May 2008 Archives
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Watching
Video Digest: May 30, 2008
The economic outlook’s been pretty bleak this year, what with the tanking housing market and the mess it made on Wall Street, and ordinary Americans are losing their jobs....
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The Non-Expert
Today We Learn About Canada
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. In this week’s installment we uncover why Americans can so easily sniff out Canadians in their midst.
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
The Ace of Self-Pity
As she reaches the end of her deck, Clinton has exhausted almost all her moves—even going so far as to suggest her opponent might be assassinated. Our commentators search for a more peaceful ending.
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Listening
Time to Pretend
When leaving the apartment the other night, I was stopped in my tracks by a strange noise emanating from our living room. Or rather, it was the source that was...
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Listening
Make it So
Daedelus has pulled an increasingly common move to promote his upcoming album, Love to Make Music To: If you release the remix, they will come. The new single, “Make It...
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Listening
Lemurs and Foals
The Foals may be the most prematurely remixed indie band ever, thanks mostly to The Lemur, who I recently encountered on a net surf-ari. The Lemur Blog was host to...
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Listening
Let’s Get Physical
The Black Ghosts are also the subject of premature hypulation. They’ve been generating heat since the release of their EP last fall, and are now releasing exclusive music videos ...
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Gallery
Colliding Worlds
Kehinde Wiley’s paintings marry strange bedfellows: the National Gallery and New York City streets; sneakers and traditional Senegalese textiles.
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Awards
2008 Editors’ Awards for Online Excellence
The internet: There sure is a lot of stuff on it. In the course of a year of browsing, we’ve discovered some favorites that deserve some sort of award—in fact, this sort of award. Presenting the 2008 Eddys.
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Watching
Video Digest: May 23, 2008
Perhaps inspired by TMN’s Matthew Baldwin’s Sesame Street-themed muxtape, or the birth of my boyfriend’s nephew, I’ve been thinking a lot about kids. Babies specifically, though...
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Lisa Whiteman
Kristen Schaal
Birthplace: Longmont, Colo. Occupation: Comedian, actress, writer A series you’re not writing for, but would love to be: Ab Fab You play an obsessed fan on Flight of the...
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Of Recent Note
Vacation Destinations
With Memorial Day just around the corner, our thoughts are turning to getting the heck out of town. Where to? Well, the TMN readers and writers have some recommendations.
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Reading
Book Digest: May 19, 2008
Darin Strauss, whose third opus, More Than It Hurts You, will enter the literary fray soon, weighs in on his latest reading: I’m reading The Journals of John Cheever....
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Gallery
The Fourth Wall
Amy Arbus brings some of Broadway’s most recognizable actors from the stage to the streets, fully costumed and in character.
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Announcements
Where was your last great vacation?
The latest Of Recent Note is just around the corner, and like last time, we’re inviting you to participate. Here’s this month’s assignment: “Vacation Destinations” The summer...
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The Non-Expert
Ladies First
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we solve the origins of “Mrs.,” and present a new nomenclature to fill the gender gap, once and for all.
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Watching
Video Digest: May 16, 2008
When I was a crazy teenager, my mom read my journals to try to find out “what was really going on” (just like Rufus Humphrey did to Jenny on Gossip...
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Spoofs & Satire
Food Network Kicks Its Programming Up a Notch
An adventurous new show proves you can’t boost your ratings without breaking a few eggs.
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Personal Essays
Meir Comes Clean
Sixty years after the founding of Israel, the pomp-and-circumstance of the anniversary—celebrated last week on the Jewish calendar and today on the secular one—prompts a different sort of recollection.
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Listening
Shiller
According to the internet, last week New York-based electronic duo Ratatat quietly released a vinyl-only seven-inch (whatever the hell those words mean). One of the songs included is “Shiller,” which...
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Listening
The Greatest Man That Ever Lived
I’ve never really gotten over Matt Sharp’s departure from Weezer in 1998, and haven’t really paid much attention to their output since, except for deciding what singles I’...
