If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe More and more nations—now including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—say they’re willing to recognize Palestine. / DW Only 32 percent of Americans approve of
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe Two leading Israeli rights organizations say Israel’s conduct in Gaza constitutes genocide. / BBC News Emily Tamkin: Israeli officials have not only admitted to restricting aid
Nearly 31 million people in Nigeria are facing acute food insecurity and need life-saving food. / The Associated Press José Andrés, chef and founder of World Central Kitchen, has a plan for cooking one million meals a day in Gaza. / The New York Times [$] A profile of “the hype man of
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe The World Food Program says the hunger crisis in Gaza has reached “new and astonishing levels of desperation.” / NPR News organizations say they’re “desperately concerned”
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe Trump was briefed by DoJ in May about his appearances in the Epstein files. / The Wall Street Journal [$] Republican policies are making electricity more expensive, providing
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe The US withdraws from UNESCO again, only two years after rejoining. / The Associated Press More than 100 aid agencies warn that "mass starvation" is
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe Cancer care is now so costly that nearly half of patients and survivors go into medical debt, impacting their credit. / STAT Things we didn’t know:
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe Germany and the UK sign their first bilateral defense pact since World War II. / Defense News Malaria returns “with a vengeance” in Zimbabwe, with 115 outbreaks
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe The EU approves a new group of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. / The Moscow Times Putin is reportedly unfazed by Trump's
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe In the past few months, Iran has deported hundreds of thousands of Afghan migrants. / The Atlantic [$] At least 20 people have died in a crush at
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe A surprising view of the current state of the United Nations, which is currently suffering from “no cash, no direction, and no morale.” / The Dial See
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe China calls out “coercion” after the United States threatens “very severe” tariffs against Russia’s remaining trade partners. / Barron’s Walmart is one of the biggest
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe American soldiers train alongside Australian and Japanese troops to prepare for a possible war with China. / Semafor Unmanned vehicles now “dominate the battlefield” in Russia’s
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe More than 500 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid since late May. / BBC News Reports find sheriff’s departments in rural America are killing more
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe France and the United Kingdom suggest they’ll extend nuclear protections to European allies. / The Wall Street Journal [$] An overview of security challenges emerging in the
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe Nearly half of African nations have restricted or banned raw-material exports over the past two years. / The Wall Street Journal [$] American buyers of rare earth metals
China experts warn of serious internal threats—“overcapacity” and “involution”—facing the country’s economy. / Semafor Japan and South Korea receive letters from the White House saying they have until August to agree on new trade terms. / The Wall Street Journal [$] Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States says
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe An interesting conversation with the head of NATO, who praises Trump for making Europe pay more for its defense. / The New York Times [$] A mother hiding
TMN will be off tomorrow and Friday. We’ll see you Monday. Senate Republicans return a “more politically explosive” megabill to the House for passage. / Politico Ramesh Ponnuru: Republicans are playing a shell game because it lets them pass a bigger bill with a simple majority instead of facing a
If you enjoy TMN, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe Thailand’s prime minister is suspended over a sycophantic call with Cambodia’s former strongman leader. / CNN The White House’s cuts to foreign aid may lead
Checkpoints are springing up around Tehran as Iranian authorities seek out people they suspect helped Israel’s attacks. / The Wall Street Journal [$] Haaretz says soldiers have been ordered to shoot at unarmed Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza. / Haaretz, Al Jazeera See also: In Britain, a round-up of newspaper front pages
The Supreme Court decides to limit the ability of federal judges to pause Trump’s executive orders. / Reuters It also preserves a part of the Affordable Care Act that requires insurance companies to cover preventive health services like colonoscopies. / Politico An explanation of who is Elizabeth MacDonough—“the most powerful
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention backs up the importance of vaccination. / STAT The World Health Organization says its vaccination
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe A group of business, political, and military figures are looking to run Iran without Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. / The Atlantic [$] Early intelligence says the United
What is the United States if it follows Trump’s path into a post-American world? “Too brutal to love but too irrelevant to fear.” / Foreign Affairs See also: Dictatorships around the world and countries with major corruption problems often have “masked police who protect their identities.” / The Guardian So far,
Do you enjoy these headlines? Please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe Trump undercuts his top advisers, floating the idea of regime change in Iran. / Politico Was the Saturday attack on Iranian nuclear facilities unconstitutional? In terms of
Please consider joining us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe Iran races to export its oil while Trump considers joining Israel’s bombing campaign. / Bloomberg [$] Foreign ministers from Britain, France, and Germany meet with their Iranian counterparts. / The Times of
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe Israel’s defense minister admits he ordered increased attacks in Iran to topple the regime. / The Guardian Trump is questioning advisors whether bunker-busting bombs will work
Please consider joining us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe Israel-Iran exacerbates a rift in MAGA media, with Fox News staking out a pro-war position. At the same time, no one’s talking about how such a war would end.
Welcome to the refreshed TMN! If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe Heavy traffic is seen around Tehran as many people flee Iran’s capital. / BBC News A visual guide to the nuclear
If you enjoy TMN, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe Iran has been urgently signaling that it wants an end to hostilities and resumption of talks over its nuclear program. / The Wall Street Journal [$] Jeffrey Lewis: The
Thanks for reading TMN! If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe Israel launches a massive attack against Iran and its nuclear program that is likely to last “many days.” / The Guardian US officials
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe The United States now spends far more on immigration enforcement than on preventing violent crime, terrorism, tax fraud—or all of those combined. / Marginal Revolution An
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe “No Kings” protests are being planned across the country for Saturday’s Flag Day, which is also Trump’s birthday. / Newsweek Texas Gov. Abbott says the
Welcome to the new TMN! If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe As Trump dispatches marines to Los Angeles, protests over immigration raids spread to Texas, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. / BBC News What’s
Welcome to the refreshed TMN! If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe A former ICE chief of staff says to get the immigration detention numbers Stephen Miller wants—3,000 a day—will
Welcome to the new TMN! If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe The CBO estimates Trump’s bill will cut taxes by $3.7 trillion, add $2.4 trillion to deficits, and leave
Hello and thank you for reading! If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe A map shows where the Trump Organization has expanded internationally since the 2024 election. / The Wall Street Journal [$] The White
Welcome to the refreshed TMN! If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe Trump’s tariffs are ruled illegal in a sweeping ruling from a federal judicial panel. / Reuters Trump dislikes Wall Street’s
Welcome to the refreshed TMN! If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe Israel’s controversial new aid site for Palestinians is all chaos on its first day of operations. / The New York Times
Welcome back to the refreshed TMN! As a reminder, we depend on your support. So if you enjoy what we do, please join us as a Sustaining Member to keep this newsletter running, plus unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe New Zealand’s top diplomat says the Pacific should be
RFK Jr. said he wouldn’t “take away anybody's vaccines,” but HHS’s new regulatory moves do just that by altering who can access—or possibly afford—Covid shots. / NBC News, NPR The White House and many Congressional Republicans have all but stopped talking about Elon Musk. / Politico
Welcome back to the refreshed TMN! As a reminder, we depend on your support. So if you enjoy what we do, please join us as a Sustaining Member to keep this newsletter running, plus unlock access to paywalled links. Subscribe “Call it the French Watergate.” A scandal involving Perrier threatens
Researchers attempting to explain why the universe exists are studying neutrinos in underground “cathedrals to science.” / BBC News New therapeutic strategies for cancer are beginning to emerge, “providing safer, more targeted delivery directly to tumors.” / Undark Magazine Chinese scientists have a new way of extracting uranium from seawater. / New Scientist
Scientists say the universe is expected to decay in 10⁷⁸ years, “much sooner than previously thought.” / Phys.org Meanwhile, the United States and China agree to a 90-day pause on tariffs. / Reuters Regarding the new foreign plane for President Trump, the crypto deals and golf courses—is it all so
In India and Pakistan, both countries “know that the real danger is the specter of uncontrolled escalation.” / Dawn Experts weigh whether India’s new rules for satellite internet operators will thwart Amazon’s Project Kuiper and Elon Musk’s Starlink. / rest of world Stockholm scoffs at a US letter demanding
India launches missile strikes in several parts of Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled territory. / The Guardian Pakistan claims to have shot down five Indian jets. / CNN A hospital bombing raises concerns that South Sudan may return to civil war. / UN News Immigration advocates warn of a potential mass immigration enforcement operation in
Latin America is reportedly the only place right now where traditional right-wing economics is on the upswing. / Semafor Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit jumped in the first quarter of 2025, driven by a sharp drop in oil revenues. / Arabian Gulf Business Insight The conservative leader Friedrich Merz wins a parliament
Tesla board members reportedly spent the last month looking for a new CEO to replace Elon Musk. / The Wall Street Journal [+] For its part, Tesla denies the story. / The Guardian Plunging trade means the port of Los Angeles will see shipping volume drop 35% next week. / CNBC A tour through
Power is slowly returning after a massive power outage in Spain and Portugal. / The Guardian Meanwhile, Spain's electricity grid recently ran entirely on renewable energy for the first time. / pv magazine President Trump's meme coin has "eviscerated the boundary between private enterprise and government policy.
