October 2008 Archives
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Spoofs & Satire
The Roommate
A woman stops by her dorm room late at night. Careful not to wake her roommate, she never turns on the light. The next morning, she returns to find the police at her dorm. What happens next?
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Watching
Cube! Defender of the Polyverse!
As much as I like video-games, it's always better to be outside. This trailer for video game CUBE offers the technology that "makes calculators look like the cotton gin." It...
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New York, New York
My Killer Apartment
Stories of slammed doors and sad spirits aside, the man who committed suicide in your apartment probably isn’t there anymore. Probably.
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
Oct 30
The penultimate paragraph of your last missive reminded me of something I've been wanting to talk about ever since I read this post by the dean of liberal blogdom, Markos...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
October 29
I voted yesterday. On the surface early voting seemed very Eastern Bloc. There were forms to fill out followed by a long wait in an uncomfortable chair. Most of the...
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Reading
Parrworld
Controversial British photographer and Magnum member Martin Parr, who was once derided by Magnum founder and photographic titan Henri Cartier-Bresson as “from another planet,” is also known as a collector...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
Oct 28
I don't remember what I used my cut of the My First Presidentiary payment on, but I do know it wasn't my summer home on Cape Cod because I don't...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
October 26
Friday morning I ran to the store with my boys. It was just before noon when I rolled up to the checkout, my cart loaded with groceries and toddlers. A...
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Listening
Beach House Take a Break
Beach House's spooky and warm lo-fi pop music continues to breeze past. Beach House pause for thought and take a literal, not musical, break from woozy synths and a steady...
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Watching
Urban Wakeboarding
Until climate change becomes climate changed, until the ice surrounds us, freezes the waves, the surfers, and the sharks in place until spring, we'll have urban wakeboarding. Badly designed and...
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Gallery
A Russian Poem
Lise Sarfati’s photos of Moscow boys and early 20th century country houses look, at first glance, like the set and actors from a movie about the “Russian experience.”
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Listening
Motel De Moka
When I get stuck, when I'm uninspired and want surprise I check in with a music blog like no other. Motel De Moka wakes you up from your mid-afternoon daze,...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
Oct 24
I have a quiz for you. Who said the following? [O]ur entire agricultural system is built on cheap oil. As a consequence, our agriculture sector actually is contributing more...
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Reading
Recently Read
I don’t know about others (though the common default explanation is some variation of attention deficit) but my reading habits have seemingly transformed into something unrecognizable to the Me...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
October 23
That list of celebrities who "lean right" is hilarious in its pointlessness. The premise, of course, is that Hollywood is notoriously liberal and so any actor who would buck the...
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Listening
Calling It a Day
Bands break up. It's a fact of life. Sometimes it's a blessing (ahem, Creed); sometimes it's an unfortunate loss that everyone chooses to blame on Yoko. In the case of...
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Politics
Getting Over Sarah Palin
As Election Day draws near, it’s time for us to acknowledge: There’s a good chance that soon we won’t have Sarah Palin to kick around anymore. Our writer consults the experts on dealing with withdrawal.
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
Oct 22
Speaking of irony, did you know that Johnny Ramone was a republican? Also, while still speaking of irony, did you know that people who love the "real America" spend better...
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Reading
Across the Agua to Managua, Nicaragua
Though never far from my thoughts, the Central American nation of Nicaragua, to which I traveled in 1989, does manage occasionally to penetrate the American cultural noise machine--most recently with a...
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Roundtables
Love, Lies, and Online Dating
Either you’ve done it or you know someone who has: online dating, the scourge and savior of contemporary romance. A panel of experts discusses love 2.0.
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Watching
The Making of the Presidents
As an almost lifelong observer of presidential politics--which I have come to view as the American quadrennial carnival of democracy--I sadly assert that the once energizing and redemptive spectacle of...
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Announcements
Fall Food
It's fall, which means many things. You know: New England scenery, school buses, the crippling inability to get out of a warm bed on a cool morning. One more wonderful...
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Profiles
Henry Rollins and the Emergence of Hardcore
Early hardcore was characterized by frontmen like Black Flag’s Henry Rollins, who had the perseverance and genius to rise above convention. But as Rollins tells it, change is less an event than a lifelong process.
