Books To Jump Up and Down Over
Magic Hours by Tom Bissell: This marvelous collection of essays chronicles everything from film shoots to novelists rescued from oblivion. (The essay on the Underground Literary Alliance, with its portrait of raucous factions, unexpectedly reveals how soft today's literary world has become.) But if you peer between the cracks of these smart pieces, you may very well see how cultural lives are formed from the most unexpected life choices. And as we follow Bissell's development as a writer over the years, that goes for Bissell as well. (Bat Segundo interview with Bissell)
Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway: Harkaway's latest novel greatly improves on his previous book, The Gone-Away World, which I'm already on record as praising. Angelmaker adopts genre elements without ever feeling like a genre book, and it leads me to believe that Harkaway is well on his way to a narrative grace close to China Miéville's. Yet inexplicably this very fun book, which includes an eightysomething badass named Edie Banister, a mysterious mechanical object that may destroy the world, farcical scenarios involving lawyers and the police, and some unexpectedly moving moments about fatherhood, doesn't appear to be getting much attention in American newspapers. Nothing from the snobs at The New York Times Book Review, nothing from The Washington Post. And since I can't get Harkaway on Bat Segundo, I hope this Jump Up and Down mention gets you hopping as well.
The Age of Insight by Eric Kandel: Unless you're really pressed for time, forget Jonah Lehrer. If you want to understand creativity and its relationship to neuroscience, then the bowtie-wearing Nobel laureate is your man. In addition to being a physically beautiful book (you will drool over many of the paintings), there are helpful overviews on optical illusions, science, biographical backgrounds, and many vital figures from the Vienna Secession. Kandel's enthusiasm (and his call for greater unity between the humanities and science) is contagious.
Everyday World Archive
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…and now, the end is near…
Posted on May 25, 2007 | 1 Comment…and so we face the final curtain, ha ha ha… Thanks, Ed, for having us over. Send my people the clean-up bill. Everyone else: Have a nice Memorial Day weekend,... -
Now We Know Why the Voice Coming Through the Speakers Sounds So Disembodied
Posted on April 11, 2006 | No CommentsNew York Times: “What made the $12.08 transaction remarkable was that the customer was not just outside Ms. Vargas’s workplace here on California’s central coast. She was at a McDonald’s... -
For Those Who Are Blind to His Precious Cargo
Posted on March 30, 2006 | No CommentsSeen today on California Street (around 1:45 PM): man with jacket reading BEER DELIVERY GUY. -
Catty Observation #482
Posted on January 18, 2006 | 6 CommentsHave you ever noticed, when an elevator is occupied by one person and the doors haven’t yet closed and you are running to get the elevator before the doors close... -
Live Coverage of Katrina
Posted on August 28, 2005 | 1 CommentVideo feed from WWL. And what Maud said. Thankfully, writer Poppy Z. Brite has evacuated and is blogging this. I hope as many people get out of this as safely... -
But Despite Their Online Gullibility, Men STILL Insist On Fixing Your Computers!
Posted on August 26, 2005 | 1 CommentThe Register: “The poll revealed that women report experience fewer difficulties in their lives online than men do: for instance, 46 per cent of men vs. 38 per cent of... -
You Can Justify Your Eating Disorder and Have Yourself Two to Three Extra Years Rotting Away in a Convalecent Home. Me? I’ll Enjoy My Damned Burger and Fries.
Posted on August 25, 2005 | 4 CommentsWired: “Aubrey de Grey, a Cambridge University gerontologist, recently wrote a paper concluding that CR [caloric restriction] is unlikely to add more than two or three years to the mean... -
An Open Letter to Fake Squealy Women
Posted on August 23, 2005 | 7 CommentsDear Fake Squealy Women: First off, allow me to distinguish between you and your counterparts: specifically, those genuinely squealy women or women with naturally adenoidal voices. I have no specific... -
If I Was a Girl Back in 1966, I’d Be Bad for Airline Hostess, Ballet Dancer, Model and Nurse
Posted on August 20, 2005 | No CommentsThe Exciting Game of Career Girls (1966): “Speaking Clearly: Good for Actress and Teacher.” And I should point out that this was less than forty years ago. -
Escape from New York
Posted on August 19, 2005 | 5 CommentsShe has worked at the Haight branch of Escape from New York Pizza for at least four years. So my best calculations dictate. I’ve seen her working there in some... -
More Importantly, Can They Revive the Taxicab Conversation in a Cell Phone World?