Russia hits Kyiv with missiles and drones, one of the deadliest attacks on the capital since last year. / The Kyiv Independent A tunnel between Denmark and Germany will link 90 individual segments, piece by piece, "like Lego bricks." / BBC News Italy's transformation into "a recycling
The trade war between Washington and Beijing looks good for African nations. / Semafor From February, a round-up of China's top trading partners on the continent. / China Global South Fourteen reasons why tariffs won't bring manufacturing back to the United States—among them: "most Americans are
The dollar falls to a three-year low, as a trade war and threats against the Federal Reserve drive "Sell America" trades. / Semafor Andrew Burmon: If the fig leaf of prestige falls, the upper middle class will discover how angry it is at "the misalignment of their expectations
Chinese President Xi Jinping wraps up a Southeast Asia tour to strengthen already robust trade relations. / The Associated Press Goldman Sachs says a decoupling of the United States and China may cost the US $2.5 trillion. / The South China Morning Post The World Trade Organization expects trade of merchandise
A day in the life of northeastern Ukraine, where there are no signs Vladimir Putin wants to end his war. / The New York Times [+] A whistleblower explains that as DOGE staffers exfiltrated data, someone in Russia followed them through the door. / NPR Related: The EU issues burner phones to officials
The Nile's migratory birds are threatened by tourists' poaching habits. "Maltese hunters take everything." / The New Arab New technologies are helping to regrow Arctic sea ice, but they remain controversial. / Grist El Salvador President Nayib Bukele says he can't return a mistakenly deported
Analysts say President Trump's pause on some tariff measures "upends any pretence that we understand his strategy." / ING Meanwhile, Trump now faces accusations of market manipulation. / Al Jazeera From the Financial Times: "We now know the market has Trump on a leash, and we have
The world used clean power to meet more than 40% of its electricity demand last year. / The Guardian Between 1999 and 2023, heat deaths in the United States more than doubled. / Grist Lithium-ion batteries became the leading cause of fire deaths in New York City last year—how LA removed
President Trump plans an expensive military parade for his 79th birthday. / Washington City Paper Economic tensions with the United States' trading partners begin to escalate. / Semafor Tariffs may not make other countries respect the US, "but they can make them move on without it." / The Atlantic A
About 70 percent of adults in the United States say they are following news about the White House. / Pew Research The administration plans to build a new "war-fighting headquarters" in Japan to deter China. / NBC News President Trump says he is not joking about running for a third
Canada's Prime Minister says the country's old relationship with the United States, "is over." / BBC News An alliance providing vaccines to poor communities says a loss of US funding would potentially cause a million-plus deaths. / The Associated Press Scientists are stunned that a long-discredited
The European Union tells residents to stockpile 72 hours of food in readiness for war. / Politico The week's long read: A reasonably condensed version of one person's saga of escaping Iran for the United States. / Outliving Iran Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza protest against Hamas. / The
Russia agrees to a ceasefire in the Black Sea following talks in Saudi Arabia, then almost immediately demands new terms. / Semafor See also: President Donald Trump receives a new portrait from Vladimir Putin. / BBC News Consumer confidence in the United States falls to a four-year low. / Al Jazeera The US
A Palestinian director of this year's Oscar-winning documentary is arrested by the Israeli army after masked settlers attack his house. / The Guardian In the fallout of a journalist being added to a Signal group discussing White House war plans, a lot of loathing for Europe is made public.
Turkey takes a step toward full autocracy after President Erdoğan jails his main political rival. / Politico The Turkish government says 1,133 people have been arrested after five days of protests across the country. / BBC News High-profile US officials are planning to visit Greenland this week, reviving concerns. / The Guardian
The Sudanese army says it has recaptured the presidential palace in Khartoum after nearly two years of fighting. / BBC News An explainer for how Germany's "fiscal flip" this week stunned Europe's diplomats. / Politico Unrelated: Photographs from Berlin's feminist noise-punk scene. / VICE London&
European leaders gather to find the money and rules needed to turn the bloc into a military superpower. / Politico Hungary passes a law banning any pride marches held by the LGBTQ+ community. / BBC News President Trump removes all democrats from the board of the Federal Trade Commission. / Vox Tesla protesters
Hundreds of Palestinians are killed after Israel resumes its war on Gaza. / Al Jazeera Peru declares another state of emergency in Lima over a crime wave. / Reuters Investors are slashing holdings of American equities by the most on record. / yahoo! Finance Military websites are scrubbing stories about Native American Code
A reporter in Canada explains how furious people are with the United States. / Vox "If you are not a citizen of the US, and you are going through an immigration process, your first thought needs to be: How can this process be weaponized against me?" / USA Today The
Greenlanders vote to rebuff President Trump's bid to control their island. / BBC News Chinese automaker BYD delivers more fully electric vehicles than Tesla for the first time in the fourth quarter. / rest of world Related: Some thoughts about "inventive arrays of everyday small vehicles" in Shanghai.
Ukraine says it is ready to accept a US-led proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia. / BBC News A separatist militant group in Pakistan says it has taken 214 hostages after hijacking a train. / The New York Times [+] The West is said to have bet on the wrong technologies in
Secretary of State Rubio says there's "no military solution" to resolving Russia's invasion of Ukraine. / The Guardian A Ukranian newspaper uncovers how Russian defense manufacturers are covertly buying American microchips. / The Kyiv Independent Historian Stephen Kotkin: Trump may be wrong in his analysis of
Why may President Trump's $880 billion in spending cuts come from Medicaid? Because otherwise the math doesn't add up. / The 19th A now-deleted list of government properties for sale includes a secretive CIA facility. / WIRED Related: How Trump's efforts to cut environmental red tape
The 2025 Tournament of Books, presented by Field Notes, is now live. / Field Notes, The Tournament of Books Denmark's postal service plans to end all letter deliveries at the end of 2025. / BBC News Russia is working hard to hold on to its military bases in Syria. / The
President Trump delivers the longest presidential address to a joint session in history. Some factchecking for his main statements. / Slate, The Guardian An ongoing tragedy in the United States? The "billionaire paradox" wherein "a small elite sacrifice both democratic principles and economic growth on the altar of
Stock markets fall after President Trump imposes tariffs on goods from China, Canada, and Mexico. / BBC News Some reactions in Ukraine after Trump halts all aid. / The Kyiv Independent A study finds nearly half of US voters aren't interested in buying a Tesla after recent events. / The San
Germany's incoming chancellor says Donald Trump's Oval Office clash with Zelenskiy was an obvious trap. / Reuters Secretary of State Rubio is believed to have canceled aid programs without review, knowing it would cause immediate deaths. / ProPublica A source says FAA officials ordered staff to find tens
In Washington, the Democratic Party is historically unpopular—and on track to retake the House of Representatives in 2026. / Vox Why the DOGE takeover is worse than we realize: Agencies are being dismantled, but we haven't felt the ripples of that—at least not yet. / WIRED Most of
European Commission leaders go to India in a bid to strengthen trade ties. / Semafor Around a billion people in India lack enough money to spend on discretionary goods or services. / BBC News Natalia Antelava says Vladimir Putin has scripted a new ending to the Cold War. / coda Some reasons why
South Korea's fertility rate rises for the first time in nine years, supported by an increase in marriages. / Reuters Denmark's economy is one of Europe's fastest-growing thanks to Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Ozempic drugs. / BBC News Brooke Harrington: Trust in government to
Ukrainian and American negotiators are said to be in the final stages of a minerals deal. / The New York Times [+] The White House's mixed signals on Russia and Ukraine may reflect an internal strategic clash. / Just Security Facilities in Mississippi and Texas are holding the most detained immigrants.
Five trends that will shape urban Africa in 2025—e.g., the Addis Ababa model. / The Week in Africa William Shoki: Elon Musk's opinions about South Africa want to reinforce the idea that black political power is threatening. / Africa Is a Country How to understand President Trump best?
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is charged with leading a plot to overthrow the government. / Reuters Argentina's president tries to deflect criticism after a cryptocurrency he endorsed on X collapses, erasing $4 billion in value. / The Wall Street Journal [+] President Trump suggests Kyiv is to blame for Russia&
Scientists worry about the politicization of vital statistics. / Undark Magazine Connecting the dots between Vice President Vance's recent "Nazi apologia" and his artificial-intelligence boosterism. / Forever Wars See also: Thanks to under-moderated social platforms, anyone can write their own Mein Kampf now. / Garbage Day "What Google
Historians say the United States is on the cusp of "competitive authoritarianism." / Foreign Affairs Chris Geidner: Trump and Musk are trying to sell America on being an authoritarian state, "but they can't do it unless we allow them to do so." / LAWdork The State
The playbook on how to win influence over President Trump is well known—and it still works. / Wake Up to Politics Law professors explain what happens if the White House ignores the courts. / NPR Benjamin Wittes: How effective can judges be in this task? Courts, after all, don't
M. Gessen explains the five categories of arguments people use when they engage in "anticipatory obedience." / The New York Times [+] Spencer Ackerman: Regarding Palestinians, Donald Trump is "a fulfillment of longstanding currents in American history." / Forever Wars A trend forecaster plots the chart between Brat Summer
Studies suggest people often prefer AI-generated content to human-generated material, or can't tell the difference. / Allure See also: A clamshell keyboard that turns phones into laptops. / dezeen A former Instagram researcher says Meta not only doesn't understand how friendship works, it doesn't care. / Meets
Thousands of residents flee the Greek island of Santorini after earthquakes are recorded for a fourth consecutive day. / BBC News Sweden suffers its worst school shooting, with at least 11 people killed. / Al Jazeera A growing number of countries are forging economic partnerships without the United States. / The New York
Pictures from the recent "day without immigrants" protests, mostly organized on social media. / The Los Angeles Times China responds to tariffs with export restrictions and surcharges on American coal and gas. / Semafor India extracts more groundwater than any other country worldwide, more than the US and China combined.
