultimately I’m happy with my decision. That...
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Reader Letters
Guilfoile-Warner Counterpoint
Dear Morning News folks, So Barack Obama fans Kevin Guilfoile and John Warner agree that in a prospective match-up between Hillary Clinton and John McCain, they might well vote for...
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Reader Letters
Meanwhile, in the Obama Camp…
Dear TMN, When we got the results of the Iowa caucus, I felt the things I was supposed to feel: excitement, vindication, enthusiasm, and fear. Fear of Mike Huckabee, primarily,...
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The Non-Expert
Begging the Question
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we explain the phrase nobody understands in terms everyone can understand. For the most part.
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Wylie Maercklein
Cari Palazzolo
Hometown: I’ve been here in Austin for about 11 years now. Who taught you how to play the piano? My most notable teacher was Ms. Mundine, a Southern goddess back...
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Reader Letters
Comma Crazy, But…
Dear editors, Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t limited space for headlines the only reason newspapers use commas in place of “and’? If so, a question: Web...
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Spoofs & Satire
The Third-Inning Blooper Reel
Contract disputes, managerial changes, players testifying on Capitol Hill about steroid use: With only a month until spring training, baseball didn’t get much of a rest this off-season.
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Spoofs & Satire
Stimulating
The government says your stimulus check will soon be in the mail, but when you finally receive it, should you invest it—or instead blow it on something the economy won’t ever forget?
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Reading
Book Digest: February 4, 2008
James Wood, Harvard mentor, literary critic (late of The New Republic, now of The New Yorker), and once and future novelist (The Book of God), has a new book, How...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be 2008
With Super Tuesday upon us, Kevin Guilfoile and John Warner assess the remaining field of competitors, have the audacity to hope, and break down the candidates into the kinds of VHS-or-Beta terms we can understand.
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Gallery
Puzzle Over and Over
Kent Rogowski’s “Love = Love” project delivers pure wonder at these puzzles remixed to make new scenes, abstract floral artwork where once there were cats.
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The Non-Expert
The Party Racket
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we solve another parenting mystery: Exactly how many of your child’s classmates must you invite to the birthday party?
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Watching
Video Digest: February 1, 2008
President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia invited Alex James, the bassist for Blur, to learn about the troubles in Colombia caused by the cocaine business; the president was inspired by James’...