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Listening
Lovecraft in Brooklyn
After collaborating on “Coffee” more than a year ago, the Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle and underground hip-hop champion Aesop Rock have reversed roles and the latter has played guest to...
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Listening
Razor Tongue
First gaining attention as the female vocalist on Tricky’s first four albums, Martina Topley-Bird has one of the most distinctive voices in trip-hop, an admittedly small group of artists....
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Listening
No Hiding Place
I’d hoped to mention Elvis Costello & the Impostors’ new album, Momofuku, for this month’s Leak Report, but at the time it seemed everyone in his cabal was keeping...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
The Bitterest Pill
Her campaign beaten and bruised, Hillary won’t concede defeat, and proves she’s willing to do anything to get elected. With a comeback unlikely, our commentators wonder what she’ll try next—now and after the election.
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Reading
Book Digest: May 12, 2008
Elizabeth Strout, whose latest opus, Olive Kitteridge, is garnering well-deserved reviews, writes: I have been reading Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory, the heartbreaking, gorgeously told story of...
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Gallery
Perfect Day
For artist Stephen Floyd, the medium is our conversational ether, our office-talk, the phrases that float around us during dinner conversation and in the news.
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Announcements
Serial Commas ‘R’ Us
Wondering about serial commas? Unsure about spelling foreign words? Curious about when God gets an uppercase? The TMN House Style Guide has been updated for all the latest concerns, so...
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Personal Essays
Girl Lessons
Mothers and daughters don’t always have the easiest relationships, especially when the daughters try to recycle the mothers with the trash. A story of aspirations, generations, and pop culture quizzes.
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Watching
Video Digest: May 9, 2008
I hear April was a good month for viral video. Having spent the majority of it in New Zealand, I missed all the good stuff, or so it seems. This...
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Scott Beale
Jay Maynard
Name: Jay Maynard Birthplace: Houston, Texas How do you feel when you’re wearing the Tron costume? About the only time I felt really different was right before I walked...
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America, America, Burning Bright
Do Not Go Gentle
With primary season nearly over, the two remaining Democrats are each facing their own demons. Perhaps some poetry will be an inspiration?
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Listening
The May 2008 Leak Report
I was considering using a malaprop of sorts to introduce this month’s collection of leaked music by conflating the popular adage of “April showers” with these “May leaks,” but...
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Stations
Cypress Hills, J Train
Turning an elevated corner, in the crook of which stands a decaying apartment, shades drawn to half-mast, darkness inside where life is shared with a world not paying attention, our writer does light research.
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Announcements
New Sites Added to the Deck
Several new web sites have joined The Deck, TMN's advertising network. We will let Mr. Zeldman explain our enthusiasm. Thinking of advertising with TMN and our cohorts? Here is why...
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Reading
Book Digest: May 5, 2008
Sigrid Nunez, whose novels I have enjoyed and admired, responds to my inquiry about what she’s been reading lately: “I’ve been asked to teach a literature seminar in...
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Gallery
On the Horizon
Sze Tsung Leong must pay a fortune for location scouts. His latest work shows the world’s edge in many cities, many rural vales, but always finds it a little shimmery and hard to pin down.
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Reader Letters
Ingredients: Tomatoes, Onions, Broth, and a Dash of Salt
Hi, Kate, Perhaps, instead of swearing off your beloved soup, you could try making it yourself. Yes, it may take a bit more time than it takes you to microwave...
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In Hindsight
More Than Meets the Eye
There is a distinct possibility that, within our lifetimes, robots will be everywhere—taking out the trash, day-tripping to Mars, winning the Nobel prize. During the past month, news about robots was frequently amazing and sometimes terrifying.
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Albums of the Year
The Top 10 Albums of 1988
Because album lists shouldn’t happen only once a year. Now arriving within two decades of the present day.