January 2012
1 post
6 tags
Bringing up bébé
French parents are strict, and they do not share power with their children. I like this method of parenting, and so does Pamela Druckerman. I posted about her at Prospero.
December 2011
1 post
7 tags
Crazy sexy Teutonic
Imagine a cross between Thomas Mann’s “Death in Venice”, the CLUE board game and a wargames fanzine. I wrote about Roberto Bolaño’s newly-released “The Third Reich” for Prospero.
November 2011
4 posts
5 tags
Five things about willpower
Humans are funny and frail. It all boils down to that, really.
Click here to read about it.
3 tags
Michael Fassbender
I wrote about this blue-eyed man for GQ, which chose him as one of their Men of the Year.
Before the interview, I was warned that Fassbender “is ADD” and that during our talk I should get to the point. This is a typical thing for a publicist to say, and it does not mean that her client has difficulty organizing tasks or completing activities. It means that he is rude, and it means...
6 tags
Everything is more complicated than you think
Gosh, John Jeremiah Sullivan. He is to essayists what Charlie Sheen is to sitcom actors (*so good he makes it look easy). I had the lucky task of asking him questions for Prospero.
5 tags
Solitary males and proper nouns
Posted about Paul La Farge’s novel Luminous Airplanes at Prospero. Read it instead of the new Murakami, maybe.
October 2011
2 posts
3 tags
Twitter
I got my old Twitter name back.
Having fun so far!
7 tags
Spin me a yarn
Whenever I see a new novel described as “the thinking man’s X”, my eyes narrow into slits.
Colson Whitehead’s new book, Zone One, is a zombie novel, and I reviewed it for the Boston Globe.
The book has been getting great reviews, but I didn’t like it too much. Has anyone else cracked this one open? I’m curious to hear your thoughts.
September 2011
3 posts
7 tags
All-U-Can-Eat de Kooning
A whole floor of swamp monsters! Okay, not a floor. A room. Two rooms.
I blogged about the de Kooning show for Prospero. It is a good idea to eat something before you go— ideally not something from the MoMA cafeteria (soup and sandwich: $20).
5 tags
Justin Theroux's dork voice
When he talks about his personal soundtrack—”If I’m in scenic country, a little Nouvelle Vague on the iPod”—you have to forgive him, because he may as well be talking about poison dart frogs or laser tag.
—I did a mini piece on Justin Theroux for GQ. In the photo shoot, the magazine dressed him up like Serpico. They omitted the scene where Serpico wears socks with Tevas.
6 tags
Gucci Gucci
Luis Gispert takes fantastical, wackadoo photographs of customized cars. His exhibit at Mary Boone opens just in time—nice!— for Fashion Week. I asked him about colors, costs, and what it feels like to sit inside a faux Fendi car (“extremely distracting.”)
Click here to take a look.
Now, how to get Kreayshawn into one of these things? First, expand cup-holders to Rossi...
August 2011
1 post
4 tags
The J in J.Crew: How Jenna Lyons Became the Most...
Happy Monday.
I have a piece in this week’s issue of New York, which happens to be the fall fashion issue. The piece is a profile of Jenna Lyons, the president and creative director of J.Crew.
July 2011
3 posts
4 tags
The Ugliness Penalty: Do the Homely Need Legal...
What a question. I wrote about it for New York magazine, and you can read it online by clicking here.
6 tags
Jesse Eisenberg is Blowing Up
I wrote a little profile of Jesse Eisenberg for the August issue of GQ.
Eisenberg is everything you hoped for. A real mensch—maybe even an übermensch!
4 tags
Teenage Grizzly
I wrote about Miss America, Teresa Scanlan, for New York magazine. She might be the first female president, or at least the next Michele Bachmann. Anyone who cares to short this young lady: I’ll take the long side of your bet!
Check it out here.
June 2011
2 posts
5 tags
Jesus Christ
Monica Ali’s new book is a good one to read if you want to feel like the butt of a mean joke. I reviewed it for the Sunday Boston Globe!
2 tags
The Smelliest Block in New York
It’s a summer mystery! Deep in the Lower East Side, a terrible odor lurks. Where is it coming from?
I cracked the case for New York magazine. Click here to read.
May 2011
3 posts
5 tags
The usual gang of idiots
This month’s issue of MAD has a lot of good Spider-Man gags. I have zero gags but I thought the show was fascinating and did a post on it at Prospero.
3 tags
Qaddafi, Ahmadinejad and Mugabe up close and...
“Berlusconi was entertaining… It was like Fred Astaire doing a sidestep.”
A Q&A with Platon, for Prospero.
3 tags
63 Minutes With Brook Peters
Hanging out after school with the 9/11 auteur, for New York.
April 2011
5 posts
6 tags
Marinating chickens and recapping uneventful days
It’s as though Neddy Merrill, the pitiable hero of John Cheever’s short story “The Swimmer”, had popped out of the pool midway through his odyssey, towelled off, and decided to hit the mall for a corndog.
4 tags
Is 'ProCro' a Real-Estate Naming Gimmick Gone Too...
Wrote an Intelligencer for New York. Click to read!
3 tags
Big good-looking creep
A post on Coop-a-Doop for Prospero.
Whither the book?
A post for Prospero. Click here or below to read.
A Lifetime at the Ansonia
(Only some of it in the baths.)
for New York mag
March 2011
3 posts
Outtake
Reporter: When a person walks into a building of this size [New York’s tallest residential building], do you think it makes him feel larger or smaller?
Frank Gehry: My sense of these apartments is that they’re more relaxed than most apartments.
Reporter: How so?
Gehry: Because of the layouts. Because of the relaxed exterior layout.
Reporter: So there’s something relaxing...
Frank Gehry's giant sardine
I spoke with Frank Gehry about his ridiculous building for The Daily. Click below to read.
.
Who will play Assange?
Speculating for The Daily…
February 2011
5 posts
Fiscal conservative, feminist, ambivalent on...
Assignment: summarize your politics in the lede of an unrelated piece about magical potions!
5 More Things James Franco Can't Do
thedailyfeed:
A late-breaking update to this story, fresh from the Arts & Life night desk.
Not so fast!
Some things that James Franco can’t do.
Oh boy, really overusing the word "blooper" here....
Here is a piece about tattoos that I wrote for THE DAILY! Sorry about the blooper :(
3 tags
Babe alert
Wrote about Michelle Obama’s sartorial prowess for THE DAILY.
The best part? You do not need an iPad to read it!
October 2010
1 post
Big list of pieces
For New York magazine The J in J.Crew The Ugliness Penalty Miss America, Teenage Grizzly The Smelliest Block in New York A Lifetime at the Ansonia (Only some of it in the baths) Is ‘ProCro’ a Real-Estate Naming Gimmick Gone Too Far? 63 Minutes With Brook Peters
For GQ Michael Fassbender, Man of the Year Jesse Eisenberg is Blowing Up
Justin Theroux Goes to Hollywood
For The...