Martin Schneider writes:
I was just riffling through my inbox (such a tactile metaphor), and the following event at the 92nd Street Y jumped out at me. From the Y’s latest press release:
Tuesday, June 10, 8:15 pm, $26
The Lamentations of Ian Frazier
Whether flat-out funny in his Shouts and Murmurs columns in The New Yorker (most recently, the column about the man who bought and is renovating Wyoming), thoughtful and moving in books like On the Rez or far-ranging and perceptive in essay collections like the upcoming Lamentations of the Father, Ian Frazier is an American original. A mix of journalist and comedian, heir to Mark Twain and James Thurber, Frazier brings a sharp but loving eye to the vagaries of American life. He talks with WNYC’s Leonard Lopate.
I’ve never seen Frazier speak, I bet he’s very entertaining. I wish I were in NYC for this but—ain’t.
Plus, don’t overlook this event at the same venue:
Monday, June 2, 8:15 pm, $26
Bill McKibben on the Environment
When, in the 1980s, Bill McKibben started writing about climate change and the environment in The New Yorker, he was one of the first mainstream writers to draw attention to the subject. His writing profoundly affected Al Gore, among others. McKibben’s books include The End of Nature, The Age of Missing Information and Enough; this spring, Times Books has published a collection of his essays, The Bill McKibben Reader, and he is the editor of American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau (Library of America).
Author Archives: Martin
New Yorker Conference, 2008 Schedule
Martin Schneider writes:
The details for the New Yorker Conference are here—everything that’s scheduled for the two days of events on May 7 and 8. The dedicated website also lists bios of the participants, and more. As always, Emdashes is proud to be able to provide comprehensive coverage of the event, so stay tuned!
Here’s the schedule:
Thursday, May 8
7:30 a.m.-8:55 a.m.
Registration and Breakfast
9:00 a.m.-9:10 a.m.
Welcome by David Remnick
9:10 a.m.-9:40 a.m.
“Reinventing Invention”
Keynote Address by Malcolm Gladwell
9:45 a.m.-10:05 a.m.
“The Green City”
Dana Goodyear talks with Gavin Newsom
10:10 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
“A More Perfect Union”
James Surowiecki talks with Andy Stern
10:35 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
“23 and You”
Michael Specter talks with Linda Avey and Anne Wojicki
11:05 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
BREAK
11:40 a.m.-12:05 p.m.
“Creative Intelligence”
Jane Mayer talks with Eric Haseltine
12:10 p.m.-12:30 p.m.
“Neurobiotics: Where Humans and Robots Connect”
Presentation by Yoky Matsuoka
12:35 p.m.-1:05 p.m.
“Making Musicals Rock”
Susan Morrison talks with Duncan Sheik
1:10 p.m.-2:40 p.m.
LUNCH
2:50 p.m.-3:10 p.m.
“The Centre for Massive Change”
Presentation by Bruce Mau
3:15 p.m.-3:35 p.m.
“Constructing Culture”
Thelma Golden talks with David Adjaye
3:40 p.m.-4:10 p.m.
“Playing with Fire”
Bill Buford talks with David Chang, Daniel Humm, and Marc Taxiera
4:15 p.m.-4:35 p.m.
“How Bad Is It?: A Global View”
Nick Paumgarten talks with Michael Novogratz
4:40 p.m.-5:10 p.m.
BREAK
5:20 p.m.-5:40 p.m.
“Humanitarian Engineering”
Rebecca Mead talks with Amy Smith
5:45 p.m.-6:05 p.m.
“The Politics of Glamour”
Michael Specter talks with Francesco Vezzoli
6:10 p.m.-6:55 p.m.
COCKTAIL RECEPTION
7:15 p.m.-9:15 p.m.
DINNER at Eyebeam
Friday, May 9
7:45 a.m.-8:30 a.m.
BREAKFAST
8:40 a.m.-9:00 a.m.
“The Past, Present, and Future of Humor”
Presentation by Robert Mankoff
9:05 a.m.-9:30 a.m.
“Deconstructing the Airport”
Malcolm Gladwell talks with Paco Underhill
9:35 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
“Saving the World Through Game Design”
Daniel Zalewski talks with Jane McGonigal
10:00 a.m.-10:20 a.m.
“The Forever Campaign”
Ryan Lizza talks with Rahm Emanuel
10:25 a.m.-10:55 a.m.
BREAK
11:05 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
“The Tanning of America”
Kelefa Sanneh talks with Steve Stoute
11:30 a.m.-11:50 a.m.
