Korean food in the West Village
Last night I had some sizzling bibimbop, sans beef, at Do Hwa on Carmine Street, just a couple of blocks from my office.
Free writing angst queen
I did it. I submitted to Operation Teenage Angst Fest. The best I can say about my submission is that I made sure to follow rule #3:
It has to suck. No, really. If you were one of those teenage prodigy-types who farted out a Finnegan’s Wake during sixth grade study-hall we don’t want [...]
Equality is so 30 years ago
Bloggy Mountain Breakdown offers up this “sentient commentary from the Bush clan,” found in yesterday’s Tallahassee Democrat:
Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday renewing the Equal Rights Amendment debate would be like “wearing bell-bottoms” or recycling other “retro” relics of the 1970s.
“My personal opinion is that it’s kind of like a retro subject, like going back and [...]
L train, follow-up
Thanks to everybody who wrote in to say “I don’t know what the fuck was going on with the L train but it totally ruined my evening” or some variation on that theme.
You probably know by now that earlier this morning, presumably after service was restored on the L, the cops shut down [...]
Subway drama
Okay, it was weird enough when, at the West Fourth Street station, we encountered seven National Guardsmen holding M-16’s, and four or five cops. Some were planted in position, some were patroling, and I heard one of the cops say, “we need to spread out.”
The A train came and we meekly got [...]
From NY1
Here’s a brief story about today’s “die-ins” in New York City, with a photo of some protesters blocking traffic in Midtown and quotes from a couple of participants.
Laughs all around
From the Rabbit Blog:
I just keep thinking about Bush’s comments during the presidential debates – he kept repeating how important it was for America to “win wars.” I remember thinking, “Win wars? Who the fuck talks about ‘war’ and ‘winning’ in the same sentence, without feeling ashamed of themselves? How the hell did this nut [...]
Two apologies and an appreciation
Letters from Choire:
Dear Everyone In My 8:15 p.m. Yoga Class Tonight on Lafayette Street,
I could have sworn I left my cell phone at home. And I’m sure I didn’t mean to set the ringer for panic-and-evacuate-the-building volume. I agree that our yoga teacher girl was cranked up on meth and the class was brutal, and [...]
How we work now
Savita Iyer describes America’s New Mood:
My office used to be a friendly, open place, always ready for a lively debate. Now, we sit in clumps, divided in our opinions, unsure of how to deal with those who think differently. We sit in our little groups, hunched over our computers, silently reading the websites we choose [...]
A new novel by Robbe-Grillet?!
I’m late to the ballgame here, but on March 19 the L.A. Times ran a review of Alain Robbe-Grillet’s Repetition, his first novel in 20 years.
Brit novelist prodigies crowned by Granta
It’s hard not to wonder if the latest crop of Granta’s “Best of Young British Novelists” might feel a bit uneasy now that the volume of their work has appeared,” says Erica Wagner. (Via The Literary Saloon.)
I, for one, will buy it for the story by A.L. Kennedy alone.
The Big Sleep
On March 26, 1959, Raymond Chandler died. He was 70.
Today in Literature notes that Chandler was always bemused “by those who confused him with his brooding, tough-guy hero, Philip Marlowe.”
When you’re ready we can share the wine
It was news to me, but you fine people probably already know that entering someone’s home phone number into Google will return a home address and a map with directions to that address. (Verified at Snopes.)
Edgy enthusiast
Manhattanites defy Brooklyn Smirk. (Via Gawker.)
Levin on The Onion
Tremble explores the longstanding genius of The Onion and Mr. Show, arguing that both get it right because they have immersed themselves fully in the material they parody.
The discussion concludes with the provocative argument that The Onion has become a pale imitation of its former self.