Each Friday, the Emdashes summer interns bring us the news from the ultimate Rossosphere: the blogs and podcasts at newyorker.com. Here’s this week’s report.
Sarah Arkebauer:
My mom’s been reading scads of Tobias Wolff recently, so T.C. Boyle reading Wolff’s short story “Bullet in the Brain” in the February archive of the Fiction Podcast caught my eye. I found myself fully engrossed in the entire podcast. The story blended cleverness and humor seamlessly, and I enjoyed Boyle’s discussion with Deborah Treisman afterward nearly as much.
The Cartoon Lounge used slideshows in a couple of this week’s posts. The first is in an imaginative treatise on what happens in pictures where the subject hides his hand in his jacket–a light and humorous picture-series. I was even more excited about the second, though, which was a Cartoon-Off between The New Yorker‘s Farley Katz and Michael Showalter. I’ve been a fan of Showalter since his hysterical (if short-lived) comedy show Stella (which is now available on Joost), so I was thrilled to see both his cartoons and the interview that followed. Zachary Kanin and Chris Onstad also continued their feud with very funny eighth and ninth episodes, and Drew Dernavich posted a droll reminder about the musical Rent.
I was packing for school on Tuesday night, so I missed Hillary Clinton’s blockbuster convention speech. I hope to see the speech online soon, especially after reading in Goings On about the video preceding it. I enjoyed Andrea Thompson’s post on the successes and failures of Persian restaurants, as well. I was somewhat disturbed, though, by Ben Greenman’s report that Michael Jackson has recorded a collaborative album with David Gest setting the poetry of Robert Burns to music. Yikes.
I’d been tipped off earlier in the week to the plight of the “typo vigilantes,” but The Book Bench provided an excellent and detailed account of their transgressions. I’ve been working on my amateur bookspotting skills, but have not yet come across anything quite so charming as Jon Michaud’s latest sighting. Ever since I noticed, some years ago, that the movie version for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” was in pre-production, I’ve been waiting to see how it will measure up to the story; now, more details are finally becoming available. Also: I liked Rollo Romig’s fascinating article on books for prisoners, which was both haunting and heartening, and a concise post by Jenna Krajeski on a similarity between The Book Bench and George Orwell.
Adam Shoemaker:
This week in Interesting Times, George Packer questions Democrats’ squeamishness about Lyndon Johnson, the one-hundreth anniversary of whose birth was yesterday. “Johnson’s Presidency represented the zenith of American liberalism, and its downfall,” writes Packer. More important, he represents the potential of a converted politician to marshal the forces necessary to realize an ideal. In this sense, perhaps Dr. Martin Luther King’s relationship to Johnson is not unlike Douglass’s to Lincoln. Packer also spends a few paragraphs observing the “disorientation, estrangement, and fragmentation” of political conventions–and why Denver reminds him of the Green Zone.
Hendrik Hertzberg, in his blog subtitled “Notes on politics, mostly,” writes about the current political slumber of Kennedy family, and offers a requiem on the occasion of Teddy Kennedy’s speech at the Democratic convention: “The lion roared one last time, and we were all his cubs.”
Meanwhile Sasha Frere-Jones reports on Little Boots and her foray into lite-brite electronica. The first time I watched this video, I just wished the Tenori-On had been around when I was little. But on second viewing, as I was entranced by the dancing patterns of pixels, I began to wonder if Ms. Boots’ song might have more significance than we know. Frere-Jones also puts in a plug for Kara DioGuardi, the newly appointed fourth judge of American Idol, in whom he sees hope for the show. Finally, two new hop-hop tracks of note, one each from T.I. and Young Jeezy.
The New Yorker Out Loud spent some time this week with the magazine’s winsome television critic, Nancy Franklin, who discusses, among other things, the allure of televised badminton, why swimming will never catch on as a spectator sport, and the flashes of human sympathy and striving for betterment missed by those who shun reality TV.
Finally, Andy Borowitz writes on Sen. John McCain’s newest attack ad over at the Borowitz Report. This time the Arizona Republican questions whether Sen. Obama’s daughters are too young–and too cute–to lead. Let’s just hope they don’t take the Hilton approach and respond in kind.
Previous intern roundups: the August 22 report; the August 15 report; the August 8 report; the August 1 report; the July 25 report; the July 18 report; the July 11 report.

Here’s Paul on today’s “Wavy Rule” (click to enlarge!):
London may not be ready for the 2012 Olympics. Its Olympic Stadium has been panned, and millions have already been spent. Granted that Beijing ’08 is a tough act to follow, but London has already hosted the Olympics twice before. Why not give another city a shot at it?

More by Paul Morris: “The Wavy Rule” archive; “Arnjuice,” a wistful, funny webcomic; a smorgasbord at Flickr; and beautifully off-kilter cartoon collections for sale (and free download) at Lulu.

