Dead People You Wish Twittered
Maybe death preceded the technology. Maybe they would deliver profundity in 140 characters. Maybe it's David Foster Wallace. We tell who'd they follow into the afterlife.
Of Recent Note
A collection of 47 issues
The Hot Jam of Forever
Each summer, certain songs are unofficially recognized as those that fill dance floors, roll down windows, and in general get this party started. Our staff and readers recall the best music from their best summers.
Part-Time Knowledge
The worst summer employment is a three-month slog. But sometimes even temporary jobs offer permanent lessons. Our staff and readers share what they’ve learned.
Fantasy Road Trips
If gas was free, vacation days were unlimited, and your schedule was as open as the road ahead, where would you go? Our staff and readers unfold their maps.
Bad Trips
We asked our staff and readers to rewrite the end of Lost. Spoiler alert! But not really, when you consider you'd have to flash-sideways to experience the alternative realities ahead.
Travel Tips We Learned the Hard Way
As we carve out weekends for summer vacations and welcome loved ones home from across the volcanic ash-strewn pond, our staff and readers share their hard-earned trip advice.
Preferred Patio Beverages
As the weather warms and we retreat to our patios, roofdecks, and lanais, our thirst increases. Our staff and readers share their favorite outdoor drinks.
Favorite American Presidents
Often, our most revered presidents earn our appreciation more for their chutzpah than their politics. Recovering from Presidents Day hangovers, our staff and readers share their favorite commanders-in-chief.
Cures for the Common Cold
As we spelunk into the depths of winter, we felt the time was ripe to rearm our medicine cabinets. Our staff and readers share their remedies for colds, flus, and related maladies.
New Year's Realizations
Before tackling our shortcomings in January, we thought it would be good to celebrate the year in personal bests. Our staff and readers share their proudest moments.
Untraditional Traditions
Year after year, it's the unique ways we celebrate the holidays that make them worth celebrating. Our staff and readers share their uncommon customs.
First Scary Movies
You can sleep with the closet light on, you can crawl into your parents' bed, but you can never forget your first truly frightening horror movie. Our staff and readers agree.
Beloved Children's Books
With the imminent release of the Where the Wild Things Are movie, we're swept up in childhood literary nostalgia. Our staff and readers tell us what filled their tiny bookshelves.
Superpowers, Revealed
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...someone who can divide a dinner bill five ways! Sometimes the best abilities are the ones the world can't see. Our staff and readers share their talents.
When the Lights Went Out
At 4:15 p.m. on Aug. 14, 2003, tens of millions of people across the Northeast and Midwest U.S. and Ontario were suddenly without power. Our staff and readers tell us what happened next.
It's a Conspiracy
With the anniversary of the "moon landing" and the continued clamors of the birthers, conspiracy theories are in the news again. Here are our favorite shadowy plots.
Favorite Worst Movies
Summer movies tend to crush box-office records, dumbfound critics, and be terrible. Our staff and readers tell us about the movies they know they shouldn't love.
Viva Print
As the industry stands ready to pulp entire newsstands, devotees of periodicals refuse to give up on their first love. Our readers and writers extol their favorite ink-based publications.
Your Favorite Thing About the Recession
Times are tight--but must they necessarily be bad? We asked our readers and writers to find the upside to the downturn.
People I Wish I Knew
We asked: "Who are your would-be acquaintances, your potential best friends, your maybe-someday muses?" With hopeful associates living and dead, renown and unknown, the TMN readers and writers respond.
Broken Resolutions
Three weeks ago, you swore you'd stop smoking and start running. So far, you've only jogged to the bodega. The TMN READERS AND WRITERS know your shame, and confess their lack of resolve.
2008
From unearthed media to otherworldly technology to reflection on a personal and economic level, the year was filled with things of every shape, size, and significance. THE WRITERS give us the best of what they noted.
Guilty Reading
Whether it's political nonfiction, extraterrestrial erotica, or some combination thereof, we hold our genres dear. The TMN readers and writers reveal their favorite works from the back of the shelf.
Fall Food
From wild mushrooms to alcoholic tea, Thanksgiving casseroles to the perfect pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, here are the TMN writers' favorite foodstuffs for autumn.
