Note to IE 6 users: Your browser makes emdashes look like Bette Davis under a bare bulb. For one thing, the sidebar gets pushed way down so you can’t see my adorably formatted blogroll. Switch to Safari! Also, the logo should be centered at the top of the page. Email me if that’s not how it appears on your browser; I’m trying to address these issues. Even better, tell me how to fix it. Believe me, I’ve tried…

Later: This seems like a good place to say that I’ve always intended emdashes to be at least 99 44/100 percent mistake-free, so if you ever see anything misspelled or misreported, unsightly code, shoddy grammar, questionable semicolon use, a bad link, or just something you don’t much like the look of, for the love of Thurber, write in!

And later: I think I’ve fixed the sidebar problem, thanks to some new friends at Blogger Forums. Now, if Joe the commenter—or anyone else, for that matter—wants to report back with some Clearasil for those blemishes he spotted, that would really be smashing.

I can’t stop talking about Babbitt, which I finally read a few weeks ago and am now selling door-to-door like magic vitamins; I’m like Tom Cruise endorsing Scientology, but pushier. Here’s a great take on the book from one of my all-around heroes, former Nation colleague Richard Lingeman. This is from a Sinclair Lewis Society interview with Richard about his fantastic biography Sinclair Lewis: Rebel from Main Street:

Babbitt is still my favorite. It achieves such a deft balance between realism and satire. It is funny in places. It evokes with accuracy and hardly a whiff of didacticism, the politics and power and the social anatomy of a typical American city, as well as the leading institutions, such as business and religion, and the Chamber of Commerce booming and the competitiveness, and the petty corruption and the power structure—the real rulers who pull the strings behind the scenes. And Lewis limns a brilliant almost tactile and surreal portrait of the central character’s environment, the “thingification” of his life, the tinny gadgets, consumerism, advertising and PR oppress him. I sometimes wonder if T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land influenced him. Has America changed that much since 1922?

A Map of Sinclair Lewis’ United States as It Appears in His Novels [Language of the Land]

How does a one-year-old’s mind and personality develop and grow? How does your role as a parent change when your baby starts to walk, talk and really explore the world around her? How do you support and understand your very young child as his independence increases and he starts to become a toddler, beginning to learn to dress himself, share toys and play with other children….

Introduction. 1. Brave New World. 2. The Value of Exploration. 3. Emerging Personality. 4. Having a Good Idea and Keeping It. 5. A Life of my Own. Conclusion: Looking forward with hope. Further Reading. Helpful Organisations. Index.

The blog is one year old today. What a funny year! I’ve had a great time, been passionately denounced, made a passel of new friends, slightly advanced my 1996-vintage HTML skills, been profiled, watched my readership grow steadily (and spikily, on those happy Gawker days), and found myself in the topsy-turvy position of defending new media on a panel of blog-hostile experts (plus a strangely compliant blogger).

Twelve months later, I’m far from the ultimate New Yorker authority, nor am I the magazine’s #1 Fan in the Universe (too much pressure, and too Kathy Bates). But I guess I really am new media now, as well as an old-fashioned enthusiast who’ll always love print. I’m grateful to Jasmin, Andrew, Jen (responsible for the fab logo and many emergency graphics), Ashby, Lisa Stone and Jay Rosen, Morgan, my family—my dad has since started blogging (on TPMCafe) himself!—Hillery, T.M.D.V., Hugo, Elizabeth, Todd, Patricia, the Dorothy Parker Society of New York, Scott, Peter, Eric, and Liza, who were especially helpful and enthusiastic at the start. Thanks to the good people of The New Yorker for working diligently and well to provide the springboard of this blog each week. And thank you so much, readers! I thought you might be out there, and here you are.

Look for lots of entertaining (and, of course, hard-hitting) new features in Year 2—plus more interviews with cartoon caption contest winners and others—and a very happy new year to you.

Understanding Your One-Year-Old [book]

Update: I see to my acute dismay that Ron Hogan of Beatrice dropped off the list above somehow, probably in the linking process. (There’s a new kind of correction for you—”Due to a linking error…”) But really, Ron’s pretty damn close to #1 in the emdashes book for asking me to blog the New Yorker Festival, which was fantastic. He’s been a consistent enthusiast and a big help from the beginning, and I thank him.

This is where I’m testing the Technorati tags for emdashes and Emily Gordon (that’s me, although I’m growing weary of the popularity of “Emily” these days; I’m considering other options). Birthdays are for new enterprises.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons walnuts
1 teaspoon chocolate chips

With right hand, shake ingredients into outstretched palm of left hand. (Note to lefties: Do the opposite.) Blend by making a loose fist and stirring slightly with the fingers at the same time. Bring hand to mouth quickly and consume, being careful not to lose any of the ingredients.

Serves one.

Download file

From a strike discussion board on the BBC website:

Added: Thursday, 22 December, 2005, 20:08 GMT 20:08 UK

I’m quite schocked about the numerous angry reactions after the strikers. Strike is something that definitely seems not to be in American culture. Rather kind of “Shut up and Work !”
People are angry because they have to walk (what a challenge !), because they’re gonna be late to their dear work and so on. Work is not everything in one’s life ! The human ones take it easy and are happy to get a change, meet people, walk outside rather rather than speeding underground. Lots have rediscovered NY. But robots only selfishly think about their own work and the money loss. There’s a whole world beyong work and money ! Know it !