A technical glitch prevented yesterday's edition from mailing—our apologies! More than half a million displaced Palestinians have returned to northern Gaza. / Al Jazeera Kenyans ranked as the most optimistic people on the planet in 2002—an overview of their hope ever since. / Africa Is a Country No
Human-like fossils found in China appear to have extremely large brains, bigger than ours. / RNZ A study finds 55 percent of American 18 to 34-year-olds approve of the use of violence, property damage, or misinformation to enact change. / VICE College enrollment in the United States increased this fall, exceeding pre-pandemic
Biden's cabinet had a combined net worth of around $120 million, which is absolutely dwarfed by the $20 billion net worth of Trump's presumptive cabinet. / The Intercept Spencer Ackerman: What starts as temporary, emergency measures tend to become fixed in the firmament of American governance and
A round-up of President Trump's first day back in office, playing "ping-pong between the serious and the stunning." / The Wall Street Journal [+] Trump's political urgency may be slowed "by a more languid Congress." / Semafor The United States military debates possible deployment on
Qatar, Egypt, and the United States announce a cease-fire deal, though Israel has yet to convene ministers to discuss it. / Reuters Ilan Goldenberg: The most realistic scenario is that Hamas and Israel paper over their differences on post-conflict governance. / The Contrarian Fires continue to burn in Los Angeles, and conspiracy
Yoon Suk Yeol becomes South Korea's first sitting president to be arrested. / BBC News Stories from inside "Shein village," factories that supply the world's largest fast fashion retailer. / BBC News Spain has experienced a migration of outsiders thanks to its golden visa program, which
The National Weather Service issues a "particularly dangerous situation" warning for Southern California. / NPR Since 2021, state authorities have declined to fund wildfire prevention efforts in communities devastated by the Palisades fire. / The Los Angeles Times "Altadena Girls," a recovery fund for LA teenagers, is run
California Governor Gavin Newsom says "there's no fire season—it's fire year." / The Los Angeles Times A climate reporter in Pacific Palisades relates what it was like to lose her home. Similar: watching your home burn on a Ring camera. / New York Magazine, Curbed
Migrants who successfully reach the United States use TikTok to document their new lives. / The New Yorker New documents reveal how the CIA monitored Latino civil rights pioneers. / axios The Heritage Foundation wants to "identify and target" editors at Wikipedia who it says are "abusing their position.
An Italian village forbids its residents from becoming ill—to highlight the country's decimated healthcare system. / BBC News Unhoused people explain what it's like when city workers trash their belongings. / ProPublica New and ongoing programs may be solving Los Angeles's biggest problems: traffic and
In the 1660s, German alchemist Hennig Brand intended to turn urine into gold. But 1,500 gallons of dehydrated pee led him instead to discover phosphorus. From Wikipedia’s history of alchemy: “In the eyes of a variety of esoteric and Hermetic practitioners, alchemy is fundamentally spiritual. Transmutation of lead
A conversation with Sarah Hepola, author of the bestselling Blackout, about investigating the worst kind of memories—those you never had.
A two-week journey across the US—specifically towns named Paris, with a clipboard and a hundred questionnaires—to uncover what Americans think about the French.
For some Americans, the French way of life is best. Other people simply prefer "freedom fries." A two-week journey across the U.S.—passing through a handful of towns named Paris—to find out what Americans really think about France today. (Part three of four.)
For some Americans, the French way of life is best. Other people simply prefer "freedom fries." A two-week journey across the U.S.—passing through a handful of towns named Paris—to find out what Americans really think about France today. (Part two of four.)
For some Americans, the French way of life is best. Others simply prefer "freedom fries." A two-week journey across the U.S.—passing through a handful of towns named Paris—to find out what Americans really think about France today. (Parts one through three of four.)
From time to time I’ve had fun thrashing Midsomer Murders, because it appears to be filmed on a whites-only agenda—my wife and I have a game we play called “Spot the Colored Person”; in approximately 80 episodes we’ve only had reason to play it four times. And
I realize I sound like a J. Peterman catalog for pseudo-Prousts. The truth is, I’ll never own this robe. Mostly I don’t have the balls. But here it is again, nine seconds in, and then again, with length, at 03:17: Oh man, I know it’s lame.
If you’ve been following this column and generally agreeing, and you haven’t already watched The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, take my word that Sharon Small as Sgt. Havers is superlative, leagues above and below Lynley (Nathaniel Parker, who’s better seen in Bleak House). For now, however, I want
Then Morse died and Lewis got a promotion and his own show, Lewis, to keep solving murder cases in Oxford, the university town he dislikes. You’d think they’d let Lewis to retire to Newcastle, but no. At the start, his wife’s killed in a car accident. And
Long before The Wire came along, Prime Suspect exposed the mental ant-farms of both criminals and police. The stories were great (top-notch casting), and also lasted very long, three hours or so, which is a feast for those of us in the Netflix age, who binge on crime stories in
Benedict Cumberbatch—the man sounds like his own classification of mania. “But I can’t go outside, darling, Sherlock’s on, my cumberbatch is acting up again.” Seventh greatest detective in contemporary British TV, and after only three episodes of Sherlock? Why not? Cumberbatch is the best Sherlock Holmes since
Trustworthy: The genius detective must have faith in your silence, your belief in his brains, your wakefulness during stakeouts, and your way with a handgun, should he want one used but not desire to fire one himself. Loyal: Clearly you should prefer him to all other detectives. And the police.
Detective Chief Inspector James Harold Japp, portrayed by Philip Jackson in the long-running Poirot series, is my favorite. He goes into every new adventure believing he’ll finally one-up the Belgian penguin, but always loses. Still he maintains his humor and indulges Poirot’s whims. I can’t remember the
The long-running Morse series was good. Sometimes great. Thaw (1942-2002) carried Morse’s hunched shoulders with a lot of style, and the episodes, based on Colin Dexter’s plots, were tight and surprising. I'll recommend all seasons—even the "Morse Goes Abroad" episodes. The show was
He’s passionate. Sympathetically self-destructive. And a lover. What a lover. Baby, he’ll break down your bathroom door. Then again, not to love Indira Varma is a clinical indication of mental trauma. Still, Luther goes too far with love, too. Shame that Luther has such shitty cover art in
Many other things we do extremely well in this golden age of the small screen. Novelists with epaulets are signing up to bang out series. David Foster Wallace thought the best writing currently done in America was for The Wire. Watching approximately 12 hours a week of great TV, I
Next month, we are starting a new TMN feature called Crowdsource, and for its first installment, we want your rage. Here Is the Product I Hate and Why We want to know what you feel indeniably, unequivocally hateful about. Think of all the crap polluting the world. What current consumer
FRIDAY'S CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU FOR PLAYING! SPONSORED CONTEST: TOM MCCARTHY’S C In 2008, Tom McCarthy’s little-known novel Remainder battled to the final match of our Tournament of Books and became a house favorite. Since then, it’s been hailed by no less than
Dear Mr. Erard, I remember my first, too. It was my first quarter as a history graduate student, and I was grading for a class on the Dark Ages. It was a paper on the Black Death; the student in question began his introduction with an especially lucid and off-topic
No big deal, but a Brit would never say “…spend the night with Brown’s flutes.” It would be “Brown’s whistles.” Whistles and flutes = suits, but the short version is whistles. In rhyming slang, every rule has an exception, but generally it’s the first word that’s the
TMN needs a winter intern for an unpaid internship. You'll work your butt off from home and we'll occasionally shower you with beer. Figure 10 hours a week of research, editing, email, and various editorial things. The ideal candidate reads widely, knows how to edit, knows
I’m a great fan of your Tournament and I follow it assiduously each year. This year you note that at least one National Book Award judge “flipped” a coin in his or her decision. Since I’m the unofficial historian of the National Book Awards, can you tell me
Not sure if this question is appropriate for the morning show but I’d like to know if Jad would ever consider exploring why humans have no guilt in killing each other, animals, and even squishing a bug. Certainly, the size of the life may have an impact but a
The U.S. and the U.K. have much in common, but not postage. A duo account for the mysteries of two very different mail systems.
TMN is looking for an intern for Summer 2009. The internship is unpaid and done where you like. You’re required to supply your own computer, web connection, and green visor. Most likely your work will include helping out with the headlines and a few editorial projects, but it also
Update: The Zombie Poll is now closed. Thank you to everyone who voted! The 2009 Tournament of Books Zombie Poll is now open, so please click here and vote for your favorite book. Please note that you can only vote once. Also, you don’t need to give us your
To Pasha Malla, Fuck you so very much. You wrote the best description of love I have ever seen or could hope to imagine. You made me remember and to miss what it’s like to love somebody in the real world, and to see the miracle of them looking
To inaugurate a new feature on TMN we’re calling TMN Talks, this Friday we’ll be joined by the great Jad Abumrad, co-host of one of our favorite radio shows, Radio Lab. Jad and the whole Radio Lab staff are kicking off their fifth season this week. The first
Hometown: Manhattan Currently residing in: Brooklyn Occupation: Executive Director, Rhizome & Adjunct Curator, New Museum Childhood hero: My friends have always been my heroes. What’s your favorite Internet toy at the moment? I don’t play with toys. I’m a news addict and I look at art online
Talking about Girl Talk, The New York Times feels it's necessary to explain that hip-hop uses sample loops, but then throws down “At times the album sounds like a cleverly programmed K-tel compilation.” Aren’t more readers familiar with how rap works than the TV compilation album parent
We’re trying something new today. Friday’s afternoon headlines will be called the “Weekend Edition” from now on, packed full of our favorite long stories from the week (what’s called “Print for the Commute” on other days) for your leisurely Saturday morning reading, and various diversions, videos and
Deep in the dog days, we are going on vacation this week to conserve energy and work on some exciting new projects for TMN. We will resume publishing next Monday, July 21. Please excuse the interruption in your regular entertainment diet. We wish you all sunny days, good tennis, and
Hometown: Philadelphia Currently residing in: Brooklyn Occupation: Co-Owners of Frank White cafe. William is also in experiential marketing for Audi USA and Muhammida is in PR/marketing and a filmmaker. Tell us a little about the relationship between Frank White (Notorious B.I.G.) and the surrounding area. Notorious B.
Hometown: The O.C. Occupation: Record label guru and DJ What was your favorite gig? Probably seeing LCD Soundsystem at Randall’s Island last year. Standing on stage and seeing 20,000 people go bananas was surreal. I DJ’d the afterparty tent, which was more like a wedding reception.
