Eight months ago, after more than 14 years working as a digital-media business developer at News Corp., Daren Benzi left his job and joined a relatively unknown company called Plastic Logic, based in the same neighborhood as Google’s headquarters in Silicon Valley. The company is building what they hope will be a Kindle killer—the Read More
Observed this weekend at a Brooklyn wine bar: a crew of boomy-voiced 30-somethings harassing their waitress.
“This is horrible!” said a long-haired portly guy, thrusting his iPhone at her. “These songs you’re playing are so tired, man! Listen, we’re in the industry. Trust us. Please put on my playlist. I cannot listen to this crap!” Read More
Will Oldham has always been fascinated with pop icons (check out this video for Kanye West’s “Can’t Tell Me”). He’ll take on R. Kelly, Danzig, and Bjork with his Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy outfit release Ask Forgiveness. It will include eight covers in all.
New York Mag inspires us to finish The Brothers Read More
I’m Mad as Hell!
To the editor:
In his article “Spitzer-Take! Governor Vows to Persevere” [March 5], Jason Horowitz writes that the health-care workers’ union 1199 SEIU is currently paying for a television campaign against proposed Medicaid cuts to New York’s state budget, and that Mr. Spitzer may respond with his own TV campaign.
Think Small: Moses’ Tiny City In Queens
Feeling a bit claustrophobic between the Empire State and Chrysler buildings? Get a bite-sized version of the Big Apple at the tiny New York City tucked away inside the Queens Museum of Art in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. The Panorama, which reopened Feb. 4 after a five-month hiatus for Read More
Memo to: Al Gore
From: Ari Gold
Subject: Your Oscar Speech
Dear Al:
Before I go any further here, allow me to apologize in advance for calling you “Al,” as opposed to “Mr. Vice President.”
Sure, it might seem overly familiar.
But Al—dude—VeepMan—now that you’ve got the Oscar nomination and you’re officially in show business, Read More
Jonathan Raban’s third novel, Surveillance, opens with a school-bus explosion, the rescue workers scrambling to save survivors. And then the camera pulls back, revealing that the school-bus driver, Tad Zachary, is clearing the fake blood from his ears after being placed in the Red Cross van. He’s an actor, one of several under contract with Read More
“I think it’s kind of ridiculous,” Robert F. Byrne, 15, of Fayetteville-Manlius High School outside of Syracuse, N.Y., was recently quoted as saying in The New York Times. “Our administration is refusing to change with the times.”
The “times” young Master Byrne was referring to concerned his school’s decision to cancel a dance because the Read More
Every year, the media tends to beat certain words, phrases and concepts to death. Remember the Axis of Evil? Hanging chads? Soccer moms? Shock and awe?
Forget overexposure. These things quickly clock past cliché and head right into the Green Zone (ding—there’s one!) of cultural irrelevancy.
This year, in an attempt to get ahead Read More