“Securing the City”
William Finnegan talks with Raymond W. Kelly
11:55 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
“The Knockoff Economy”
James Surowiecki talks with Scott Hemphill and Kal Raustiala
12:20 p.m.-12:40 p.m.
“True Stories”
Jeffrey Toobin talks with Sheila Nevins
12:45 p.m.-2:00 p.m.
LUNCH
2:10 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
“Opera: Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You”
Alex Ross talks with Peter Gelb
2:35 p.m.-2:55 p.m.
“The Post-American World”
David Remnick talks with Fareed Zakaria
Franzen Thinks Big about Floridian Plovers and Chinese Gulls
Martin Schneider writes:
The website bigthink.com has just put up a bunch of entertaining clips featuring the full-throated inflections of Jonathan Franzen. There’s one on his difficulties accepting Oprah’s endorsement in 2001, a pair on over- (Forster, Greene) and underrated (Smiley, Stead) books, and a few on China. And there are some I haven’t even mentioned!
I’m a recent devotee of birdwatching, so I choose to single out Franzen’s “Idea” in which he reads a portion of his glum and illuminating essay, “My Bird Problem,” (abstract only) which first appeared in the August 8, 2005, issue of The New Yorker:
I took up birdwatching after this essay was published, so I’m grateful for the reminder!
Other New Yorker luminaries featured on bigthink.com include David Remnick (as we have already pointed out), Calvin Trillin, and Paul Muldoon.
Adam Gopnik Brings the Magic
Martin Schneider writes:
Catching up on some of The New Yorker‘s online-only stuff here. In a podcast interview conducted by Matt Dellinger, Adam Gopnik does an exceptional job of explaining the substance of “The Real Work,” his article about Jamy Swiss and the art of performing magic.
It’s not online, but if you have the March 17 issue lying around, it is worth your while. So listen and read!
Maybe We’ll Witness Tony and Tina’s Wedding After All
Martin Schneider writes:
So they want to turn Tina Brown’s biography of Princess Diana into a musical. Over at Gawker, readers are busy casting the musical—mostly with people who never stray from film or TV. (I love that “NOOOO!” department.) It would be the first time a New Yorker editor has inspired a musical since Andrew Lloyd Webber’s legendary flop Ross!
I think the only rational response is to think up silly song titles. I came up with a few to get us started:
“Royal Love Train”
“Balmoral Hazard”
“Shy Di”
“Squidgygate”
“Raine, Raine, Go Away”
“The War of the Waleses” (medley)
“The 42 Longs”
“I’m Just Looking For a Guy with a Gulfstream”
“Hasnat Khan a Lovely Smile?”
“The Royal Oui”
“Mama and Paparazzi”
“That’s an Awful Lot of Flowers”
“The People’s Princess”
Got any to add to the list? (And just kidding about Ross!)
See George Packer, Then See His Play!
Martin Schneider writes:
You’ve read the original article “Betrayed,” you’ve listened to the New Yorker podcast, you’ve kept up with the blog, you’ve read my awkwardly titled, very positive review of the play, now it’s time to listen to the author’s sure-to-be-thoughtful presentation—and finally, see the play itself.
Saturday, April 5, at 1pm, see George Packer talk about reporting in Iraq, his book The Assassins’ Gate, and the difficult process of creating a play, Betrayed, from real experiences, at McNally Robinson, at 52 Prince Street. Then catch the 3pm matinee of the play, only a short walk away—I’m told discount tickets are still available.
This event sounds so terrific, I wish I weren’t six time zones away.
CJR Presents Hamill on Liebling: Listen In!
Martin Schneider writes:
A. J. Liebling is one of those storied writers from The New Yorker‘s past whose work I keep meaning to read more of. Fortunately, on the occasion of the release of the Library of America’s A. J. Liebling: World War II Writings, the Columbia Journalism Review got Pete Hamill, who edited the book, to make the case, at typically vigorous length, that I should do that sooner rather than later.
Here’s an audio file of the event, which was held last Tuesday at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. (It’s a .mov file, but it is audio-only.) For the aspiring journalists out there, the discussion includes essential tips in the strategic use of bearded Norwegians in the fine art of finding a job. The presentation gets extra points for name-checking St. Clair McKelway.
True Debating Wit in All Thy Sons Command
Martin Schneider writes:
In October, reporting on the first annual New Yorker Debate, I wrote:
If the Member from Gopnik and the Member from Gladwell (as the convention required they call each other) don’t collectively become a 100 percent Canadian staple of the Festival, then the world just doesn’t make sense. Attention, programmers! I want to see these two debate a year from now! Got it? Good.
