February 23, 2005
February 10, 2005
Neal Stephenson’s Past, Present, and Future
The author of the widely praised Baroque Cycle on science, markets, and post-9/11 America
Posted by cds at 06:10 PM
January 30, 2005
January 19, 2005
December 31, 2004
December 28, 2004
The Vanishing
In “Collapse,” Jared Diamond shows how societies destroy themselves.
Posted by cds at 02:46 AM
December 27, 2004
December 02, 2004
Mr. Shawn’s Lost Tribe
THIS MEDIA LIFE
The language and rituals and customs of the old ‘New Yorker’ are fast being forgotten. Renata Adler, with her first book in fifteen years, is the Last of the Mohicans.
Posted by cds at 12:30 PM
November 25, 2004
November 24, 2004
Citizen Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick’s films were landmark events—majestic, memorable and richly researched. But, as the years went by, the time between films grew longer and longer, and less and less was seen of the director. What on earth was he doing? Two years after his death, Jon Ronson was invited to the Kubrick estate and let loose among the fabled archive. He was looking for a solution to the mystery—this is what he found
Posted by cds at 02:36 PM
November 11, 2004
November 10, 2004
Outside the Box
THE SKY LINE
Yoshio Taniguchi’s elegant expansion of the Modern.
Posted by cds at 10:47 AM
November 06, 2004
The Decline of Brands
Sure, there are more brands than ever. But they’re taking a beating—or, even worse, being ignored. Who’s to blame? A new breed of hyperinformed superconsumers.
Posted by cds at 03:38 PM
October 19, 2004
October 11, 2004
October 04, 2004
September 30, 2004
After the Fall
REVIEW
[Beware, this review gives away virtually every important plot point, and betrays a pedantic streak on the part of the reviewer dwarfed only by his lack of understanding of the characters and how they fit into the book's ‘message’ –ed.]
Posted by cds at 02:09 PM
September 25, 2004
The Ketchup Conundrum
TASTE TECHNOLOGIES
Mustard now comes in dozens of varieties. Why has ketchup stayed the same?
Posted by cds at 10:32 PM
Big and Bad
COMMERCE AND CULTURE
How the S.U.V. ran over automotive safety.
Posted by cds at 07:11 PM
September 16, 2004
Saved by the Beagle
A year ago, Seattle’s Fantagraphics was on the brink of bankruptcy. Now it’s in the black, thanks to good ol’ Charlie Brown—and a pair of dogged believers who turned a cranky fanzine into the most widely respected comics publisher in America.
Posted by cds at 08:08 PM
September 10, 2004
August 25, 2004
August 06, 2004
July 12, 2004
June 30, 2004
The horror, the horror
David Foster Wallace delves into the heart of human darkness in his chilling new story collection.
Posted by cds at 11:59 AM
May 27, 2004
April 28, 2004
April 07, 2004
Don’t Look Back
THE CURRENT CINEMA
“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”
Posted by cds at 01:55 PM
November 22, 2003
The Wal-Mart You Don’t Know
The giant retailer’s low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart’s relentless pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line?
Posted by cds at 12:28 AM
November 21, 2003
The media octopus loses a tentacle
Congress has dealt Bush a stinging defeat on the fcc’s relaxed new ownership rules—and is threatening to strike a fatal blow.
Posted by cds at 07:12 PM
November 07, 2003
November 05, 2003
November 04, 2003
October 28, 2003
Form and Dysfunction
Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things and Jordan Melamed’s Manic
Posted by cds at 12:49 PM
Infinity, iyi
By Georg: David Foster Wallace stares into a mathematical abyss and lives to write about it
Posted by cds at 12:14 PM
October 22, 2003
New York in Reverse
OBIT
Elliott Smith’s idea of heaven was modest, like everything else about the songwriter.
Posted by cds at 11:00 PM
Elliott Smith, 1969–2003
Despite his success, the fragile and brilliant alt-troubadour never seemed comfortable with his career—or his life.
Posted by cds at 05:53 PM
Going for baroque
Neal Stephenson’s new “Quicksilver” takes a fantastical, circuitous tour of the 17th century in search of the roots of science and the nature of the universe.
Posted by cds at 04:08 PM
October 21, 2003
Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW
One of the Longest, Most Difficult, Most Ambitious Novels in Years
Posted by cds at 05:20 PM
October 09, 2003
Neil Postman: A civilized man in a century of barbarism
A former student remembers a teacher who never stopped raking the worlds of Big Media and technology with his savage wit.
Posted by cds at 11:20 PM
October 07, 2003
The kids are alright
Indie godhead Richard Linklater on teaching fifth-graders to shred for “School of Rock,” the amazing Jack Black and moving from the margins to the mainstream—and back again.
Posted by cds at 11:55 PM