Jonathan Taylor writes:
In this age of the gloriously elaborated Wikipedia page, I’ve lately come across a number of entries that I’m surprised are so scanty. I am going to start taking note of some of them here.
Today’s entry: Jane Bowles.

Emily Gordon writes: Thanks to Jennifer Hadley (who also created the original Emdashes logo!) for this: newspaper nail art, courtesy of old media, carefree youths unaware of their own impending obsolescence, rubbing alcohol (“or vodka”), and clear polish. Via, in turn, Je t’aime Morgan and Not Martha. Jennifer thoughtfully follows up with this YouTube video with better instructions. I see this not as a stomp on the corpse of newsprint but as a tribute to its beautiful ordinariness. It’s likely the twentysomethings posting these tips see it as beautifully retro or vintage. I guess that’s OK, too.

_Jonathan Taylor writes:_
“Via”:http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2011/04/ode-to-airport-carpets.html Andrew Sullivan, an appreciation of “airport carpets”:http://www.iconeye.com/index.php?view=article&catid=1:latest-news&layout=news&id=4576:crimes-against-design-airport-carpets&option=com_content&Itemid=18, from George Pendle at IconEye.

Jonathan Taylor writes:
An intriguing tip for choosing books to read, from Tyler Cowen:

5. The very best books in categories you think you cannot stand (“gardening,” “basketball,” whatever) will be superb. It is not hard to find out what they are.

My lord there are a lot of alternate spellings for that expression. Happy 2011 to you! We look forward to doing new things here in this space this year and continuing the evolution of our (Chicago-forged!) site design, while remaining the proud obsessives we’ve been–that is, in this public and sporadically prolific way–for six years (!) now. It’s freeing to no longer be New Yorker-centric, but that also means there’s a lot of world out there to cover. We’re going to keep chasing down our particular elusive favorites, quantumly. We believe in blogging. And we’re thankful you’re still here. Tell us what you like, and we’ll listen! We’re open to all the thoughts that are fit to think. –Emily Gordon
[Image credit.]

Emily Gordon writes:
We’ve (or, more properly, I’ve!) been posting fairly infrequently lately, but we wanted to let you know that after months of regrouping, regrouponing, and a productive amount of internal tumult, we’re planning to start posting regularly again soon. Keep those cards and letters coming and see you soon!

Emily Gordon writes: Martin and I will be here all weekend, writing leisurely and more-in-depth-than-ever-before reviews of the festival events we’re catching. If you’re still coming down from the high of The Social Network and want real-time bursts of us, you can get that by following us on Twitter. Angel investors: we’re still hearing offers. Devil investors: we’re flexible.

Jonathan Taylor writes:
If this reply to a self-parodic letter writer in the New York Review of Books turns out to be the last thing Tony Judt wrote, it would be fitting farewell to a debased world.

Jonathan Taylor writes:
In the tradition of “Lesbian or German Lady?” comes “American Psycho or New York Times?” For example:

“Standing at the island in the kitchen I eat kiwifruit and a slice Japanese apple-pear (they cost four dollars each at Gristede’s) out of aluminum storage boxes that were designed in West Germany. I take a bran muffin, a decaffeinated herbal tea bag and a box of oat-bran cereal from one of the large glass-front cabinets that make up most of an entire wall in the kitchen.”

We always like to remember the high life, meticulous labors, and lasting legacy of Rea Irvin, The New Yorker‘s first and most influential art director, but especially on this day, his birthday. Hooray for Rea! Meanwhile, for those awaiting punctuation contest results, be patient–they’re coming! –Emily Gordon