Magazine rack |
VANITY FAIR | SPORTS ILLUSTRATED | NEW YORKER | ESQUIRE | |
RED-STATE ENRAGEMENT FACTOR: | Three major stories attacking Bush administration. | Where are the sports!? | Cartoon that suggests heaven is an office filled with cubicles. | "Cotton shirt ($355) by Dsquared ... Two-button silk and cashmere suit ($3,325) ..." |
SAMPLE OF PENETRATING SOCIOPOLITICAL INSIGHT: | "Incredible as it might seem, a massive airstrike against Iran is still on the table." | "Moose meat is good with ketchup." | Is it Presidents' Day, President's Day or Presidents Day? "The bouncing apostrophe bespeaks a certain uncertainty." | Navy officer who sued Bush administration writes about faltering military justice. (Additional red-state enragement item.) |
SIGNIFICANT NUMBER: | 197: Page (out of 500) where actual content begins. | 114: Page where local rockers Panic! At the Disco pose with model Julie Henderson. | 24: Writer discusses show's politics | 1 million: Number of times Robert Downey Jr. drops F-bomb in profile (low estimate). |
SUPER-GRABBY COVER LETTER: | "Ben Stiller! Owen Wilson! Chris Rock! Jack Black!" | "Look Who's in Elvis' Bed" | "Poetry for Fun and Profit" | "When the Hell Did Christina Ricci Become So Sexy?" |
Your post-Oscar DVD shopping list |
– Gary Dretzka
What does a book critic do? |
The National Book Critics Circle Awards will be handed out March 8. We asked Weekly reviewer John Freeman, NBCC president, for a few thoughts on the role of the critic: This is going to sound facetious, but I mean it seriously: A book critic is as important as a brain surgeon. If she is passionate enough, or skillful enough, she can actually compel you to read a book—an act of striking intellectual intimacy. There are virtually no movies, TV shows, dance pieces, musical acts, art galleries or theatrical performances that ask even half the time of one book. The only close cultural parallel is travel. And like a journey, once a book is experienced—be it the literary equivalent of a trip to Fresno or a vacation in India—it lives inside you forever. It will affect how you see, sharpen how you see. The only other profession with such power over your mind involves a bone saw and anesthetic. So next time someone goes on about how anyone can be a critic, consider: Would you allow an amateur to cut into your frontal lobe?
Hal Rothman |
