What Think-Piece Writers Get Wrong About Lobotomies
The web is full of pundits looking to turn every topic into think-bait. One writer commits himself to thinking much, much deeper.
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A collection of 54 issues
Against the Clock
The invasion of the Apple Watch is imminent. While the technology future it heralds is exciting, some of our wrists are already spoken for.
Let It Stop
Disney’s “Frozen” juggernaut has been criticized for “sexy walking.” But the roots of what’s wrong lie in Midwestern pageants, not hip-hop videos.
Songs My Mother Never Taught Me
A swear-laden review of some glorious cursing in pop music.
God Hearts Haiti
Gauging the invasion of the well-intentioned a week after the devastation of Port-au-Prince and wondering what it really means for Haiti's future.
The Fabulous Papers
Journalism is dying, journalism is thriving, the end of the world is nigh--there's a lot to be excited about. A report on the newspapers that prevailed by hook or crook in 2009.
Look at This Fucking Hipster Basher
Never mind news articles that link economic woes to a culture shift, the report of the hipster’s death is an exaggeration.
Prodigies, Peons, and Purple People Eaters
The wide world of sports is full of fallen angels and exhausted stories. A season of discontent condensed into five brief acts, with prayers for a glorious summer.
Autistic Trekdom
In the latest Star Trek movie, Gene Roddenberry's message of diversity takes on new relevance as more people are diagnosed with Autism.
Curb Your Dog's Enthusiasm
New York City is a wonderland for dogs--to defecate on, and for their owners to look the other way. An argument for a more civilized scenario, where dogs aren't encouraged to kill plants.
The Crippling Fear of Corriearklet
Pity the English. Not only are they cursed with bad weather, and the habit of talking about it all the time, they also fear eye contact with strangers in long corridors.
Friending the President
Facebook and other online social networks have played an extraordinary role in this election season. But to what effect? Confronting your status-update addiction.
Programming in English, or Translate :: ParseLib :: English
Computer code may not be gobbledygook, but that doesn't make it art. A survey of the field of programming-cum-poetry to find the ghost (of Hamlet's father) in the machine.
A New Beijing, in Focus
Don' be distracted by the hubbub surrounding the impressive buildings Beijing is constructing for the Olympics. It's the people of the Chinese capital who need your attention.
Someone's in the Kitchen With Ignatius J. Reilly
Ever since she left Little House on the Prairie behind and was forced, when she grew too old for books with pictures, to conjure up storybook settings, our writer has been placing the fiction she reads in the homes she knows.
Two Minutes and 42 Seconds in Heaven
How many horn solos does it take to kill a perfect pop song? Applying science and taste to determine the exact best length—down to the second—for the platonic song.
Following Function
While America's urban poverty is a visible and often-addressed problem, the nation's rural poor live a life apart. Examining one architecture program's work to connect them with what they really need.
March Sadness
Your NCAA brackets have fallen apart; you are not alone. Devised with lessons learned from the tournament thus far, a set of rules to ensure a perfect prediction from here on out.
In Other Election News
Some claim Russia's Medvedev is a False Dmitry; others--especially the new prime minister--insist he's the real deal. A look at Russia's post-election party-protests.
Making the Case for Music Fanboyism
The critic is the defender of taste, often to diehard fans’ chagrin. But inside every critic is the ultimate fan, who must temper their gushing with honesty.
What's the Point of Giving Thanks?
Thanksgiving is upon us, and while what we're thankful for is up to each of us, the reasons we feel so appreciative are unclear.
A New Social Construct
Modernism may be dead, but the world desperately needs radically new ideas about living, working, and governing in the 21st-century city.
In the Beginning Was the Word, and the Word Was “Um”
Many hear verbal stumbles as a lack of eloquence—or worse, intelligence. However, there’s a new love and respect for our little hesitations.
Room to Read: A Modest Proposal
What better way to relax after a kid-filled day than with a nice book--and what less likely scenario can many parents imagine? For page-turners everywhere, a novel idea.
Water to Burn?
Today is UN World Water Day, and for many of the planet’s residents, one of our most plentiful resources has become all too scarce. The rest of us are busy playing golf in the desert.
Comeuppance
An adolescent tragedy forever changed Laura Bush; but instead of appreciating the sanctity of life—publicly at least—she promotes the reality of death.
The Vice Squad
Just in time for President's Day, a fun activity the entire family can enjoy: Who was the worst vice-president ever? We review history's candidates who could reach for Cheney's crown.
Spinning From the Grave
Ever since Gerald Ford’s death last week, politicians and pundits have rewritten much of his life into a series of victories. Now that he’s in the ground, it’s safe to finish the job.
