Troy Tulowitzki

Troy Tulowitzki

Chipper Jones pops the ball. It looks like it’s going to be your garden-variety line drive. But Tulowitzki’s on it, rushing to second base before…

Read Article →
Roundup (David Lean's Brief Encounter Version)

Roundup (David Lean’s Brief Encounter Version)

China Miéville wants more opinionated children’s literature. (via Sarah) Kate Bollock talks with Lydia Davis. (via Maud) Linked elsewhere but worth your time: Chabon’s rewriting…

Read Article →
An Old "American Idol" Episode from 1985

An Old “American Idol” Episode from 1985

Years later, there’s little in the way of vocal improvement (in fact, there is a marked decline), and there’s a troubling reliance upon stage presence…

Read Article →
We Can End This Destructive Conflict and Bring Order to the Galaxy

We Can End This Destructive Conflict and Bring Order to the Galaxy

Read Article →
And I Thought Pirates Were Welcome Near Pittsburgh

And I Thought Pirates Were Welcome Near Pittsburgh

Smoking Gun: “A Pennsylvania woman claims that her teaching career has been derailed by college administrators who unfairly disciplined her over a MySpace photo that…

Read Article →
Thoughts from the Playground

Thoughts from the Playground

There are more arguments against the current NBCC approach from Colleen, Jeff and Marydell. Michael Dirda and I have emailed. He’s a reasonable guy and…

Read Article →
Uncited Studies

Uncited Studies

Stephen Elliott: “Studies have consistently shown that people with more screens open get less done. Multitasking slows down productivity.” Uncited studies have also shown that…

Read Article →
The Most Popular Segundo Shows of the Past Month

The Most Popular Segundo Shows of the Past Month

Here are the most popular Segundo podcasts from the last month. 10. Dana Spiotta 9. Amy Sedaris 8. Nina Hartley 7. Jennifer Weiner 6. The…

Read Article →
Bizarre Contextual Paragraph of the Week

Bizarre Contextual Paragraph of the Week

BBC: “He asked for the ‘media circus’ to end and hoped it would not detract from the message of preventing AIDS.”

Read Article →
Segundo #113

Segundo #113

If you hit the Litblog Co-Op site this morning, you may be wondering what happened to Shows #110-112. Well, have no fear. They haven’t disappeared….

Read Article →
The Cult of the Polemicist, Part One

The Cult of the Polemicist, Part One

(This is the first in a series of posts addressing Andrew Keen’s book, The Cult of the Amateur.) It won’t hit bookstores until June 5,…

Read Article →
John Freeman Stuck in 1999

John Freeman Stuck in 1999

Print is Dead: “In talking about the drawbacks to having the Book Review now appear mostly online, instead of in the actual newspaper, John Freeman…

Read Article →
Tanenhaus Embraces Genre?

Tanenhaus Embraces Genre?

There are reports surfacing that Sam Tanenhaus has attended tonight’s Edgar Awards ceremony. Also, it would appear that there are some rebels working against the…

Read Article →
Jack Valenti, 1921-2007

Jack Valenti, 1921-2007

Read Article →
Aimee Semple McPherson: Early Evangelist

Aimee Semple McPherson: Early Evangelist

Ever since discovering radio evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson in Kevin Starr’s invaluable California history books years ago, I’ve long been fascinated by her. McPherson is…

Read Article →
Clipped Roundup

Clipped Roundup

Amy Finnerty: “Martin Amis excels at descriptions of creepy men–sweaty misogynists, soused lowlifes, and thugs.” Ms. Finnerty says this like it’s a bad thing! A…

Read Article →
Savage Reviewing

Savage Reviewing

Scott Esposito, who before moving to Mexico was once referred to in certain quarters as the Sexiest Man in Oakland and who remains, at least…

Read Article →
Roundup (Tape Delayed Blogging)

Roundup (Tape Delayed Blogging)

It looks like the Mystery Writers of America share the SFWA’s troubling inability to understand that we’re now in the 21st century. Sarah has distressing…

Read Article →
"No Buzz Marketing"

“No Buzz Marketing”

John Freeman on blogs: “It’s one thing to accept advertising money: that’s what has kept papers afloat for years. It’s quite another to make a…

Read Article →
Audio Illusions

Audio Illusions

Musicians and podcasters might find these links of interest (and I certainly plan to employ some of these tricks, now that I’ve discovered some open…

Read Article →
Howard Hendrix: The Great Uniter

Howard Hendrix: The Great Uniter

Howard Hendrix: “I’m also opposed to the increasing presence in our organization of webscabs, who post their creations on the net for free. A scab…

Read Article →
Spoken Like a True Journalist

Spoken Like a True Journalist

Roger Ebert: “We spend too much time hiding illness. There is an assumption that I must always look the same. I hope to look better…

Read Article →
Mike Daisey Update

Mike Daisey Update

The Boston Globe‘s Geoff Edgers has done some reporting on the Mike Daisey walkout mentioned here on Saturday. It seems that, contrary to Daisey’s claims,…

Read Article →
Pequeño Roundup

Pequeño Roundup

No Fear for the Future has collected movie moments in which authors show up for no reason. (via Bookslut) Joshua Ferris hunts classic fiction for…

Read Article →
Challenge of the Superfriends

Challenge of the Superfriends

(via Sarah)

Read Article →
"Anybody Who Knows Cockney Slang Will Know the Term!"

“Anybody Who Knows Cockney Slang Will Know the Term!”

A 1972 documentary with Anthony Burgess, Malcolm McDowell, and critic William Everson (who appears to be reading off cue cards) on A Clockwork Orange. Highlights…

Read Article →
RIP David Halberstam

RIP David Halberstam

Jesus. Journalist-popular historian David Halberstam has died in a car crash. Halberstam was the author of The Best and the Brightest, one of the first…

Read Article →

Litbloggers and the NBCC: “Separate But Equal”

Haggis informs me that the NBCC has initiated a new campaign to save book reviews. There’s even a handy-dandy graphic, which you can pilfer on…

Read Article →
The Ten Strangest Mainstream Sex Scenes

The Ten Strangest Mainstream Sex Scenes

In my view, one of the greatest cinematic sex scenes of all time was in Michael Mak’s 1992 film Sex and Zen (alas, YouTube fails…

Read Article →
Roundup

Roundup

The Eisner Award nominations have been announced, and one of the delightful surprises is Bob Burden’s extremely surreal work for the Gumby comic, which includes…

Read Article →