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Jonathans Are Illuminated, and Henry VIII
Filed under: Jonathans are Illuminated Tagged: books, Calvin Trillin, Jonathan Lethem
From Daily Candy, to which I'm always on the verge of unsubscribing solely because of those uninviting drawings of knock-kneed, vapid-faced quasi-women they insist on featuring as a brand identity, but which nevertheless has about one good tip out of ten (or maybe eight). For instance:
Last Resort: Everyone’s already skipped town and left you in charge of apt/pet/plant/mistress sitting? Well, at least you can still let your mind wander. Crack open a copy of The Subway Chronicles, a new series of mass transit-inspired essays from straphangers like Jonathan Lethem, Colson Whitehead, and Calvin Trillin (coming out on Tuesday on amazon.com). [Francine Prose and Stan Fischler are the book's two other contributors.]
Boldface mine; blankface theirs. I should add that I also subscribe to Daily Candy London and although the bad drawings are also featured there, the writing is significantly better. The British—they know the language. It's sad but it's true. Speaking of which, my friends Georgina Sowerby and Brian Luff in Crouch End have a hilarious special episode on their Comedy 365 network, called "Big Squeeze: The Seven Wives of Henry VIII." As they describe it:
A special one-off episode of the Big Squeeze, in which Sowerby & Luff have a crack at costume drama. Can Georgina become the 7th wife of Henry VIII? How will Cardinal Luff cope with this latest twist in the King's marital status? Most importantly, will Brian & Georgina be able to persuade Ray Winstone to play the part of Henry VIII?
Listen to it here, and then hear Henry VIII reveal his most intimate secrets ("Did you know that oil paintings add about ten pounds?") in an exclusive interview with Chris Skinner, truly the Barbara Walters of our time. Then subscribe to both of their podcasts on Comedy 365, and you'll be happy every time you listen.
Related:
Recently in Jonathans Are Illuminated; partial Jonathans archive
All about Brian Luff's audio novel, Sex on Legs
Gloopy Love and The Office, Neverending, and more about these geniuses of British podcast comedy, including Ricky Gervais, Sowerby and Luff, and Chris Skinner
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Hello! We're a small band of culture writers, editors, and artists based in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Emdashes, which spent its formative years as a New Yorker blog, is our collection of conversations—mostly civilized—about magazines, movies, design, punctuation, and other things that stir us.
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Dashes, some say, “are particularly useful in a sentence that is long and complex.” Emdashes—like an em dash itself—provides a thoughtful pause amid the hubbub.
Emdashes, founded in 2004, is written and drawn by Emily Gordon, Martin Schneider, Pollux, Jonathan Taylor, and Benjamin Chambers, as well as occasional guest contributors. All posts before October 2008 are by Emily Gordon.
The site was designed by House of Pretty with illustrations by Jesse R. Ewing.
Additional drawings are by Carolita Johnson and Pollux (author of our web comic, "The Wavy Rule"). The Emdashes pencil logo is by Jennifer Hadley, based on a 1943 Dorothy Gray ad.
Other writing by Emily Gordon
- Reviews: theater writing (for Time Out Chicago)
- Profile: Valerie Casey, Designers Accord founder, is spearheading the design of sustainability (for SXSW World)
- Feature: Rea Irvin: visionary art director, bon vivant, New Yorker founding father (for Print)
- Slide show: the Coney Island Mermaid Parade (for NYCgo.com)
- Feature: Muslim immigration iconography in the Netherlands, and an interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali (for Print)
- Review: King's Gambit: A Son, a Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game by Paul Hoffman (for Newsday)
- Homage: Celebrating lindy-hop legend Frankie Manning (for NYCgo.com)
- Inquiry: Does a New Republic redesign mean a change of tune? (for Print)
- Interview: James Surowiecki on what's next for the wisdom of crowds (for Assignment Zero)
- Interviews: four up-and-coming designers under 30 (for Print)
- Profile: novelist and dance critic Laura Jacobs (for Newsday)
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