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 Conchords. You are personally obsessed about: Finding the perfect oyster shooter. What are you working on right now? A movie
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 travel season is coming, and those of us without vacation plans need some quick advice on where to go between
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 whether you're writing a finals exam, editing your new scrappy literary magazine, or just curious about why we
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 out on the set of Jimmy Kimmel Live! the first time. As Jimmy was introducing me, I had about five
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 you should: Here are all our current advertisers; support them and you support TMN. For potential advertisers, limited
Not only does she have the internet's best web address, Jennifer Daniel recently had the grace to join TMN as a contributing artist, and we are thankful. You may have seen her work for Todd's Levin's series "Consoles I have Known", or
Ever since I saw The Five Obstructions a couple years ago, I’ve been a fan of Jørgen Leth’s short film The Perfect Human. Perhaps more than a fan. I don’t know how many times I’ve watched it, maybe a dozen. Not that there’s much story:
Birthplace: Bedford, Ind. Occupation: Actor and dean of Students at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting Favorite role you’ve played? Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch (it was several years and several pounds ago—so it was possible). You taught in Buenos Aires. Favorite thing about Argentina? The
Birthplace: Beirut, Lebanon You were instrumental in the launch of the first-ever digital camera while you were at Kodak. What’s the most significant effect? More people are taking more pictures than ever before. Which emerging photo technologies excite you now? Photography is on a roll, no pun intended. I
Hometown: Seoul, Korea Currently residing in: Staten Island, N.Y. Occupation: I currently work at a shipping company, but I’m planning on doing music fulltime soon. When did you start writing poetry? WhenI was 13. You identify as “Christian Rap” (among other genres) on your MySpace page. How does
We are now accepting applications for our Summer 2008 intern position. Applicants should email us a short description of why they want to intern at TMN, their complete contact information, and a résumé that’s pasted in the body of the email (don’t worry about fancy formatting). Detailed descriptions
Office culture doesn’t differ much country to country. People send each other videos, and we watch those videos when we think no one’s looking. In France, the videos are sometimes a bit steamier than you’d expect from Jane in accounting, but more often they’re cute rather
Hometown: Princeton, NJ. The crew from The State is getting back together for a feature-length movie. What can we expect? Partial nudity, comedy bears, impersonations of dead presidents, and reenactments of lesser-known important moments from the history of our country. Have you made any progress on your zombie movie? We’
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 Telescopa deep-sea water fish. When did you start producing jewelry? I started drawing in my woodcarving days with grandpa. Then
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 to the future as you’ve depicted it? Unfortunately, yes. Especially with the writer’s strike, there’s
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 in North Carolina. She had a glass eye and two off-white baby-grand pianos in her living room. That was
Hometown: Nyack, N.Y. Occupation: Artist How would you describe your look? Cool as Ice After Labor Day, or Hessian Headbanger (But You Probably Wouldn’t Know It). Your Indie Rock Universe illustration recently ran alongside a Camel cigarettes ad in Rolling Stone, which ruffled some feathers. Do you get
Name: James Trimarco Hometown: St. Petersburg, Fla. Occupation: I write stories and articles. I produce dance music for goth/industrial clubs. I temp when the money’s tight. Educational background: It was a series of stumbles and wrong turns until I dropped out of graduate school in 2005. I had
Name: Kurt Braunohler Time of birth: 7:00 (one hour before prime time!) Occupation, both real and desired-in-another-lifetime: Comedian. Carpenter. What’s with the choco ‘stache? It’s not chocolate. Who is your ideal audience? Me, cloned 1,100 times. Who do you admire? Larry, a carpenter I know who
Name: Debbie Desmond Hometown: Middle of Nowhere, Conn. Current residence: Grand Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn Occupation: Founder of Namaste Yoga and Tranquility Center How did you enter the world of so-called alternative healing? I had an issue with going to the doctor and getting some quick-fix prescription that only masked the
Name: My name keeps changing. I was born with the name Stuart Bennett Siegel. In high school, I added an umlaut to the “u,” so, Stüart. In Israel, I started using my Hebrew name, Shimshon (“Samson”), so now my professional name is Shimshon Stüart Siegel, but I also go by
Time of birth: 1979 Hometown: Weymouth, Dorset, U.K. Occupation, both real and desired-in-another-lifetime: Post-operative, drummer Obsession: Guitars What’s your favorite piece in your guitar collection? 1973 Guild Starfire I hear you’re into Ebay. What was your most unusual find? A Rickenbacker 360, French vintage aftershave Who has
I’m a longtime reader of themorningnews.org and normally I find your news section to be very well chosen and insightful. I was surprised you posted a link to “The Dollar Nosedive: Why America’s Currency Is the World’s Problem.” This article is not news, it is one-sided
Time of birth: 1961. But I run circles around guys half my age. Hometown: The boogie-down Bronx, New York. Occupation, both real and desired in another lifetime: Fireman. And an entertainer, because that’s what I believe I really am. How long have you been a fireman? 18 years. What
Names: Rachel Elizabeth Brower Albertson Pettit and Arch T. Pettit Time(s) of birth: 1913 and 1916, respectively Relation to the photographer: Grandparents Occupation title(s), then and now? Rachel: Housewife, mother, and part-time reporter for three local newspapers, later worked as an editorial clerk for the U.S. Army
Looking back on advertising, it is easier to unearth the hidden messages marketers embed in otherwise clear and plain copywriting. For example, look at what they are really saying in these old cigarette ads. You too can be Queen Elizabeth on the couch, a cuban plantation owner, a lazy furniture
In high school, I spent a lot of time in the AV department. It was where the geeks, gays, weirdoes, and Goths hung out—plus the theater types, straight-edgers, pot-smoking jocks, Kids-era ravers, and a few normals—all because a librarian named Magoo let us sit at her desk, store
A Parisian reader emailed me after my Video Digest about the latest hip-hop dances. Was I aware, she wanted to know, of Paris’s own Techtonik craze? I was, though nowhere as well as I am now. You’ve heard about dances sweeping a city. Well, Paris, she’s full
No U.S. Open coverage was complete without pointing fans toward YouTube, where up-and-coming Federer replacement Novak Djokovic was caught impersonating his peers in the locker room. With good reason: There was nothing else to talk about. Sports with levity, now there’s a story. Djokovic’s good, but only
My wife loves to dance and so do I, but Paris, where we live right now, isn’t much of a dancing town, especially if you like R&B. Paris is a techno city. Occasionally a bar or club will have a hip-hop night, but mostly hip-hop is relegated,
Name: Chicken John Time of birth: 11:48 p.m. Occupation title(s), both real and desired-in-another-lifetime? Showman. Ditto. We’ve heard you’re running for mayor. What’s the main idea behind your campaign? To champion our city of Art and Innovation. How do you get around the city?
Name: Farris Libsey. Time of birth: 1928. Occupation title(s), both real and desired-in-another-lifetime? Retired electrician. How would you describe your look? Well, I look the best I can every day. What do people think when they see you on the street? A lot of people give me compliments. Who
Name: Will Chiapella Time of birth: Two whole days of childbirth (sorry Ma) Occupation title(s), both real and desired-in-another-lifetime? Street photographer, flaneur, crytoscopophiliac, generally harmless person How would you describe your look? Thrown-together chic; handmade, reused, worn-out; free What do people think when they see you on the street?
I have reason to reminisce. My tenure of living in New York City is ending, and in the weeks before I move, I’m starting to forget what I dislike about New York. More on that later. But how easily music conjures memories. I think I was turned on to
Spring is taking its time this year, teasing us with a few warm days. When the weather’s nice, I want to listen to HOT 97. My finger’s drawn to the pre-programmed rubber button on the hood of my radio. And three times in the last two weeks, when
Dear TMN, I should, to begin with, admit that I am in the minority who feels that English, August deserved better than it got at Colin Meloy's hands. I will, rhetoric-fashion, tell you that I won't mention the arguably provincial privileging of parceled observations of What
I have a soft spot for mood music, particularly songs that can be played quietly and help me focus on work instead of on the sounds of two construction projects down the street. Jack Blackfelt, “your generation X-Y JaZz Guy,” has a great early-to-mid 20th century jazz show on East
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we get sick of our colloquial phrases and thus a contest is born: Invent a bon mot for everlasting fame.
Masters of the musical universe who put songs in singers’ mouths, I am just sick about this track—thank you for this artist, this song! My window is open and the neighbors are torturing their cats just to have something else to listen to. As of this scribbling, iTunes reports
Four short memories of youth inspired by music randomly selected from the Hype Machine’s most popular tracks, January 10, 2007: “Black Wave, Bad Vibrations,” the Arcade Fire I left for college determined to be a new person: smarter and more interesting. Behind me I’d leave the corpse of
The holidays are when someone died. Or a grandfather got worse instead of better in the hospital, or a friend drank too much and had a car accident while driving home from a party. The phone call comes on a weeknight. There’s a long silence after the news is
By Christmas Eve, I never feel like I’ve bought enough. The arms race catches up with me, it tugs at my anxiety and my wallet. At some point on the 24th I end up at a stripmall bookstore in Connecticut or North Carolina wondering what I can walk out
Dear writers, I’m so enjoying your love and devotion to Star Jones. I hope your love for her is not ending. Now you posted something insightful regarding people with a vision disability. Do blind people dream in pictures? Thank you for caring and posing such an important question. But
We occasionally invite guests to review the best songs we’ve discovered that week while surfing around the mp3-blog universe. This week, I invited my mother. Ann Baldwin loves music new and old but doesn’t pay much attention to what the PR people are shilling. As she told me,
To butter or not to butter: That is the question, and gluttons with high cholesterol should know the correct answer. But when friends organize a gastronomic tour of Paris, who am I to say no?