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
October 21
I've received a lot of email about last Friday's letter in which I noted that Obama was planning an outdoor rally in downtown Chicago on election night and warned Republican...
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Listening
Fucked Up!
Herein lies hardcore rock. The flutes that open Fucked Up!'s latest album loosen up all the muscles you'll need to react swiftly to an unexpected delivery of sweaty new...
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Gallery
Fallout Alarms
Cornelia Hesse-Honegger is a scientific illustrator and artist known for her pioneering bug work: She has collected more than 16,000 insects near nuclear plants and fallout sites.
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Watching
Human Rights School, Gossip Girl Endorsement, Joe the VP
A human rights PSA delivered in a quasi High School Musical fashion is strangely compelling. There are no colorful songs about the status quo--it's a boring gray reality of in-school...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
Oct 19
Two big pieces of news over the weekend, Obama's $150 million fundraising haul for September and Colin Powell's endorsement. Naturally, those of us worried about Obama's ultimate fortunes can figure out...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
October 17
Joe the Plumber turned out to be the James Frey of this election, in that he's not named Joe, he's not a licensed plumber, he probably couldn't afford to buy...
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Reading
Handmade Nation
In our heavily industrialized civilization, we have rightly placed a great value on handmade, original one- or few-of-a-kind goods. For Handmade Nation: The Rise of D.I.Y., Art, Craft,...
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The Non-Expert
Pushing Your Buttons
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. In this week’s installment, we help an Obama supporter navigate the murky waters of political expression at the workplace.
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
Oct 16
Wow, the last 24 hours have been quite the whirlwind for Joe the Plumber. Turns out his name isn't Joe, he's not a plumber, he's a registered republican, (though republican challenges...
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Listening
Songs of the Sacred Harp
Folk music isn't all bearded backwoodsmen and bohemian activists. Traditionally, American folk music has been a joyous and mesmerizing thing--beatniks and '60s folk revivalists take note. Sacred Harp is...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
October 16
To answer your question, I ran a very McCainsian campaign for student council president. I was the sitting student council vice president and yet somehow ran on a platform of...
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Reading
The Given Day
Though I am not an admirer or enthusiast of Boston writer Dennis Lehane, who is best known for the novel on which Clint Eastwood based his film Mystic River--I have...
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Birnbaum v.
Amy Bloom
Straight from Boston, a conversation with author Amy Bloom on her latest book, Away, the benefits of the writing life, and the tedium of extra-long novels.
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
Oct 15
Your link discussing your former high school econ teacher, Mr. Head, buried the lead that you are a seasoned politician yourself. Someday, between now and our temporary epistolary blog's expiration...
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Listening
No Censorship Age
Election years tend to put a strain on the relationship between the media establishment (at least its old-school incarnations) and entertainers/artists (to say nothing of the strain between the...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
October 14
Virtually everything I know about the subject I learned from my high school economics teacher Ron Head. Mr. Head also taught social studies and, as illustrated quirkily in this New...
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What Happens Next
***Spoilers*** ***Spoilers*** ***Spoilers***
Spoilers online and IRL are plentiful, rendering those who wish to remain unaware on high alert at all times. A look at the many ways spoilers spoil everything (spoilers ahead).
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Watching
Chromeo & Juliet
Intimate relationships with computers can get a little too much, even for your most progressive electro band. Chromeo, below, take part in a strangely familiar reality show, complicating matters. P-Thugg...
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Personal Essays
Plan B
Determining that precise instant when life starts is a big subject in American politics, but it’s rarely discussed with much nuance.
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Gallery
Western Views
Though urbanites and smug “East-Coasters” often forget, the American wilderness is breathtaking. Jesse Chehak’s photos reveal the natural beauty in the country’s western hills, valleys, mountains, and streams.
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Reading
Lost on Planet China
Which superpower regularly exports inferior goods, infiltrates other economies, has a questionable human rights record, and preemptively wars against other sovereign nations? Strong evidence can be presented that the U...
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Listening
Attracting Strange Midnight Snowflakes
Buffalo's own Mercury Rev is the latest band to jump on the increasingly popular trend of making recording industry executives cry by giving away great material absolutely free. On September 29,...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
October 10
Am I worried? I'm a novelist, which is the opposite of a "secure, steady job." My wife works in the financial industry. The last few weeks I've pretty much walked...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
October 9
I think John McCain's biggest problem at this point is that he doesn't like Barack Obama enough. Last week you and I talked about polls showing that middle-class and independent...