Boats We Missed
From acclaimed television series to all-over-your-radar bands to the website even your grandmother knows about, here are the phenomena that the readers and writers, until recently, missed out on.
The Hot ______ of the Summer
In times of respite, the mind settles, focusing on what's really relevant. Here are the TMN readers' and writers' hot picks: the jam that fueled parties all summer long, the show we turned down the A/C to hear, and more.
Staycations
When vacating isn't an option, you could always consider a holiday in your own vicinity. The TMN readers and writers offer travel tales from lands closer to home.
Ways We're Saving Money
As the price of everything hikes higher and higher, thrift is fast becoming an essential life skill. The TMN readers and writers tell us how they're beating the high cost of living.
Vacation Destinations
With Memorial Day just around the corner, our thoughts are turning to getting the heck out of town. Where to? Well, the TMN readers and writers have some recommendations.
Things We're Denying Ourselves
A recession looms at the door--before it arrives, we have an opportunity to improve our minds, bodies, and wallets. Though we may soon be denying ourselves more than pleasures, this is what we're omitting right now.
The Last Great Thing You Downloaded
From movies to music to graphic novels and Spanish lessons, here are some of our recent digital world discoveries, as downloaded by our writers and readers.
Movies for What Ails You
It's winter, and chances are you're sick or you're about to be. Even though you may feel like you'd rather curl up and die, we recommend curling up with a good movie instead--and the writers' answer to most ailments is Jimmy Stewart.
Exercise Gear
How many fitness-inspired New Year's resolutions does it take to beat down the average individual? How many recommended items of exercise paraphernalia from the writers does it take to rebuild one's spirit? The answer is: never enough.
Hangover Cures
Robert Benchley once quipped, "The only cure for a real hangover is death." Though ultimately true, right now there are holiday parties to attend. The writers offer solutions for the morning after.
Online Merchants
'Tis the season of Amazon and Zappos, but what about those web merchants with more rare offerings, or services you didn't know were available online? The writers offer a few of their current favorites.
Nonfiction Books
You've stocked up on bookmarks, ordered the bookplates, and now you're ready to fill the shelves. Next time you're shopping, pass over the fiction and pick up something with an index. The writers offer a selection.
Fall Fashion
You've heard from Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler, and Chloe Sevigny on what to wear this season. Now it's our turn. The monthly round-up from the writers on what appeals, this time from their closets.
Bottled Drinks
With Labor Day gaining fast, summer is almost over. Rather than mourn its demise with a sack of hooch, we should toast our memories with a bottle of something special. The writers have some suggestions.
May 2006
It's the last Wednesday of the month, so it's time for another episode of what the writers have recently been loving: restaurants in California, television in Japan, vitamin-laced candy, and more.
April 2006
It's the last Wednesday of the month, so it's time for another page of what the writers have been watching, reading, eating, hearing, quaffing, and loving oh so much.
For March 2006
A new month of what the writers have been watching, reading, eating, drinking, hearing, and enjoying.
For February 2006
What the writers have been enjoying, watching, reading, hearing, eating, viewing, and digesting for the past 28 days.
Udderly Smooth Udder Cream
As a young child, I was shocked and horrified to learn that the lotion my father regularly applied to his hands was, in fact, udder cream. As in it had the word "teat" on the label. Years later, I find out he was on to something. Udderly Smooth
Sacred Harp singing
Sacred Harp shape note singing was around before the Cold Mountain soundtrack and will probably be around for a while after. Forty-five minutes into Dan Bodah's archived radio show is a three-hour recording of the 2002 Western Massachusetts Sacred Harp Convention. This is the real thing, complete with
For Spring 2005
The stuff we're into right now--including what we're reading, hearing, watching, finding, eating, using, installing, applying, and, yes, even scratching this season.
For Fall 2004
Books, movies, shows, albums, artists, clothing, writing instruments, online "services," ways to cook, things to eat, and more things to digest.
For Summer 2004
Of interest lately are special books, catchy songs, lovely clothes, and a slew of other wonderful items we've collectively enjoyed the last few weeks, and now wish to pass along for your very own summer pleasure.