I went to college in central Maine, a small school on a hill overlooking a rusted-over textile town where Richard Russo used to teach (the town’s river and shirt factory popped up on the cover of Empire Falls). The winters were long, the springs were soggy, and there seemed
In a college film class, we watched the opening to The Shining first with its soundtrack, second with the audio portion muted, third while a student turned off the television volume and used a boombox to overdub music a little more Disney. The point was even paranormal homicide can be
Hi Folks, I’ve enjoyed reading your series on city parks and was very excited to see that Toronto had it’s own article. Being a Torontonian, I was looking forward to hearing about little known areas of this city that I hadn’t yet discovered. This expectation seemed reasonable
A Remnick addition to the New Yorker’s masthead, pop music critic Sasha Frere-Jones must have been the first person to sneak the phrase “inscrutable batphones” into the magazine (as in, “not all musicians below the age of 30 are getting tattooed with runic symbols and sending viruses to each
Dear TMN, Today’s “Not an Open Letter” by Elizabeth Kiem speaks for so many of us who understand how the world works in shades of gray. I was sad and disappointed to learn about Grass’s secret when I first read about it. It was the same knee-jerk response
Last night a pothole exploded on our street. Or so we think. No one I talked to on the block is positive about what happened. Here’s what we know: Around eleven last night, the lights in our apartment dimmed to brown and there was a massive explosion; our landlady,
I just spent two and a half weeks submerged in the woods and there wasn’t much music besides frogs and a neighbor’s chainsaw. Radio stations were few; the local NPR broadcast was locked in a fundraising drive; my iPod wouldn’t talk to the tape deck in the
Last weekend, my wife and I had two perfect New York days. We had friends over for dinner and stayed up late. We saw a very moving Douglas Gordon survey and ran around Manhattan. We visited with more friends, we had dinner in a restaurant, stayed up late and slept
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson is dead at 52. I want to dig a hole, erect a church on top, play her “Handel Arias” on repeat, and eat shirred eggs. Her Handel Arias are their own cathedral. I never saw her sing in concert. Tomorrow I will disappear, track down Martha Argerich
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 amazing speaking voice: her register’s permanently cracked from the cigarettes, with bass-y wobbles, but her Maine accent so often
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. I unlocked the interior door and asked him if I could be of any help. “Man, I’m hoping
How often, as you get older and no longer go to shows, can you swallow fantastic new bands and actually digest them? My friend and deep music head Chris has sworn off new bands altogether. I hear two a week and feel gassy. I’m not at the point, yet,
Dale Peck’s “judging” of McEwan’s and Smith’s novels shows that this self-proclaimed “most-hated man in publishing,” while lacking any critical acumen, possesses an unmatched ego. “Contemporary fiction’s nothing more than an enabler of certain bourgeois illusions” …”Social compact is spiritual and species suicide”…”literary novel…irrelevant
How many moves can a dancer pack in one phrase? Then repeat, change, jostle, repeat? Flipper-y hand movements and shake-waddle-waddle? All set to live Schumann (Schumann! I adulate!) in silly costumes, followed by Vivaldi, with hula-girl waving thrown in? Warning: This is a rave. I've never seen the
Updated Monday, 6 March Madness increaseth. Rooster approacheth. We are now in March, and the blood shall soon floweth! Lots of 2006 Book Tournament news posted today, including our list of judges, the tournament schedule, and yes, the complete brackets so your English department betting pool can get off the
Arthur and George by Julian Barnes is a potboiler, a thoughtful thriller, a shirttails-grabbing day-ruining page-turner, a piece of very good fiction, a careful portrait of two men's very different lives entwined, a magnifying glass applied to faith and justice, another happy pill for Sherlockians in this age
We are extremely pleased to announce that Todd Levin has accepted our invitation to join our Contributing Writers staff. Todd has written lots of great stories for us before (like the recent tour journals from the Piano Men, North America’s only five-member Billy Joel tribute band) and we expect
Between rescuing Joaquin Phoenix from a car wreck and dodging bullets during an interview, German director Werner Herzog leads a dramatic life. According to his private diaries, we shouldn't be surprised.
It's not easy being the world's favorite frigid hominid, especially when your existential problems are worse than most college sophomores'. Me Write Book, It Bigfoot Memoir, by TMN favorite Graham Roumieu, is a very funny and wonderfully illustrated little book, reminiscent of The Very Persistent
Patrick Leigh Fermor's A Time of Gifts puts you in an 18-year-old's hobnailed boots as he hikes across Europe in 1933 and takes scrupulous, even luscious, notes of his trip. I'm hard-pressed to pick better travel writing than this: Well documented, personal and enthusiastic,
Mondovino comes with a caveat: it's endless, meandering, filmed with herky-jerky handling (to the point of making me nauseated), obsessed with industry celebrities, and at times so confusing (including the horribly designed subtitles) you double-check your remote in case there's an "Appendix" button. But
When people ask me for a book recommendation, wanting a good page-turner, I love to push Michael Malone's Uncivil Seasons. It's the opening segment in his Justin and Cuddy trilogy about two oddly matched detectives in North Carolina, and Malone produces a very rich reality to
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we address the great American class divider: Are your tree lights white or colored, or even (gasp) blinking?
Friend of TMN Sam Brown has been making weird, witty, touching drawings for the last five years at Exploding Dog--each drawing inspired by a sentence submitted by a reader--and just in time for the holidays, he's released a book, Thinking of You, with more than 140 drawings picked
New Yorkers like me believe we've got it the best among cities when it comes to dining out, but sadly there's no Big Apple comparison to Edible San Francisco, a homespun, food-nerdy journal for eaters in the Bay Area. Editor Bruce Cole has done a nice
Students of Ian Frazier, fetch your Visas! How many young writers, humor lovers, Tina Brown haters have heard of Veronica Geng? If only for her piece "Love Trouble Is My Business"--a detective story made of sentences containing the phrases "Mr. Reagan" and "read Proust&
It is sad, but I slobber over my OJex juicer. Compact, sexually alluring, and easy to clean, it makes me orange juice every morning (when I remember to buy oranges), and also provides fresh mixers at cocktail hour. Added bonus: It's heavier than a backhoe but smaller than
Santa Fe is a small city of tourist squeezers wearing expensive belts, with lots of posh restaurants that were ready to sap my wallet. But among the joints I tried, and stands I hit on the street, I loved Maria's New Mexican Kitchen the most for its low-key
If there's a TMN house band (besides Trail of Dead), it's Soft, a Brooklyn-based quintet currently blowing up with a finally-released EP. How five guys manage to recreate the Manchester sound--guitars ready for stadiums, hooks big enough for groupies--and still make it sound new is a
Erudition you can't pray to match can be highly invigorating. Auden's Lectures on Shakespeare is a master class by one master on another--cobbled together from students' notes of his 1946 New School lectures, Auden works through the canon with wit, insight fueled by wide interests
Imagine every Haruki Murakami novel came with its own bar pianist--that's Solo Piano by Gonzales (the Paris-based producer of Feist, Manu Chao, many others). Unfortunately only an import for now, it's a beautifully spare collection of piano melodies, part Gershwin, part Lizst, part missing film score
Most of today's bestsellers will be forgotten in 60 years, and some of the least-known books will be hailed as classics. For the latter category, I nominate The Furies, Janet Hobhouse's extraordinary novel-cum-memoir. Very moving and double-fudge rich, it's a slow burn about love
Being a restaurant junkie when it's affordable, I read Steven Shaw's Turning the Tables: Restaurants From the Inside Out in one sitting, with two beers. It's a delicious guide on how to get the most from restaurants; I loved its sections on how to
I have a problem with solo female pop singers with terrific voices--I cannot get enough, never, no way. Rebecca Gates, Feist, Brandy, Beth Orton, Alison Krauss, all have kept me company in the last couple years, and now I find Maria Taylor, who sounds a bit like Jenny Lewis and
I've probably bought more copies of Helen DeWitt's The Last Samurai than any other novel, because I give them away constantly and need to replenish my stock. What a book! Crammed with smarts and adventure and a very full heart--and nothing to do with that Tom
For a long time readers have asked for a TMN newsletter to keep them apprised of our publishing schedule. They say, “I love TMN, but sometimes I forget to check in! Couldn’t you alert me once a week as to what’s been published? And couldn’t you promise
For fans of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell or Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale--big-boned, richly imagined fantasies set in familiar places--there is John Crowley's overlooked masterpiece Little, Big, a juicy account of magic, frightening mansions, and love affairs gone odd. Perfect summer reading for those
You and your strapping Caucasian friends are looking forward to a pleasant vacation on the shore, perhaps hooking up with equally comely and tall teenagers, and then romping on a farm collective--that's right, it's one Hot Summer! Part Grease, part unintentional stoner epic, this utterly unstoppable
Marilynne Robinson's recent book Gilead wears its acclaim and awards like a hairshirt, but it's her earlier novel Housekeeping that mesmerized me. The story of two girls and a nearby lake that seems to swallow everyone they love is a rich show-stopper of style and insight.
Love Sherlock Holmes? Love The Alienest series? Caleb Carr was commissioned by the Conan Doyle estate to write a new Holmes mystery, and so bore The Italian Secretary, a faithful period romp where Holmes and Watson go traipsing off to Scotland to help the queen, with all their antiquated phrasing
Life would be nicer if health care was free, cigars cured cancer, and the Atlantic Monthly published weekly. But let's be honest--it takes me three weeks to finish an issue, mostly because I savor the read. The July/August book is a great example of the magazine'
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we pick up where Paul Simon left off and offers a multitude of ways--45, actually--to leave your lover in the dust.
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we dive into the great button fly vs. zipper fly debate, and give advice to a man whose wife is addicted to children.
