Monthly Archives: August 2009
Bites: Attempt at bad poetry leaves me unfulfilled, Raymond Chandlers LA, up yours Barnes and Noble, Will Sheff helps Norah Jones, and more
By Jason Diamond Come on city of my birth (that being Chicago), this is the worst poetry you can do? No sonnets about Mike Ditka? Not a single haiku on Hot Dougs? Seriously people, come on! If I ever needed … Continue reading
Filed under Bites
Bites: Jewish people talking Wagner, Inglourious reviews, Zoetrope, Scottish twee, and more
By Jason Diamond One of my favorite Jewish websites tackles the composer who has helped spawn at least three good Woody Allen jokes: Richard Wagner (pictured above). I wonder what all those Tea Party folks would make of “Food and … Continue reading
Filed under Bites
Covering a doomed folkie
Judee Sill is one of my all-time favorite songstresses, so it’s pretty much a sure thing that an album with names like Bill Callahan, Beth Orton, Princeton, and Marissa Nadler covering her songs is something I’m excited about. Two of … Continue reading
Filed under music
Bites: Narwhals, Daniel Handler, heavy books, Stieg Larsson sends you to Sweden, Justin Taylor gets lucky in a thrift store, and more
Is the narwhal one woman’s Moby Dick? Probably not, but NPR investigates anyways. Jacket Copy interviews Lemony Snicket author Daniel Handler about curating the CD for the Believer’s annual music issue. (Thanks Largehearted Boy) Indie Bound checks out another “indie … Continue reading
Filed under Bites
The Gospel According to Harry (and Scholars, and Fanatics, and Movie-Goers)
By Willa A. Cmiel I would claim to be a part of the original Harry Potter generation. The series starts near Harry’s eleventh birthday, and the first book came out in 1997 when I was eleven years old. Although “too … Continue reading
Huffington Post subtly hints that New Yorkers are philistines
By Jason Diamond The other day, Huffington Post writer Stephanie Harnett asked the question: When was the last time you saw Mark Twain on the Q train? Or Faulkner on the F? As somebody who takes both the Q and … Continue reading
Zombie Mathematics
By Willa A. Cmiel From the Freakonomics blog: While a zombie attack is one of the least likely ways the world could end, four Canadian mathematicians/graduate students did a mathematical analysis of a hypothetical zombie outbreak to determine the likelihood … Continue reading
Coming up: Gigantic and friends teach us to party
The flyer is kinda tiny, so I’m gonna copy and paste straight from the Gigantic site. You Don’t Know Me! Gigantic/Opium/Bomb Benefit Bash — Wednesday, Aug. 26th Bowery Electric 6:30pm – 12am — Join some of New York’s most innovative … Continue reading
Bites: Neil Young, Kind of Blue turns fifty, Mad Men officially "darn good", David Foster Wallace, and more.
By Jason Diamond Neil Young didn’t really enjoy Woodstock it would seem. “It was exactly fifty years ago today to the minute that the first member of the general public tried to use Miles Davis’ jazz classic Kind of Blue … Continue reading
Filed under Bites
