November 2012 Archives
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TMN Weekender
Consolation Prize
In 2008, TMN’s Todd Levin traced his life in gaming from the pixelated ’80s to the first-person-shooter present in his series “Consoles I Have Known,” ready...
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End Zone
The 49ers Stink
He had been struggling with his back for years, and even after securing an impressive victory against the Lions that night, he was again sidelined during the playoffs. The 49ers,...
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The Non-Expert
Heaven Can Wait
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week, advice for a lovelorn atheist who wants to know if a Christian could love him back.
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Birnbaum V.
Attica Locke
Our man in Boston talks to screenwriter and novelist Attica Locke about writing in Hollywood, the origins of her second novel, and where exactly British prisoners locate the moral heart of The Wire.
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Cloud of Atlases
Flying Over You
(One clue to get you started: The map doesn’t represent gross national anything.) [Answer]
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Day of the Sparrow
Two Songs, One Thief
Though I hadn’t heard the 1965 classic for years, I knew this was a remake, not the original. I am talentless in every field, except one: I can recognize...
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The Travel Desk
Twilight on the Tundra
How do you see what mushers see? You mush. An adventure on the Beringia, a dog sled race stretching over Russia’s easternmost tundra. If in the process you see more than you ever expected—more of humanity, more of yourself—then thank the people of 685 miles of snow.
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Gallery
Black Is Beautiful
Darkness in photography is often undervalued. A Dutch photographer’s vision that’s built on erosion, reflections, and shades of gray.
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Reading Roulette
Irina Bogatyreva
The latest salvo from our Reading Roulette series of contemporary Russian literature—stories you’ll rarely find elsewhere in translation, unfortunately. This month we bring you a contender for the Debut Prize, Russia’s preeminent award for young writers.
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Gallery
In Between Insomnia and Scandinavia
Inspired by depictions of motherhood in Norwegian historical novels, illustrator Carson Ellis hollows out a dream world made of joys and sorrows—familiar territory for many mothers.
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TMN Weekender
The Getaway
TMN contributor and musical omnivore Patrick Ambrose brings together my two favorite escapes: good tunes and good writing. If you, too, need to get away for a bit during the...
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End Zone
The Falcons Stink
Sure, the Falcons have performed well since they signed Matt Ryan in 2008, but as reliably well as they play in the regular season, they lose with the same predictability in...
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Our Passions, Our Day Jobs
The Death of Farmbrain
These days, everyone seems to enjoy tending chickens and eating local. But lifestyles are rarely ways of life, and the grain that goes into our daily bread is still easiest to obtain from giant operations. Visiting a dying small farm shows why.
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The Global Desk
North Korea Won’t Be Liberated in a Day
North Korea’s prison camps are roundly condemned as heinous, but remain untouched. When an idealistic young reporter takes on a mission to help shut them down—bearing Hemingway and Vollmann in mind—he winds up on the doorstep of the Embassy of the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea.
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Cloud of Atlases
Start to Make It Better
(One clue to get you started: The map doesn’t represent gross national anything.) [Answer]
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Gallery
Get Closer
Ben Weiner’s paint-splattered palette isn’t just a tool, it’s the basis of his work: landscapes that magnify globs of oil paint a thousandfold and videos that turn the process of mixing paint into a slow ballet.
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End Zone
The Eagles Stink
Three years ago, Vick was a chagrined third-stringer who hadn’t played football in two years because he’d been in jail; the following year, he posted a...
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Man's Best Fiend
Catlike DIY
A long-ignored home improvement project awaits. The tools and materials are at the ready, and there’s nothing to stop you. Then enters a cat named Jeeves.
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TMN Weekender
New York as You Never Knew Her
TMN editor Erik Bryan knows all about the New York the rest of us have forgotten. He’s spent the past year or so exploring the city’s...
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Day of the Sparrow
Preparing for Winter
I need a winter plan, I told myself. I thought back to previous hibernal projects. Three years ago I had a tea-drinking ritual. Somehow, my wife and I accumulate boxes...
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Cloud of Atlases
Other Towns and Cities
(One clue to get you started: The map doesn’t represent gross national anything.) [Answer]
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Gallery
Them Thar Hills
A series of imposing mountain ranges made from cornices of thick paint, ridges lightly shadowed, and humans hidden in the snow.
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When Presidents Drink
Four More Beers
One of the most striking differences between U.S. presidents is how they choose to stock the White House bar. From teetotalers to all-out drunks, a brief history of presidents and their preferred libations.
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Unnatural Disaster
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Apocalypse
When a Frankenstorm arrives from Haiti with destructive powers, the semi-professional student of zombie literature and history has a unique ability to perceive the arrival of end times. Welcome to America’s new normal: the nonfictional apocalypse.
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End Zone
The Bears Stink
Two weeks ago, Grantland’s Bill Barnwell ranked the Bears as the NFL’s best team. His argument began with a single sentence that speaks volumes: “Yes,...
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TMN Weekender
Wake Me When It’s Over
In (hopefully) more lighthearted news, you may have also heard the story of little Abby Evans, a Colorado toddler who was so traumatized by the endless, aggressive presidential campaign that...
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Birnbaum V.
Charles Yu
Our man in Boston puts the mighty Charles Yu in the ragtop and interrogates him over his background, dystopian fiction, lawyering for a day job, his lack of a creative writing graduate degree, Apple thingies, and why economists operate under pen names.