It’s almost springtime. Annually it seems like I wait a long time for spring to appear, pining for sunshine, and when it finally arrives it’s over a week later—this being a normal New York spring—and then I spend the summer complaining about the heat. Not 2005,
Dear Eludina and Joel, Thank you for sending your Santa notes to our P.O. Box. We have forwarded them on to Mr. and Mrs. Claus and have also republished them below, in case the elves are reading this right now and can get your wishes to the big man
The past couple years we’ve had a party in the fall to celebrate TMN’s anniversary. Big hits, bright lights, one and all. But this year, due to our upcoming relaunch (of the redesign—righteous, really) we have postponed the party for spring, when we can blow out some
To people who have written in commenting on the staleness of our Album of the Week and People We Like features, we’re sorry we haven’t been able to update them as we’d like, but we’re very busy on our big big (big!) redesign to launch sometime
1. A man stood next to me on the subway platform carrying a dozen pink roses. He looked past me down the platform and back up again. We were the only people on either side of the tracks, and there were no trains at the moment. Moving quickly, he lowered
“To all police and fire departments, to all volunteers, I know I speak for all NYC—We are and always will be profoundly grateful to all of you!” photo by Choire Sicha
Classical music was said to be dead in the 14th century, so why are we still holding it hostage? We talk with New Yorker music critic Alex Ross about the state of the art, which composers might appeal to different segments of rock fans, and exactly what he listens to at dinner.
I’m guessing most of the kids wearing Palestinian scarves will probably enjoy a comfortable, good night’s sleep once the RNC’s over, without facing tanks in the morning. Why can’t the protesters wear more interesting costumes? Isn’t there something the Republicans hate more than dirty hippies?
Walking to catch a subway home from Manhattan on Saturday, I was a bit stunned to see the NYPD blimp floating overhead. As of about Thursday, New York City is officially under control, and I’ve become used to seeing soldiers with giant weapons in Grand Central (my mother accidentally
It’s our pleasure to welcome Pitchaya Sudbanthad as our newest Contributing Writer. He’s written a number of great stories for TMN—about Nigella Lawson’s juicy tomatoes, the Nets’ move to Brooklyn, Spalding Gray’s death, the sounds of music lit-sters One Ring Zero, and his experiences growing
Telling people I don’t watch TV always gets a look that says, “Listen jerk, don’t give me your self-righteous crap about being better than me, and please don’t tell me how you make your own granola.” There’s no way around it. Ninety-eight percent of the people
I’ve eaten this salad (recipe below) twice in the last week, and to call it one of the best salads I’ve ever had would be like calling Vice President Cheney a big fat liar; it’s that good. I was inspired by a salad I had once at
This is a note from both Andrew and me: TMN has just passed the million mark for page views—in May, we served 1,070,300 pages—and we’d like to take a second to thank all those responsible for this great milestone: first, our family of contributors who
My sister moved to Venice, Italy for a job so we went to visit her with my parents for a week. I had never been there; my wife was last there when she was a kid. People tell you ahead of time it’s a city of canals built on
Long live summer. Or, long live escape plans to leave Brooklyn for nicer places. People have been worried about New York’s reaction to this new movie The Day After Tomorrow—where the city is attacked by tidal waves and ice storms, with chaos reminiscent of Sept. 11’s disaster—
Philosopher Martha Nussbaum on who she reads for solace, the civic attitudes of undergraduates, taking a red pen to Heidegger, and exactly which texts she’d put on the president’s nightstand.
The winner of last week’s Marshall Sokoloff/Jewelboxing ‘Salt’ contest is Bill Beardslee of Washington, D.C. Thanks again to our sponsors at Jewelboxing and Marshall Sokoloff for making this happen. (And, for the curious who didn’t win, Marshall’s prints are for sale.)
He’s a former sushi chef trained on a cow farm near Osaka. He’s met 80 percent of the Rolling Stones, and slept with two of their daughters. He once raised Clydesdales near Missoula, between climbing trips in Banff. Fourteen of his screenplays have been produced under a pseudonym,
Food writer and Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig talks about foraging for cheddars in Vermont, how to make a great corned-beef sandwich, and what it takes to create a fine business.
We’re very excited to announce Brooklynite Geoff Badner has joined TMN as our Contributing Photographer. He’s done lots of features here before, and there are also a bunch in the works. You can read about his background on the Masthead. What’s not mentioned is his uncanny resemblance
Live in a neighborhood long enough, you get to know everyone by face, if not by name. But who are these people, really, and what do they do? Rosecrans Baldwin describes a few local characters from Brooklyn, and Danny Gregory draws blind.
People who live in glass houses should not throw stones, and people who write questions for contests should avoid ambiguous phrases, lest they spend their weekend in the library double-checking an answer they thought was airtight. Recently, we showcased a gallery of work by photographer Marshall Sokoloff, and with his
My apartment could fit in my parents’ driveway, and they’d still be able to park both cars. It could nestle in the front rooms of my grandparents’ apartment in Chicago, or fit in the barn next to the farmhouse I lived in during college,still with enough room for
Writer and editor Ana Marie Cox on her new life covering D.C. gossip, the steam-punk culture of National Geographic, and who she’d pick for a steamy weekend in the country: Leon Wieseltier or the first daughters.
1) Laptops are not supposed to smell like cabbage. When your dining table is both the only counter in your miniscule kitchen and also your desk (this twin purpose forced by the size of your New York apartment), it’s hard to avoid the remains from last night’s ribs
To the people who came to last night’s Third Thursday, a few corrections for things I may have said while toasting, and, at the time, been wrong about. I am not Danish, nor am I from good Danish stock, ‘the old country,’ or an heir to the Danish throne,
The serially obssessive Peter Hertzmann behind ‘à la carte’ discusses learning French just to read ancient cookbooks, doing his stages across the Atlantic, and a few other signs of an extremely focused mind.
Update: All Third Thursday parties are held at 7 p.m. at Hi-Fi at, suggested to us by Khoi. Hi-Fi features New York’s only MP3 jukebox, 2-for-1 drink specials until 8 p.m., and a pool table. Click here for directions (Avenue A between 10th and 11th). Look for
Wild East editor BORIS FISHMAN on the current state of literature in Eastern Europe, traits of the Russian soul, and the literary cash-currency in hookers, guns, and drugs.
It’s a big happy pleasure to welcome Robert Birnbaum to The Morning News as our newest Contributing Writer. We’ve been reading his great long interviews on Identitytheory.com for some time, and we’re now lucky enough to say he’ll be sharing some of them with us,
We are decent copy editors at best, and on most occasions terrible. (I think that sentence fails a number of rules.) Late-night editing and early-morning formatting are no excuses for mistakes, but it’s often been the readers’ eyes who catch our undotted i’s or uncrossed t’s before
Today’s story is a great conversation between our frequent contributor Robert Birnbaum and writer Julie Orringer. Robert’s shared a number of his interviews with us so far, and there’s plenty planned for the future, including a conversation with Charles Baxter coming soonish that I want to excerpt
Poor fan seat 11, row 9. The story’s everwhere by now: a Cubs fan sitting by the left-field wall reached out for a foul pop-up, deflected the outfielder, denied the Cubs an out. This led to a mighty sweep by the Marlins and then Chicago lost the game, possibly
Recently overheard: On the L train, 3pm, near Union Square, train packed with high-school girls going home after school, in blue and white uniforms: Girl 1: See white girl laughing at them? Girl 2: Yuh. Girl 1: That white bitch thinks her ass is funny. We’re funny. Black girls
It’s meant to be an ironic title – I’m a terrible businessman, and really I have no idea what to do when it comes to numbers, selling, or any non-editorial brass tacks. That said, one of our major goals for The Morning News this year is to make some
It is Andrew’s and my great pleasure to introduce Choire Sicha as a new Contributing Writer for The Morning News. His most recent story is ‘Ronald Reagan and Reading Proust,’ a title a few readers complained about that’s a reference to Veronica Geng’s story, ‘Love Trouble Is
Thank you to everyone who came – it was a wonderful night, and we had a ball. Various head-counts put the crowd around 150-200 people, and though I can’t remember a single name of anyone I met for the first time, I do recall that everyone seemed to be having
The Morning Newsfourth-anniversary party is being held this Saturday and we hope you can make it. My guess is that a lot of people will come not knowing anyone. Some brave souls will strike up conversations with strangers; others will order a drink, stand around, then go home angry. Still
So here is the deal my friends: You are officially invited to join us for the TMN all-get-out roast and rip-roaring dukes, duchesses, and delinquent dons party celebrating our fourth year of existence. That is a week from this Saturday people. Note that this year there will be readings, and
James Beard Award winner and online food presence Steven Shaw describes his worst moments in the kitchen, and where to eat America’s best pasta in New York City.
The Blackout of 2003 will certainly cost the country loads of money, but the condiment industry couldn't be happier. What to do with all those eggs when the lights go out.