The Confession of an American Jew
Everybody wants to know, but nobody wants to ask: Why are Jews funny? A journey far from the roads of good intentions.
Biloxi Blues
Katrina's destruction of the Mississippi coast left many residents homeless, unemployed, and vowing recovery. One year later, our writer revisits the coast, but finds little sign of progress.
Consuming Obama
Barack Obama is riding a wave of enthusiasm, and though we sense his sincerity, there's little else we know about him. Considering the man everyone seems to think should be our next president.
Closed Heart Surgery
Going under the knife is an arduous, lonely experience, and anyone who will share your pain is welcome. But Donald Rumsfeld? Finding an unlikely medical companion in the Defense secretary.
Betting Wrong
Session after session, congressional battles have us rooting for one side or the other. But it's not easy to tell who the good (and bad) guys are. A theory by way of He-Man and the Masters of the United States Congress.
Longing for the Sad Bastards
When did our angst-driven movie men get all tangled up in their apron strings? A screen history of damaged males.
Not an Open Letter
The self-made jury has handed down its decision: For his previous life in the Waffen SS, Günter Grass--and his work--should receive the maximum penalty.
News Gone Wild
Pop quiz for the journalism students in the audience: What's an editor to do when her reporter is assaulted and the attacker, whom the reporter strikes back, turns out to be the story's subject?
Daddies Unbound
The stereotype that dads don't show much skill or interest in child-rearing should have gone out when you were still in diapers—so why does it persist?
The Weathermen
Why are so many news shows so dully casted--except for the flamboyantly named superhero in front of the blue screen? The top 10 best-named weathermen currently rescuing the news.
We'd Like to Hear You Never
Yapping on cell phones has gotten out of hand--on the bus, on the street, even in subways, civil life is trampled with every outspoken call.
The Word You Dare Not Spell
Whatever Kaavya Viswanathan’s legacy, she has inspired us to take pleasure in others’ misfortune. And as there happens to be a word that means just that—schadenfreude—many writers have been more than happy to remind us of it.
In Praise of Loopholes
There's something to be said for working smarter, and not harder, and humans have been looking for--and finding--loopholes to enable it for centuries.
Purim vs. St. Patrick's Day
Being drunk may be fun, but being drunk and knowing the big Guy approves is even better. Matching historical fact and too much beer to decide which holiday offers the bigger hangover.
It
United we stand. In line. At the cash register... If there’s one issue Americans can rally around, it’s consumption. We all want stuff. Lots of stuff. As much as our wallets and purses will allow, and usually more.
Heeding the Lamplighter's Whistle
He's gone. He's been gone for some time. I'd still come running, though, at the very first note. Just one little round of the Masterpiece Theatre theme, and I'm all his, that little gas-lighting corporate mascot.
Would You Like Havarti With Those Freedom Fries?
Embassies have been torched, several people have died, ignorance flows from all corners--all for a few cartoons less intelligible than your average "Cathy" strip.
Wrong Way Home
To rebuild the Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast, Mississippi's governor picked a panel of vaunted New Urbanists to submit plans. But is their nostalgia for small-town America appropriate, nevermind prepared for the task?
From the Ground Up
Even in the face of disaster, life finds a way. But how long can we afford to flout forces beyond our control and live on unsteady ground? And what are we willing to pay? Our writer sends a dispatch from New Orleans.
Reality Check
When a critic slams Bravo's new take on Battle of the Network Stars, our writer remembers what made the first one worth a do-over. As it turns out, while the show could be remade, it could hardly be revived.
Brothers From Another Mother
Did David Childs really steal his Freedom Tower design from a Yale student? And can you call that stealing, or just the way the business works? Our critic explains how plagiarism exists in architecture, and why there actually should be more of it.
Downloading for the Greater Good
Fall semester is fast approaching, when students in our best universities will resume buying their essays off the internet and plagiarizing like crazy--and good for them! Why downloading term papers is an asset to higher education.
Sincerely Yours LOL!
The recent publication of Robert Lowell's letters makes us wonder, will someday collections of today's scribblers' correspondence include emoticons? A look at the last gasps of letter writing.
The Missing Debate on Iraq
Reading the news last week, it seemed like there was little debate in Congress about authorizing force against Iraq. Turns out there wasn’t any debate at all.
iPod vs. Sliced Bread
Is the iPod better than sliced bread. No, is it really better than sliced bread?
Hella, Hold Your Horse Is
As Don Caballero devolved into a mess of egotistical assholes and sloppy drunks (see Fred Weaver’s excellent tour diary in Chunklet #16) before splitting in 2000, the noise-rock scene was left with a conundrum: Follow the neutered approach Don Cab employed on their final disc, American Don, or make