December 2011
12 posts
8 tags
2011
BEER OF THE YEAR: IJwit, Brouwerij t’IJ, Amsterdam
ALBUM OF THE YEAR: Tennis, Cape Dory
MODE OF TRANSPORTATION OF THE YEAR: train
SONG OF THE YEAR: Battles, “Futura”; Beyoncé, “Love on Top” (tie)
WEIRD FICTION OF THE YEAR: Marie Calloway, ”Adrien Brody”
BREAKFAST OF THE YEAR: eggs Benedict, Saratoga Springs/Brooklyn/Burlington
PANTS OF THE YEAR:...
2 tags
the kids are kind of alright
Today it was 22 degrees Fahrenheit. I saw three teenage girls sporting hooded sweatshirts in Easter egg hues. On their heads were the flat-brim fitted baseball caps typical of teenage boys — tokens from their boyfriends, probably. Any time you see a high schooler dressed inappropriately for the weather, somewhere there’s a corresponding parent, shaking their head in defeat.
Later I...
3 tags
more lady mag criticism
Reading Glamour or Vogue or InStyle around the holidays is surreal; decoding the editorial choices of certain lady magazines reveals a stunning difference between the imagined average reader between January and November and that same woman in December. January-November Woman is a balancing act, a careerist who might want or already have children, who wants to be single and have great sex...
wow!
“Bake cake” is bake kake in Norwegian.
best names
Horst P. Horst
Robbie Robertson
William Carlos Williams
EDIT! Ford Madox Ford
7 tags
this thrilling but disconcerting time
This essay, which is all about our inability to make any kind of cultural advancement in the past twenty years, has me in a tizzy. While the argument is legitimate — Kurt Andersen correctly writes, “You can…see that the characteristic surfaces and sounds of each historical moment are absolutely distinct from those of 20 years earlier or later” — some of the examples...
4 tags
“Above all things a first novel should be (1) lascivious, (2) impossible, and (3)...”
– Alex Carnevale, “The 100 Greatest Novels”
6 tags
agreeable abs, impeccable pecs
Anyone who has ever watched MTV for long periods of time has seen at least one of those BOD fragrance-for-men commercials. (They usually air in pairs or trios.) Terrible techno music throbs suggestively, perfect male specimens cavort shirtless on a sports field, and a breathy female voice intones, “I want your bod.” In good moods these ads are merely hilarious; in testy moods, they...
3 tags
uggs
Feet look unintelligent in Ugg boots. It’s the blunting, stunted effect of the round, mushy toes. Those who choose to wear Uggs would be wise to sport a pair of truly stellar spectacles as well — the smart-looking noggin will balance the dumb feet.
7 tags
a story about red velvet pancake puppies
A couple of weeks ago I was home for Thanksgiving for a few days, and one night I went out to the Burlington bars with my home-friends. We ended up at a club that embodies the word ‘sketchy’ to the fullest degree. The walls there were covered with mirrors. The only way to resolve anything was to dance: not on the main dance floor whose DJ was playing various Rihanna remixes and...
2 tags
recent fascinating wikipedia articles
List of people who have claimed to be Jesus
Alien abduction insurance