1. We visited friends this weekend in New Jersey. They had insisted we try ‘Fair Food,’ so, in all fairness, we tried all that we could afford. Not shown but also consumed: chicken on a stick, waffle ice cream sandwich, ‘maui punch’ made from goat milk. For more on Fair
From: zari Date: Mon Aug 4, 2003 1:25:02 PM America/New_York To: TMN You guys have jumped the shark. I had my doubts when you celebrated one year of daily publishing with that gay-ass video. The week off that followed was no big deal. It’s got
1) Watched 8 Women on DVD last night, the second-to-latest film by François Ozon (his newest is Swimming Pool) and didn’t like it very much. I lasted through the film to learn who the killer was, and then turned it off, wishing I had spent the last two hours
1. Under one of the windows in the living room, where I work at a desk in the corner, four guys in reflective vests and hard hats are ripping up the street with jackhammers. They wear earplugs for a reason: the jackhammer runs in 6- or 8-second bursts. Its more
Lunch break. I’m lying on the couch in my living room, all the lights are on, I’m reading Bryan Magee’s description of Schopenhauer’s philosophy as it differed from Kant’s, in Confessions of a Philosopher, an awesome book about Magee’s life. The window by the
We receive lots of mail from readers. Most of it is flattering, some letters are angry, some are smart and point out our mistakes. We also get tirades about Iraq or gay marriage, and there have been a few come-ons, and many offers to enlarge our penises. All are read,
photo by Frederic Bonn There is too much to say or describe about the wedding, the honeymoon, all the anticipation and excitement, so let’s just say it was wonderful (very wonderful, sooooooooooo wonderful, hard to believe it’s over wonderful) and perhaps, when I’m off the wedding-high, when
‘There was a lull during which Velma loaded her cigarette case and Father Fabre surveyed the room – the bookcase with no books in it, only plants and bric-a-brac, and the overstuffed furniture rising like bread beneath the slipcovers, which rivaled nature in the tropics for color and variety of growing
Imagine an old stock machine, with the ticker tape spitting out the side: this, then, is my brain right now: wedding wedding wedding wedding wedding work wedding cheeseburgers wedding wedding deadlines wedding good weather please wedding wedding book wedding family wedding wedding wedding wedding R. wedding ach! wedding wedding wedding
We are clouds / and terrible things happen in clouds. – Dean Young It’s been a hard winter and spring for almost everyone I know. A lot of my friends and family are having major upheavals – big moves, new jobs, medical school beginnings and graduations, jail, break-ups, suicides, funerals, engagements, diseases,
SARS be damned: a search for the perfect dumpling in New York's Chinatown, guided through eight restaurants in two hours by the man known as Inspector Collector.
My family has an Easter tradition of eating brunch at the Peninsula hotel, then going outside to Fifth Avenue to march in the parade of sartorial queens, do-dandies, and bow-tie’d church-goers who stroll up and down the street and preen. The highlight was chasing after Bill Cunningham as he
In deference to my esteemed colleague, I agree: it is spring in Brooklyn, it is beautiful outside, I was able to wear a light jacket this morning when I walked my girlfriend to the subway... but when making a pitcher of iced tea I must draw a line in greater
Reading Nick Hornby’s new collection, Songbook, a birthday present from a friend, and I’m very happy. Hornby’s books do that to me. I should be doing work, but I’ve been on the couch for three hours and I’m almost finished, sadly, two cups of coffee
A list of signs seen at the Saturday, 23 March 2003 anti-war march in New York City. - Fuck Bush And Fuck All You Fucking Republicans - I Weep For My Country - Look Before You Kill - Work Not War - Media Whores + Pentagon Knuckle Draggers - But George,
So you’re all nervy on the way back from the gym. Anxious, defensive, self-loathing like a sweat. You think, you call this a life? You’re almost whacked by a limo while crossing under the BQE. Most days writing is hard and that’s all. It’s work, you
1. Leaving the L train, up through the station, I nailed the smell. Winter smells like winter. Enough. It’s the same everywhere I’ve lived, and after four years of college in central Maine, I had it figured out: like leaves or branches burning but suppressed by cold, so
My in-laws’ relationship with basketball has been touched on before, but when the future father-in-law sinks 8 free throws in 30 seconds during a halftime contest at a recent U.N.C game, beating out the competition for the $100 prize, you can be damn sure I’ll post the
Not much news to report this week, but a few enhancements around the site: 1) If you read Web sites with an RSS News reader, (e.g., NetNewsWire,Amphetadesk), then you may like to try our new RSS 2.0 feeds, now featuring both the Features (complete stories) and Headlines
Designer and Born Magazine director Gabe Kean discusses abused fonts, Mark Twain, and exactly why people in the Northwest drive slow in the left lane.
1. Two police officers are riding the train with me between Union Square and 6th Avenue. I'm sitting down; one cop, standing next to me, keeps her radio on her belt, right next to me ear. While we’re waiting to leave the station, it squaks ‘Anonymous caller
We saw Sam Mendes’s production of Twelfth Night last night at the BAM Harvey Theater, an early Valentine’s Day present from my mother (who may not celebrate all holidays, but seems to buy us gifts for most of them) and I was out of my mind with anticipation.
Though for many, Leslie Harpold requires no introduction, it’s Andrew’s and my great pleasure to announce that she has joined The Morning News as a new contributing writer. Leslie (previous stories at TMN here) reaches us from many points in the Web, including Smug, Hoopla, and the Hoopla/
There’s a report in the Times today that this winter may be the dreariest in New York’s history, which seems a slightly unscientific approach to measuring weather, but feels entirely accurate: it’s piss outside. Very cold piss. Friends from the great white North (i.e., Maine) who
Honestly, I have to get better about writing these editor letters. I’ve been confused about how to use this area of the site (Andrew and I had an editors’ meeting this week over drinks at the Cedar Tavern, once famous for hosting the likes of Frank O’Hara, Larry
Here’s the deal: My fiancée and I are starting to look for a new apartment. The stress, dangers, and complete hell of finding a good broker-free apartment in this city are well documented, and though I know the Craig’s List/Voice/Times method very well, so do thousands
It’s good, I think, to reveal on occasion one’s younger side, to dismantle or at least set aside our mature trappings and play like blond-haired children, roll in meadows, run through hay, and show that we embrace life with big palms and sincere passion, and do not always
I’ve been sick for the past week and a half. Here’s what it was like, had it all been chronicled on the front page of this site. New York’s currently: got a sore throat, but not worried about it feeling a little ‘off’ sneezing, shaking, scared feverish
At one point I wanted to scream, a giant whopping WOOOOH!!! right over the heads of everyone in the bar, but I held back and introduced myself to another new person and had another great, interesting, fun conversation with someone I’d never met before but enjoyed talking to, if
Photos from the New York City Marathon as it passed by the author’s apartment in Brooklyn, with many ludicrously impressive people in wheelchairs, and a scramble band that included a gong at one point.
The recipe for Confederate General Jubal Early’s favorite punch, the right drink to serve when your brother-in-law-to-be from North Carolina visits for the weekend and you decide to throw a party celebrating his sister’s birthday. Ingredients – 2 bottles brut champagne – 3 cups brandy – 2 cups Jamaican rum – 2
Photos from the New York Public Library, 42nd Street branch, and Bryant Park. Pictures were to be taken at the Jefferson branch as well, but the author left his camera at home.
The photographer and author of New York Characters on farts, the infamous Dr. Zizmor, and losing her husband to the kindness of strangers.
I didn’t use my camera at Andrew’s wedding this past weekend, but in the tradition of Rosecranses in my family, I did give a poem-toast, right before they cut the cake and after Ashley told hilarious stories about their romantic pasts, and Andrew’s brother Ken went back
Writer, funny man, contrarian Andrew Borowitz on three ways to kill a joke, the environment in Kandor, and poor Jim Dixon, hero for all.
In which the editors and some writers met at a bar for drinks, talked about girls, other writers, stories about our parents, trips to Mexico, the Flaming Lips; then someone went to the toilet. Dennis, turning away Paul, Andrew, beer Paul, jolly, two beer Rosecrans, Clay, three beer Toilet, shot
A photograph of Manhattan taken this morning from Brooklyn and part of a poem by Frank O’Hara, written in 1964. 6:45 am, 11 September 2002 Lunch Poems
Today is my last day at a web design company I’ve worked for since August 1999. In the span of three years, I have: survived 13 rounds of lay-offs; moved offices twice; sat in five different cubicles; received three complimentary massages; drank, approximately, 732 free beverages, mostly seltzer; reported
Singer-songwriter Chris Lee on New York City’s best-kept secrets, Bill Hicks, and strip clubs with good salads.
A friend recently asked me to describe some of my dreams in an email for him to analyze. For the sake of full-disclosure (wait there buddy boy, what full-disclosure? No one asked you to share, and in fact, this desire to share your, what, nocturnal anxieties, is probably a sign
Writer and firebrand Andrew Sullivan on acting Shakespeare, his reverence for Margaret Thatcher, and the difference between essay-writing and blogging.
Dork Gets Shirt.
A few pictures taken at the Bastille Day festival in Boreum Hill where we arrived ten minutes too late to play pétanque (they wouldn’t bend the rules for us, even though we had already paid our registration fee and two-thirds of the team were verifiably French) and spent hours
I am not very athletic. I’m currently learning how to play basketball, a sport my fiancée and her entire family are very good at. (They favor college basketball, Tarheels particularly, with good reason: Both parents work at U.N.C, one went to U.N.C, fiancée went to
New York City researcher and enthusiast Kevin Walsh, the man behind the mysteries of forgotten-ny.com, gives tips on all things Gotham.
I met Paul Ford for drinks a week ago. We sat in the backyard at Iona, an Irish pub in Brooklyn, where they have a ping-pong table set up under a tree and a few beat-up iron and lumber tables. We both drank beer. For an hour, Paul and I
Author Michael Malone – of Foolscap and Justin & Cuddy fame – picks his favorite pork shop, dotes on Carol Burnett, and explains his night-owl writing process.
Writers’ Block Party creator and author Amy Krouse Rosenthal answers the ten questions, explaining how she found some joy in a sock.
Elisabeth, also known in the music world as Solex, explains her loves, what makes her laugh, and an affection for free drinks.