Here’s Paul on today’s “Wavy Rule” (click to enlarge!):
Boy, am I worried that The Office is going to jump the shark before it ends. The British version ended after 2 seasons. With a stiff upper lip, they ended it with the Christmas Special. Are American networks reluctant to let go of something good while they have it? Are we worried that we won’t come up with our own good ideas?

More by Paul Morris: “The Wavy Rule” archive; “Arnjuice,” a wistful, funny webcomic; a smorgasbord at Flickr; and beautifully off-kilter cartoon collections for sale (and free download) at Lulu.

Today, we celebrate the man, the myth, the maestro, the genius with a paintbrush and a pool cue, Rea Irvin, who was born this day in 1881. Click to enlarge, and have a glass of champagne in honor of Harold Ross’s favorite art tutor and our patron saint!

More by Paul Morris: “The Wavy Rule” archive; “Arnjuice,” a wistful, funny webcomic; a smorgasbord at Flickr; and beautifully off-kilter cartoon collections for sale (and free download) at Lulu.

Sure, but the more relevant question in today’s “Wavy Rule” is, Were their hippos even hungrier? Paul notes about this K-strategic drawing, the first of two to commemorate the end of this year’s Olympics, “This joke, obviously inspired by the Olympics, also reminds me of an old New Yorker short story: Edward Allen’s ‘Hungry Hungry Hippos,’ published July 30, 1990.” Click to enlarge!
Also, this important message! Don’t forget to enter the Emdashes contest to name the upside-down question mark! Today, August 25, is the last day we’re accepting submissions, until midnight West Coast time. ¿Can you best the entries that have already been posted? There’s only one way to find out! Back to our regularly scheduled program.

More by Paul Morris: “The Wavy Rule” archive; “Arnjuice,” a wistful, funny webcomic; a smorgasbord at Flickr; and beautifully off-kilter cartoon collections for sale (and free download) at Lulu.

