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Best of the 12.01.08 Issue: Banana-Fana Fo Fernanke
Filed under: Pick of the Issue Tagged: cartoons, economy, John Cassidy, Peter Mueller, recession
In the pragmatic, can-do spirit of the incoming Obama administration, Emdashes has made a collective decision to put aside "the failed policies of the past"...and revive the useful "Pick of the Issue" feature instead!
Our goal is utilitarian. Consider: You are being pursued by a highly funktastic lizard and thus cannot follow through on your oath to read with care every page of this week's issue. You've only got about thirty minutes to dedicate to the issue. To which feature should you allot your circumscribed time?
This week, districts reporting so far (Jonathan Taylor and I) thought John Cassidy's Reporter at Large story about Ben Bernanke and the reaction to our still-unfolding economic crisis, "Anatomy of a Meltdown" (here's the link at the Digital Edition), took the cake. Jonathan found it "the most detailed thing I've read about what Bernanke was up to earlier." The article also features an amusing/disturbing anecdote about Bush's undue interest in socks (the footwear, not the Clinton cat). Jonathan also enjoyed Peter Mueller's daft take on televised talent shows in his cartoon on page 68.
Emily notes that this feature has always benefited from the contributions of keen Emdashes readers, who are, after all, New Yorker subscribers who read large chunks of the issue every week. I heartily agree! If you have a strong positive reaction to any article in the current issue, by all means write us and tell us why! You might even make our weekly "Pick of the Issue" writeup. And, of course, if there's something you didn't like, feel free to tell us about that, too.
About us
Hello! We are media enthusiasts and culture addicts—not to mention classically trained (as we like to say) professional journalists. This is our collection of generally civilized conversations about magazines, movies, politics, punctuation, and other things that stir us.
You'd like to read more about us individually? That's so nice! Here you can learn a lot more about the Emdashes team, the mysterious-sounding names of our daily and non-daily columns, and our guest contributors.
We welcome tips, questions, and comments, and are always looking for ardent new contributors who care about letters (postal, typographical, admiring, literary, and tough-love). Here's how to contact us.
Occasionally, we host book giveaways, and review books here as often as we can. Publishers, please e-mail us and we'll send you an appropriate mailing address.
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They say that dashes “are particularly useful in a sentence that is long and complex.” Emdashes—like em dashes—provides a thoughtful pause amid the hubbub.
Emdashes, founded in 2004, is currently written and drawn by Emily Gordon, Martin Schneider, Pollux, Jonathan Taylor, and Benjamin Chambers, as well as occasional guest contributors. (Unsigned posts through October 2008 are by Emily Gordon.)
The site is designed and maintained by House of Pretty and illustrated by Jesse Ewing for Inkleaf Studio. Additional drawings are by Carolita Johnson and Pollux (who also draws our daily comic, "The Wavy Rule"). The kissable Emdashes logo is by Jennifer Hadley, based on a 1943 Dorothy Gray ad.
Other writing by Emily Gordon
- Profile: Valerie Casey, Designers Accord founder, is spearheading the design of sustainability (for SXSW World; PDF, p. 20)
- Feature: Rea Irvin: visionary art director, man about town, and New Yorker founding father (for Print)
- Report: Learning to read with comic books--that are edited by Françoise Mouly (for Print)
- Interview: Designer Eleanor Grosch (for Print)
- Proposal: a better-designed Metrocard (for A Brief Message)
- Review: Charles Addams: A Cartoonist's Life by Linda H. Davis (for Newsday)
- Review: King's Gambit: A Son, a Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game by Paul Hoffman (for Newsday)
- Review: 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)
- Report: Eustace Tilley spruces up for The New Yorker's website redesign (for Print)
- Feature: Muslim immigration iconography in the Netherlands, and an interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali (for Print)
- Micro-essay: on saving time through inspiration (for A Brief Message)
- Review: books about various New Yorker cartoonists by Liza Donnelly and Iain Topliss (for Newsday)
- Profile: screenwriter and novelist Joe Keenan (for Newsday)
- Review: The Complete New Yorker (for Print)
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Comments
I'm a little bit behind in my reading. Sometimes it takes an extra week for the magazine to reach me here on Baffin Island. (An email subscription is the obvious solution, but I worry that what I'd gain in delivery speed, I would lose in reading pleasure. I really enjoy holding the physical magazine in my hands, folding it, marking it, turning the corners down in it, and generally making it a reflection of my own quirky interests.) My POTI pick of this particular issue has nothing to do with either Ben Bernanke (ugh!) or V. S. Naipaul (double ugh!). I enjoyed the simpler stuff, e.g., the lovely Waterfront Greenway bike hike, and the visit to the Met to view Vaux's oculi. The Met piece is the first I've read by Macy Halford. I was impressed. I look forward to reading more of Halford's work in future issues.