Only caught two episodes of PBS’s Art:21, but luckily saw the interview with Maya Lin, a name that in my ignorance meant nothing until the show explained she had designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and then I was able to connect the name with the career, a woman
Subway riders refuse to be surprised; hobos, dwarfs, musicians go unnoticed. Everyone’s seen the hip-hop tumbling team before and aren’t impressed by the little kid’s back-flip. I have been yelled at, sat on, even impressed as a candidate for redemption from our Lord Jesus Christ (sometimes an
In today’s Sunday Times:‘Singles Head to [Williamsburg] for Romance’ by Julia Chaplin (all italics added) For decades Brooklynites have put on their slinky best and commuted to Manhattan to lay siege to the velvet ropes in the hope of meeting Mr. or Ms. Right. Now, in a reversal
That is from ‘Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,’ by Wallace Stevens. Stevens is a poet I’ve returned to recently; I read a lot of his work in college on assignments for classes, but for those assignments, read quickly and cursively. There was also a feeling then, and
I’ve been recently re-reading David Sedaris’s Me Talk Pretty One Day, a book that my friend Dmitri gave me in Italy two years ago and had me laughing out loud – crying even – on a crowded beach, lots of Italian hunks and hunk-esses disturbed by the barking American. It
A giant Ferris wheel is being taken down in Paris’s Place de la Concorde after the mayor said it had overstayed its welcome. ‘When I heard it was coming down, I thought it was a pity,’ Elaine Thompson, a British woman who lives in Paris and was walking past
I was supposed to have lunch with a friend of my father’s at the Yale Club on Friday; I say supposed because I was turned away – by the coat-check guy – for wearing jeans. Now, I was wearing a tie, jacket, even a shirt with French cuffs, but blue jeans
Web designer Jemma Gura jams the five questions, appreciates awkward ideas, and mentions books we’ve never heard of.
start blabber: I watched Dog Day Afternoon last night for the first time and have to say I was very impressed; it falls within the late-70s camp of New York films that are well-made, well-written, and bizarrely forgotten by today’s serious directors and writers whose veer towards preciousness and
Musician Rebecca Gates cites Curtis Mayfield as a hero, SCTV as a laugh-fest, and old craft magazines as inspiration.
A very interesting guide to writing systems, Omniglot; my favorites, for now, are Lontara and Makasar, Gujarti, and Ol’ Reliable Mayan. There is also the numbers 1 to 10 in 4500 languages, grouped by region. Amazing so many languages are still preserved; some countries make this preservation a priority, like
Zoetrope All-story founder and editor Adrienne Brodeur answers the five questions, with a little help from her friends.
He wore sunglasses, a black puffy jacket, brown pants, and a pair of deck shoes. He was smoking, something with a brown filter – ruling out Parliaments – and his hair came down to his chin. He was walking slowly East with a FedEx package under his arm. His face was wider
‘Man charged in $2m theft of rare books from Yale’ The 21-year-old from Hamden, Conn., was in court last month on charges he stole $2 million worth of rare books and historic documents from Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, where he held a summer job. After a
There were three crowds today at Strawberry Fields, Central Park: one around the dial that was built for Lennon’s memorial, another around a group of four guitar players, and a third, disparate, sadder crowd on a grassy hill. There were hundreds of people, of all types and ages, carrying
We had a large party for Andrew’s engagement last night and let me tell you, he was surprised. He and M. came up the stairs at BQE and stood shell-shocked as twenty of us clapped and hooted, then gave cards, presents, free drinks and handshakes that they accepted hesitantly
Five questions for Movable Type creator and web designer Mena G. Trott.
The five questions with designer and movie-maker Brian Taylor.
Musician and critic John Darnielle answers the five questions from the Midwest where he sings real loud and plays some guitar.
Now, I may be shooting myself in the proverbial foot with this post, but let’s see. CNN has a five-question interview with Jeff Bridges today, in which he answers questions such as ‘Are we the only life forms in the universe?’ and ‘Do you want your children to become
Pitchfork editor and founder Ryan Schreiber submits to the five questions, admitting he listens to music all day long.
I just emailed Josh the following definitions of strange words and realized that they’re funny enough for everyone to enjoy; this is from a Harper’s excerpt two years ago of the Oxford English Dictionary’s appeal for new words. PuppiesSnirkleSquirtusTruddleCuntify
Two notes: A brief history of Don DeLillo’s career, largely culled from the few, previous interviews he’s given, applied to recent events. Long before the World Trade Center attacks, DeLillo understood the profound disconnect between reality and spectacle made possible by modern media. ‘For most people there are
Editors Vow to Find Synonym for ‘Pound’New York TimesL.A. TimesDaily News
Fashion, no, everything photographer Andrew Stockdale handles the five questions with ease, describing the horny dogs that live next door.
‘Twins fashion fighting felines’ by Beth Long Ruth and Rebecca Brown have 4,386 cats. The identical twins from the Maple Glen section of Upper Dublin Township have fashioned thousands of tiny, detailed cats from clay. They’re not just ordinary kitties, either. They are cats in Confederate clothing. Union
‘France’s Downfall: The most comprehensive account of the most sordid period in French history’ by Eugen Weber In May of 1940, when the Germans attacked, the French didn’t know what had hit them. Eight months of phony war had dulled the vigilance of generals. In June the Germans
We had good seats tonight, seven rows from the stage at Town Hall, two seats on the orchestra’s Eastern aisle. Before it started we waited in a crowd on 43rd St. – mostly young, mostly white – guessing at different percentages for the crowd, such as: What percentage had attended college:
Writer George Saunders on Gogol, his current love for Hollywood cinema, and lots and lots of money.
Writer and political satirist Kevin Guilfoile answers five questions, laughing at the Coen Brothers, Tenacious D, and Pantone 3135 uncoated.
Blogger and book designer Dean Allen on watching people get bopped on the head.
There has been a band marching around Williamsburg this afternoon, eight or ten members strong, like a New Orleans funeral march. The music is jazz-like, samba-ish, led by a group of horns and kept in time by multiple percussionists, each on small, hand-held instruments. I counted a baritone saxophone, trumpet,
Showing more maturity and self-assurance than the self-titled debut of last year, Plays & Sings Torch’d Songs… shows an overt sense of confidence: some tracks are multi-layered, with relaxed horns, vocal harmonies, extra keyboards or guitar; others are strong and simple, just bass, guitar and Lee's voice.
Sadly, not much. I spent yesterday afternoon, as seen by my link progress below, reading as much as I could (and there were many things I read that I didn’t feel like linking: columns too short-sighted or venomous, or simply repetitive, academic papers too difficult and contextual to process)
In all the different things I wrote yesterday (and the day before), I remembered this note I’d meant to post: I’d just heard about the second plane crash when a woman approached me on the street, wearing pins for Vallone (one of the mayoral candidates), and asked me
I can’t tell you how sad it is to walk up from Union Square, see the whole length of 14th Street locked off from traffic, the same cloud of smoke I saw above Broadway two days ago still in position, hear the same sirens every few minutes, and then
Summer hasn’t left Brooklyn yet and as my neighbors are playing a repetitive, pounding, techno/rap strain that has made its way through my bedroom wall, I’ve sequestered myself in the living room to ignore the heat and read all day. Plenty of books, a Tupperware bowl of
Writer Michael Chabon answers the five questions, mentioning real estate, Mr. Terrific, and Ashtabula.
Jeff from Stones Throw is one of our greatest fans; here’s the email he sent last night to feedback@starbucks.com. We love you too.
While waiting for friends to pay for their orders in a deli, I overheard the following delivery order, as read by the cashier: Penthouse The elements of life, contained in a lunch.
America's favorite writer Neal Pollack on sandwiches, The Onion, and the world’s inability to ‘top’ him.
Our proofing team at Horizon Companies has noticed an error in our ways: in a previous note about the movies Shrek and Gone in 60 Seconds, we incorrectly attributed the line ‘I’m not gonna mess around with someone who plays with dog shit!’ to Shrek, whereas it is actually
A game: which of the following lines are from Shrek, a children’s movie about ogres and princesses, and which are from Gone in 60 Seconds, an adult movie about cars and Angelina Jolie? Answers: Gone in 60 Seconds Shrek
As I was walking back from the deli, I saw a cab pull over on Park Avenue for a businessman with his hand out. The businessman got into the backseat of the cab – entering from the right side – while the driver opened his door – on the left side – and emptied
A good article with Chris Ware that is strangely titled ‘A Conversation with Charles Baxter.’ Well, I believe that there’s no substitute for actually looking at a human figure for just a few hours a day and trying to draw it. It’s trying to learn how to see,
Editor and blogger Maggie Berry answers the five questions with love for Katherine Graham, Dave Eggers, and Nabokov.
Overheard conversation on Bedford Avenue: Dude 1: Dude 2:
The five questions for illustrator and web designer Emme Stone.
Scene: Register line at a deli. Characters: D (dude), chugging out of a large Sapporo can. GF (girlfriend), waiting for D to finish drinking. D: GF:(grabs can and finishes off beer) Both wait in line for another thirty seconds, pay for empty beer can, then throw can in trash
Cina is a designer in the broadest sense. His work spans a wide range of commercial and personal art, including print and web design, typography, painting, photography, and bookmaking. Also, he is a fisherman. Our writer interviews the man behind True is True.
Sam Brown of Exploding Dog makes drawings from your titles. A simple formula for an author/reader exchange, and Sam has made some very funny, heartwearming drawings that touch us with their simplicity. ROSECRANS BALDWIN talks to the Dog.
Overheard conversation while waiting for Jim at Old Town Bar and Grill. part one First Man: Second Man: First Man: Second Man: First Man: Second Man: part two First Man: Second Man: First Man: Second Man:
It’s been two years since Flip Flop Flyin started, and the web hasn’t been the same ever since. Craig, the man behind the tiny man, joined our writer for a short conversation and helped him understand the beauty of small things. Note: Craig does not have a ‘Beatles’ haircut. He is very serious about
Pachinko6 gained a certain notoriety among web design circles for publishing daily e-mail ‘viruses.’ It was hard to find him, but he finally responded. ROSECRANS BALDWIN dished with him.
Our writer interviews Andy Crewdson of Lines & Splines. We especially like that he is an ‘average indie kid.’