Each Friday, the Emdashes summer interns bring us the news from the ultimate Rossosphere: the blogs and podcasts at newyorker.com. Here’s this week’s report.
Adam Shoemaker:
George Packer devoted most of this week’s posts in Interesting Times to Burma, complementing his wonderful article in the latest issue of The New Yorker. He gives us a slideshow of photographs, a list of good charities focusing on the region, and thoughts on being a journalist in that tormented land. He marvels at the Burmese people’s extraordinary bravery in helping him in spite of their legitimate paranoia. “I’ve never been anywhere I liked the people more and the government less,” Packer writes. These posts add a personal dimension to his article, showing us what it is to live in the Dickensian Burma, which one interviewee said “is at least one or two centuries behind the Western world,” and where we might direct our efforts to fight the junta’s repression, a power that has placed the land under a “magic spell that only some external force can break.”
Packer also wonders at NBC’s refusal to spend even a small portion of its Olympics coverage on legitimate criticisms of the Chinese government’s “full-court press against any negative moment marring the coming-out party.” Having just returned from Beijing myself, it’s depressing to hear that America’s experience of the games has differed so little from that of the Chinese, aside from swapping CCTV’s blatant Nationalism for NBC’s all-absorbing patriotism.
Notes on Politics, Mostly: I’ll admit it was a little hard to focus on Hendrik Hertzberg’s lament on Barack Obama’s wasted opportunity at Saddleback Church; the photo he attached to the post was just a little too amazing. It reminds me how little has been made of Obama’s Hawaii years (and the surfing pictures sure to accompany them) and how unfortunate that it is. Hertzberg reports on pastor Rick Warren’s interviews with both Sen. Obama and Sen. John McCain, in which he thinks Obama should have stood taller, and which also illuminate the strange role of evangelical Christianity in this election. Hertzberg also writes about his eager anticipation of a new book. Obama’s Challenge, by Robert Kuttner, he writes, illustrates persuasively that the Illinois senator has a “fighting chance to lead the country into a deep and lasting era of positive change.” Hertzberg only hopes that he can first survive the “Republican onslaught based on crude nationalism, simpleminded militarism, “cultural” xenophobia, fear, and lies.”
Meanwhile over at his blog, Sasha Frere-Jones reports on African hip-hop, his inability to grasp the “beef between Nigeria and Ghana” (shared by this intern), and the joys of Eba, a common Nigerian food that tastes “like a savory version of cookie dough.” This followed on an earlier post in which Frere-Jones considered the attraction of Lil Wayne’s “A Milli,” a song with a beat that is “simple, genuinely odd, and half-empty, ready to be filled with words.” Wayne’s filler includes a boast that he is “tougher than Nigerian hair,” inspiring Frere-Jones’ investigation into African rap responses. He hasn’t found any yet, but I think cookie dough is a pretty good consolation prize.
Over at The New Yorker Out Loud, Matt Dellinger interviews the composer John Adams, who writes about finding his musical voice in this week’s issue of the magazine. Adams’ phone conversation provides more background and personal details about his early days in California in which he wrestled with the profound influence of John Cage’s minimalism and attempted to reconcile his foray into avant-garde composition with his love of Classical music and the enduring power of harmony (a “bugaboo” for modern composers).
Finally, in the Borowitz Report, Andy Borowitz enters the political fray with breaking news about Sen. Joe Biden’s anticipatory 50,000-word acceptance speech for the Democratic Vice Presidential nomination. The three-day oration is apparently a trimmed-down version of the 200,000-word piece the senator hoped to deliver upon accepting the Presidential Nomination in 1988. At that length, I suppose a lack of originality is inevitable.
Sarah Arkebauer:
I dug through the archives of the New Yorker Fiction Podcast and found a gem from March of this year. It’s Jonathan Lethem reading James Thurber’s “The Wood Duck.” The story has a sharp, movie-like quality that makes me wonder why Thurber is often so underappreciated.
Over at The Rest Is Noise, Alex Ross posted just one short item: a link to an article he wrote on Shakespeare at Glimmerglass. I first heard about Glimmerglass from a Nancy Drew book I read as a child, but since then I’ve discovered its cultural offerings to be on a much higher plane. This series should be no exception.
I was happy to see two posts, by Sally Law and Jenna Krajeski, in the “Bookspotting” category at the Book Bench this week. Macy Halford also notes a development in the saga of what will become of Kafka’s papers. Also worth looking at is Ligaya Mishan’s post about the newest City of Literature, which also contains information on honored cities of years past and information on how your city can become a City of Literature as well.
The Cartoon Lounge added installments six and seven to the Sandwich Duel banter. Drew Dernavich also alerted me to a hilarious new web project from the “I Can Has Cheezburger” people. The project is a space for users to upload humorous graphics they create using Microsoft Excel. It almost makes me want to whip out my spreadsheet skills.
Mike Peed at Goings On just posted yesterday with an important finding for anyone who loves tasty, organic street food. I also enjoyed finding out from Ben Greenman what music is on Michael Phelps’s iPod, learning (from Andrea Thompson) about what’s behind the names of New York restaurants and shops, and, via Greenman once
again, putting my mind at ease in the wake of the supposed Bigfoot discovery.
Taylor House:
Dana Goodyear at Postcard From Los Angeles spots a bittersweet missed connection stapled to a telephone pole in North Hollywood. Ed Ruscha’s old open-air studio space in Venice is being paved over and converted to a parking lot. Some say Ruscha’s presence in the city is one of the main reasons for its current popularity.
Mick Stevens visits the infamous Jack Z over at I Really Should Be Drawing. They talk comics over olive-filled martinis and ask the all important question, “When you’re working, which comes first, the drawing or the caption?”
Steve Brodner catalogues his recent trip to Israel in photos and text at Drawger. Little commentary but lots of great visuals. No worries, though, he’s still jabbing at John McCain.
Previous intern roundups: the August 15 report; the August 8 report; the August 1 report; the July 25 report; the July 18 report; the July 11 report.

An important message from “The Wavy Rule”: Don’t forget to enter the Emdashes contest to name the upside-down question mark! We’re accepting submissions through this Monday, August 25. ¿Can you best the entries that have already been posted? There’s only one way to find out! Back to our regularly scheduled program; Paul writes of today’s aerodynamic cartoon:
Mr. O’Malley was the product of Crockett “Harold and the Purple Crayon” Johnson’s imagination, and a character in Johnson’s “Barnaby.” Mr. O’Malley, a fairy godfather, was a member in good standing of the Elves, Leprechauns, Gnomes, and Little Men’s Chowder & Marching Society, ran for Congress, worked as a Wall Street tycoon, and smoked Havana cigars. A great resource on Barnaby and Crockett Johnson can be found at Philip Nel’s site. Click to enlarge!

More by Paul Morris: “The Wavy Rule” archive; “Arnjuice,” a wistful, funny webcomic; a smorgasbord at Flickr; and beautifully off-kilter cartoon collections for sale (and free download) at Lulu.

Paul takes a look at the very serious historical issue of moustaches, four-leaf clovers, and the Snuffbox Six in Gotham City, circa some time ago. Click to enlarge, but stay on the right side of the law!

More by Paul Morris: Enter our exciting contest to name the upside-down question-mark! Entries accepted until August 25. Plus, “The Wavy Rule” archive; “Arnjuice,” a wistful, funny webcomic; a smorgasbord of multimedia at Flickr; and beautifully off-kilter cartoon collections for sale and free download at Lulu.