Posted on August 9, 2005 | No CommentsIt seems that the taxi partition is due for an overhaul. In New York, the Taxi and Limousine Commission has issued a call for new designs and proposals. -
Sort of a Photographic Supplement to Final Exit
Posted on July 29, 2005 | No CommentsThe Shanghaist has uncovered this helpful map for anyone looking to commit suicide in Shanghai. Fourteen areas are listed. Personally, I admire the over-the-top black icons against yellow-orange. The gang... -
Sun-Soaked Roundup
Posted on May 29, 2005 | 2 CommentsSarah is interviewed by Kacey Kowars. Sarah talks about the history of her blog, how she reads and selects content, her new day job, inter alia. The subject of “mean-spiritedness”... -
Unlawful Common Knowledge
Posted on February 20, 2005 | 3 CommentsI’m no historian. I’m just a guy who reads books with a layman’s ambition of being well-rounded. I can give you a brief overview of Ferdinand de Lesseps’ attempt to... -
It Happens in Small Steps
Posted on November 17, 2004 | No Comments“Leave our homos alone.” (via MeFi) -
In Defense of Fucking the South (And the Red States Too, For That Matter)
Posted on November 13, 2004 | No Comments“In swearing, as a means of expressing anger, potentially noxious energy is converted into a form that renders it comparatively innocuous. By affording the means of working off the surplus... -
Just Imagine How Much Trouble It Is To Buy A Pack of Trojans
Posted on May 26, 2004 | 1 CommentSingapore is lifting its chewing gum ban, but not without a few stipulations: (a) only 19 medicinal brands will be allowed, (b) anyone dealing black market gum will face two... -
There’s a Lesson Here Somewhere
Posted on February 27, 2004 | 1 CommentLocal 6 News: “An 83-year-old man was found lying dead in his yard next to his wife after he fell, became stranded and ordered his wife not to get help... -
Conversation with a Fellow Customer
Posted on January 17, 2004 | No Comments“Security. Does wonders for the mind.” He set down his bottle, which he paid with a twenty. “Really?” I asked. “How so?” “Well, for starters, there’s the discipline.” “Discipline?” “Yeah.... -
Nice Guys & Lesbians
Posted on December 23, 2003 | No CommentsOddly enough, I had a “date” similar to this, though nowhere nearly as extreme: ME: Why is she walking home and why are you picking her up. AFV (now in... -
Beyond the Pale
Posted on December 21, 2003 | 2 CommentsMaud’s posted a great little ditty on pallor. But I must assure Ms. Newton that she don’t have jack on my albino ass. For years, I was terrified of wearing... -
You’ve Got the Touch
Posted on December 16, 2003 | 1 CommentI stumbled onto this and was perplexed. But now I think I understand what goes on in the Upper West Side. And, yes, frankly, it’s a little weird to me... -
The Cole Valleyites
Posted on December 15, 2003 | No CommentsCole Valley seems to be populated by a sizable faction of urban professionals who can kindly be described as Gavin Newsom voters, and can less kindly be referred to as... -
Nureyev By Subway
Posted on December 10, 2003 | No CommentsWho’s Got the Biggest Balls of All? “Does one really need the perimeter of three subway seats to provide salvation for the sensitive seed?….Bizarre that the same boys who cringed... -
In Defense of Scrooge
Posted on December 8, 2003 | No CommentsThe Toronto Star: “In other words, don’t question clichés. But this is precisely what Scrooge does at the beginning of the story, when the ‘portly gentlemen’ come soliciting. Here’s their...