Over at the Millions, I see that my appeal has apparently stirred the imagination of someone at Maclean’s, only Canada’s most prominent newsweekly magazine, because Gladwell and Gopnik are taking their act on the road—to Toronto!
The subject is “Canada: Nation or Notion?” The debate is taking place this Sunday, March 30, at 4 p.m. at Convocation Hall, University of Toronto, 31 King’s College Circle.
Tickets are still available! I’m supposed to use the ticket price of $30 Canadian ($15 for Maclean’s subscribers) as an excuse to make fun of Canada’s currency, but China will sell us to Canada before that joke becomes fashionable again. (Speaking of which, A.G., feel free to use M.G.’s suggestion that the United States purchase Canada against him in the debate—I’m sure the audience will have no problem with that idea!)
Unless I’m mistaken, Gladwell and Gopnik are rapidly gaining ground on such unforgettable duos as Stadler and Waldorf, The Captain & Tennille, and Sodom and Gomorrah.
Title About TK TK
Scott McLemee gently corrects a blogger’s misconception of “-30-,” the apt title of the final episode of The Wire.
McLemee also mentions “TK” and links to the Wikipedia page, called “To Come.” I don’t work in the magazine world, but I did briefly some years ago. Nowadays there’s so little virgin territory left in Wikipedia, I was honestly shocked that an essential and presumably beloved piece of journalism minutiae like “TK” has such an underdeveloped Wikipedia page.
As of yesterday morning, the entirety of the page consisted of two declarative sentences defining the term followed by a long, rather boring quotation from the Chicago Manual of Style in full-on schoolmarm mode disparaging the use. It looked like this:
“To Come” is a printing and journalism reference abbreviated “TK.” It is used to signify additional material will be added at a later date.
The Chicago Style Q&A on manuscript preparation describes it as imprecise, stating, “It’s best to be more straightforward and specific. For example, use bullets or boldface zeros (••• or 000) to stand in for page numbers that cannot be determined until a manuscript is paginated as a book (but see paragraph 2.37 in CMOS). For items like missing figures, describe exactly what’s missing. In electronic environments, you have recourse to comment features—like the syntax of SGML, which allows for descriptive instructions that will not interfere with the final version of a document. Make sure that whatever you do stops the project in its tracks at some point before publication.”
Well! Consider yourself tut-tutted, magazine and newspaper people! And by book people, no less! (I do love the CMS, but their strictures have only questionable utility to magazines, I’d imagine.)
That didn’t sit right with me. I haven’t even seen a “TK” in a professional capacity for several years, but I went and added a reference to the Breeders’ 2002 album Title TK and a paragraph (almost surely to be judged insufficiently NPOV) explaining why “TK” makes a lot more sense at Condé Nast than it does at Random House, where CMS holds sway. It makes sense to me, but it’s just a guess.
There must be a healthy number of magazine and newspaper employees reading this. Surely that Wikipedia page can benefit from your experience and judgment, no?
So by all means emulate Nicholson Baker (a.k.a. “wageless”) and add some information to that entry! “TK” must have an intriguing history! There must be amusing anecdotes! (Most, probably, involving “TK” making its way to the newsstand.) When did it start? Who invented it? Do style guides acknowledge it, or is it more informal? How did “to come” get abbreviated to “TK,” anyway? Is there a procedural justification for doing that? Has anyone ever gotten a “TK” tattoo?
And just think: all the answers are entirely TK.
The New Yorker’s Guide to the Eliot Spitzer Situation
Looking at the blogosphere, I’ve seen three pieces of writing mentioned in connection with Eliot Spitzer’s stunning predicament; two of them appeared in The New Yorker.
To start, Garth Risk Hallberg at the Millions returns to Nick Paumgarten’s fine profile of the governor from last December, presciently titled “The Humbling of Eliot Spitzer” (little did he know!). Hallberg approvingly quotes Paumgarten’s description of Spitzer’s impulsiveness, which now reads like a masterpiece of understatement.
Second, the scandal reminds The New Republic‘s Noam Scheiber of Portnoy’s Complaint, which did not, alas, first appear in The New Yorker, which fact should not prevent us from admiring Brendan Gill’s astonishing description of the novel as “a single, hysterical howl of excrementitious anguish.”
And finally, the Emperors Club that got Spitzer into so much trouble seems to have been more than a little bit pretentious, touting the “individual education, sophistication … erudition and educational standing/accomplishments” of its “models,” prompting the New York Times blog Laugh Lines to quote several lines from Woody Allen’s classic story “The Whore of Mensa.”