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July082008

It's Peter J. Boyer Day: Whither Brian Williams?

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How extraordinary that Emily chose this evening to post about Peter J. Boyer. I, too, listened to that podcast today, and I, too, enjoyed it.

I found one aspect of the interview puzzling. The subject of the article is the phenomenon of Keith Olbermann as an outlet for liberal rage, and what that phenomenon is doing to MSNBC and, by extension, NBC News. In no way do I mean it as a criticism of Boyer or The New Yorker to wonder how it was that the name "Brian Williams" wasn't mentioned once in the podcast.

I like Williams--I think he's my "favorite" anchor--but, as a category, (continued)

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June262008

Introducing "The Wavy Rule," a New Emdashes Comic by Paul Morris

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We're delighted to announce that Emdashes will be publishing a daily comic by friend and fellow New Yorker admirer Paul Morris, on themes typographical, historical, and technological, on personalities of all kinds, and, of course, on the magazine past and present. It's called "The Wavy Rule" in honor of Rea Irvin's signature squiggly line.

Born in Beverley, England, Paul has a B.A. in History from UCLA and a Master's in History from Brown University. Since 2006, he's written and drawn a webcomic called "Arnjuice." You can see more of his work on his Flickr page, and he has collections for sale at Lulu. He's currently studying graphic design at the Art Institute of California, Los Angeles.

We're so pleased to have him drawing for us--we think he's a perfect addition to the crew. If there's a New Yorker-related or other idea you'd like see Paul draw, please email us and we'll pass it along for his consideration. After the jump, the first installment of "The Wavy Rule," inspired by Paul Goldberger's recent story "The Forbidden City," about the makeover of Beijing. (continued)

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June172008

Richard Yates: Getting His Due at Last

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Richard Yates, the toughest and least sentimental of American realists, has been getting a lot of good press lately, as his work is reissued, and it's high time. After all, he died in 1992, too late to benefit from the attention. (This new appreciation for his work has already become absurd, though, almost before it's begun. His excruciatingly depressing novel Revolutionary Road has just been made into a movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, that will be in theaters later this year.)

I'm a huge fan of Yates, mostly because I admire the heck out of Liars in Love, a story collection I recommend as the best introduction to his work. Reading those stories, it's mystifying (continued)

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June162008

Libretto: Oratorio for Spin and Ten Flacks

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Alex Ross is right. This compilation of news footage, compiled by the dogged geniuses at Talking Points Memo, is sublime. (It's a lengthy series of clips of Bush administration officials, mostly, explaining why Scott McClellan's book has come as such a doggone surprise to them.) As Ross notes, the compilation is diabolically edited in such a way as to maximize the musique concrète quotient of the speech acts. Which of course also has the effect of dramatically boosting the perceived inanity and desperation of the speech acts.

In an effort to help out, I have charted out a kind of score or perhaps libretto of the major themes of the piece, in the event that anyone wants to mount a production at the Met someday. Peter Gelb, call me.

Even without the Harry Partch angle, the mere fact of Ari Fleischer ruminating about how he is all "heartbroken" makes my very heart sing.

Full text after the jump. (continued)

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June142008

Praise Be: America Extols Summer Fiction Issue

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Martin Schneider writes:

I agree with the editors of America, the national Catholic weekly, that the most recent Fiction Issue may have represented a stealthy way of having a "Faith" issue in America's most prestigious secular magazine. They note that "the magazine's literary critic, James Wood, wrote a 4,000-word essay on the problem of theodicy, a term one does not often encounter in the pages of Eustace Tilley's journal."

America can cheer in recent hire Wood, then, because the guy has mentioned theodicy in five different articles so far! And, of course, the (continued)

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May122008

"Every Person in New York" Lad Also Fab New Yorker Cartoonist

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May092008

The New Yorker Conference Is Quotable: Day One

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May062008

The Lap of Luxury (Hotels), Circa 1958

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March142008

Everything—Bagel—Is Illuminated

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March052008

Fact-Checkers Are Always in Vogue

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2008 Webby Awards Official Honoree
2009 New Yorker Desk Diaries
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