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Watching
Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too!
In the 1840 presidential campaign, William Henry Harrison and John Tyler of the Whig party ran against Democratic party founder and President Martin Van Buren (our first president born a U...
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Listening
From Our Own Correspondent
I do not enjoy unarmed combat with the irrepressible background noise machine that the media starts up at every opportunity; nine pundits on one screen, immediate and inevitably colorless analysis,...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
Oct 8
God Bless technology! Number of times that Sarah Palin used the word "maverick" in her debate with Joe Biden: 15. Number of times John McCain used the word in last night's...
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Watching
Anyone Else but You
First lady of France Carla Bruni and Nouvelle Star 2007 winner Julien Doré sang the Moldy Peaches' "Anyone Else But You," a.k.a. the ultimate love song for the socially...
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The Novice
How to Embalm a Body
Those who can’t do, learn. In this installment of our series in which the clueless apprentice with the experts, we visited a funeral home in New Jersey to learn, hands-on, how to prepare someone for an eternal rest.
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
October 7
According to a new CNN poll, 60% of us think an economic depression is "likely." This is one of those classic news polls where they ask a bunch of random people...
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Gallery
A Year of Mornings
Stephanie Congdon Barnes and Maria Alexandra Vettese document a year’s daily exchange of photos—one picture taken each morning and swapped by email.
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Reading
Obscene in the Extreme
In some fashion you all, no doubt, celebrated Banned Books Week (Sept. 29-Oct. 6), the American Library Association’s annual celebration of the freedom to read. How, you are asking, might...
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Reading
The Watchdogs
Apparently we are heading to an important election and many citizens and various aliens of all stripes, eyes, and ears are being besieged by the various soothsayers, talking heads, and...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
Oct 5
If we're going to play the guilt by association game, let's not forget that Palin has birthed five children from the seeds of a secessionist. A few more kids and...
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Watching
Don’t Call It a Bailout
I think about the bailout and imagine a Wall Street investor flailing about in a kids' splasher pool crying 'cause the big-boys pushed him in. The latter-termed Rescue Package makes...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
October 4
I think Sarah Palin might have a point with this Bill Ayers business. I'm not talking about her desperate attempt to frame Barack Obama as being "pals" with "terrorists who...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
Oct 2
In the immortal words of Alec Baldwin's character in the David Mamet movie, State and Main, "Well, that happened." Baldwin was describing a spectacular car crash which his character, a...
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Reading
George Grosz: Berlin-New York
Perhaps it is too obvious that the manifold pleasures of the world (as well all manner of infelicities, not to mention horrors) mostly come at you without introduction or warning....
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
October 3
Well, the Republicans finally got their pit bull back on a leash last night and this morning I suspect she'll be shoved back into her travel cage. After a week...
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Letters From Cairo
Press 1 for Arabic
It’s a cinch to have groceries delivered in Egypt—as long as you know how to place your order.
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Profiles
Giant in the House
Parents can seem larger in life to their children, but some truly are giants. Recounting the death of her stepfather, for whom nothing was easier by being freakishly big.
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
Oct 2
As an addendum to your cogent and well-reasoned response to Michael questioning our support of the bailout, I'd just like to add that we're currently experiencing the negative corollary to...
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The Guilfoile-Warner Papers
October 1
Before I tell you how it could get worse for Sarah Palin, I have to confess, just for the record, that I have a little pastor problem of my own. ...
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Reading
Burning Down the House
It is not beyond reason to assert that the small segment of humanity devoted to the written word can be further divided into those who find reading as an escape...
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Of Recent Note
Boats We Missed
From acclaimed television series to all-over-your-radar bands to the website even your grandmother knows about, here are the phenomena that the readers and writers, until recently, missed out on.
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Watching
Punk Ghandi, Aragorn’s Pax Americana, Palin the White Witch
Bono is blogging about bureaucracy, manga comics, and celeb spooting, tag-teaming Jeffrey Sachs, beating world poverty and global injustice with a steel-chair on a blog for The Financial Times. At...
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Listening
Quoi de Neuf
Beautiful pianist, singer, and New England Conservatory drop-out Casey Dienel is only 23 and she's making better music than you or I probably ever will. She's also not trying to make...