Martin Schneider writes:
Happened to stumble upon Andrew Orlowski’s paean to Wired, in which he writes in passing, “In Britain we’ve never had the equivalent of a Harper’s or a New Yorker—something with a cracking 15,000-word article that you can read in the bath.” Is that true? What’s the closest periodical—glossy or otherwise—that can deliver such an Anglo-aquatic reading experience? The London Review of Books, perhaps? Any others?

Martin Schneider writes:
I’m glad that Snopes.com was able to crack the Case of the Utterly Unmysterious Woody Allen Article. Although to be fair, it is a little strange that every weekly magazine issue has what amounts to an incorrect date on the cover.
More information on Konigsberg.

Martin Schneider writes:
Our friend Toby Gardner makes an astute observation: Having David Sedaris and Woody Allen in the same issue of The New Yorker is the precise magazine reenactment of the scene in Annie Hall in which Alvy Singer complains about having to follow a standup comedian at an Adlai Stevenson rally. And they even put Woody’s piece right after Sedaris’s.
It’s practically an homage.

Jonathan Taylor writes:
Although the one voted today really is the most shocking in recent memory, subway fare hikes are perpetual grist for New Yorkers’ mills—as seen in The New Yorker‘s own archives: from the 1927 two-cent hike proposal that went all the way to the Supreme Court, to the introduction of the $2 fare, subject of a 2003 Talk piece.

Martin Schneider writes:
The actress Natasha Richardson suffered a severe head injury today while skiing in Canada; she is in criticial condition. I saw Ms. Richardson perform very ably in Patrick Marber’s play Closer some years ago. She’s always been a radiant presence in the world of theater, TV, and film, and I hope that remains true for many years to come.
Richard Brody also registers his heartfelt reaction.

Martin Schneider writes:
Richard Brody, who covers movies from “The Front Row” in the blogs section of the New Yorker website, has taken up Twitter.
The main New Yorker/Twitter post has been updated accordingly.

Martin Schneider writes:
There’s a Twitter dedicated to New Yorker cartoon captions. No, not the cartoon caption contest. Just the captions. No, there are no pictures, none of those “twitpic” links. Just captions. No cartoons at all.
Why do I feel like the dadaists invented this?

Martin Schneider writes:
Reading about David Foster Wallace’s researches into the U.S. tax code makes me think that Wallace conformed better to Ian McEwan’s ideal of the scientist-novelist than McEwan does.