Aymeric, Paris

Despite the obvious exceptions to this argument, I like the idea of New York being populated by more “human ones” and fewer selfish robots (no, I don’t mean subway workers). Also, if you missed Andrew Stettner’s op-ed in Newsday—”City Strike Really Class Warfare”—it’s really worth reading.

Categories: NYC, France, Labor

You’ll be absolutely stuffed.

My parallel-universe undergraduate counterpart, Emily Gordon of the Cornell Daily Sun—whose career I’m watching closely, as I’m hoping to snag her for an unpaid internship as soon as she graduates—writes today about Tucker Max:

What do you think it would feel like to live like a college student for the rest of your life and make a decent salary off of it? Tucker Max, a popular blog-writer, “makes six figures a year doing nothing more than drinking and fucking and writing about it,” he said, and imparted his wisdom on how to achieve life goals to an over-flowing Kaufmann Auditorium Friday.

His visit came as part of the James Norris Oliphant Fellowship series sponsored by the Sigma Phi Society.

His first official public appearance, Max began his speech by clearing up the image some people have of him.

“Judging by most of the emails I get … [people think] that I’d be out with a pitcher of Tucker Death Mix in one hand, a breathalyzer in the other, passed out on a table, vomiting on myself, screaming obscenities at fat girls. And I mean, I’ve had those nights … but that’s just not who I am.”

Max confessed that he was not sure exactly what he wanted to talk about. However, he decided to address a common question he continuously faced from his fans: “How do I become you?” To this, he replied, “You cannot ever be me.” Clarifying, he said “really what you should take from my stories is that you should be inspired by my approach to life.”

Hooray for free speech! Gordon notes that “His 30-minute speech was followed by a question and answer session of equal length,” which seems pleasantly suggestive under the circumstances.

Since even college newspapers are interactive now, the people are demanding to be heard:

I hope no one actually paid this guy to speak here. What a waste of time…

A parent reader

Parent, you are an idiot and clearly don’t know of what you speak.

John Q. Cornell

I’m very happy to report that at last count (minus a few still-uncollected pledges), the CAMAJE/emdashes/Feast benefit for the MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund—which helps displaced New Orleans jazz musicians get back on their feet (and, we hope, onstage)—raised $350 in donations. Thanks, fantastic performers and audience! A few highlights from the evening (click to enlarge):

Extra thanks to Abby Hitchcock and the rest of the CAMAJE staff, who are sweeter than a roast pear and honey crepe for letting me host Feast there month after month. If you want to kick up the MusiCares donation to $400 or even $500 before I send it off, let me know and I’ll see if I can get you a nice treat. As further incentive, here’s MusicCares’ description of how they use the money:

As our nation struggles to respond to the devastation and displacement wrought by Hurricane Katrina, MusiCares’ assistance is even more critical in ensuring that music people whose lives and livelihoods have been destroyed can begin to rebuild. To that end, MusiCares and The Recording Academy have established the MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund, a $1 Million dollar commitment of charitable funds to be distributed to musicians and other music industry people directly affected by this disaster.

How We Help: Hurricane Relief Assistance may include funds for basic living expenses such as shelter, food, utilities, cell phones and transportation; medical expenses including doctor, dentist, hospital bills and medication; clothing and toiletries; musical instrument and recording equipment replacement; relocation costs; school supplies for students; cell phone service; insurance payments and more. Applicants may also be referred to other resources, as needed.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the high volume of applications, assistance will be provided on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. Grant amounts will be determined based upon individual need and available funds.

You know what they say about fools’ names and fools’ faces. Here’s a chance to see mine in action:

Everybody’s A Critic, Or Are They?

States of Criticism, Credibility and Celebrity

November 3, 2005
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
540 W. 21st St.

With 9 million blogs, umpteen online message boards, thousands of shows on hundreds of cable channels, and an increased number of magazines on the newsstand, the number of outlets for expressing criticism has never been higher and the barriers to would-be critics have never been lower. Is this devaluing evaluation or does the shotgun approach result in better criticism? YOU be the Judge!

– Michael Atkinson, Village Voice Film Critic Link
– Emily Gordon, Critic of the New Yorker Link
– Jason Kottke, Author of Kottke.org and self-proclaimed dilettante critic Link
– Duncan Watts, Columbia University Sociology Professor Link
– Moderator Steven Heller, Senior Art Director of the New York Times Book Review, Graphic Designer and Author Link

Who’s playing the part of the evaluation devaluer in tonight’s performance? It could be me, although New Yorker criticism isn’t really a crowded field I’m likely to push anyone out of.

I think it’ll be fun, so join us if only for the glamour of the other panelists. As someone who arrived here somehow through a Google search yesterday put it, “how does it feel to be on your on with no direction home a complete unknown like a rowling stone.” Harry Potter and the Bloglet of Fire forever!