My mission, since I chose to accept it, was to see whether or not there was a way to survive comfortably in the town of Princeton – eat two meals and maybe go on one interesting excursion – while spending … Read More
Schmitz’s real purpose is to marginalize 185 Nassau and a group of people who create. And how better to do this than to reduce all their striving to a simple exercise in what Edward Said terms “refinement”—the long, steady, reactionary march toward sameness, marked by a constant re-reading and emulating of a constricted Western canon. Anyone can write a villanelle in a vacuum, but the teaching of creativity, the encouragement of a fresh perspective—these demand an understanding of the physical world and of the writer’s particular circumstances.
How did this poor excuse of a pulp fiction spy novel, bereft of the quirky detail, realistic complexity, genuine human interaction, and factual statement that make a true memoir interesting rise to ninth on the NYT bestseller list? The answer lies in his narrative form of analysis of US foreign affairs, and in the nature of his target audience.
As I plopped down my pasta-covered plate between three matzo-munching members of my eating club on Sunday, I braced myself for public humiliation. “Someone broke early!” one of them announced, pointing to my oozing manicotti. “Yeah, yeah,” I said, lightly … Read More
It is strange how a Bangladeshi child can have a disproportionately large effect on the electoral fate of a Republican presidential primary. Yet in 2000, let’s just say it was Bangladesh: 1, McCain: 0. Yes, few people recall that it … Read More
Our position is based on a prejudice in favor of personal freedom: it is most in keeping with human dignity that all things be permissible unless a compelling argument can be made to forbid them. We believe that the burden of proof lies not with us, but with those who wish to keep drugs illegal; it is their job to explain why drug prohibition should be continued. By derailing some of the most common justifications for present drug policy, I hope to illustrate that the Drug War is destructive and wholly unjustified.
We’re no longer collectively, psychically compelled to impose the old narrative on our news stories. Instead, in our state of informed, liberal, post-Katrina injustice-seeking, we’re reading for the other story. We’re reading for the story that shows our sensitivity and also reveals the depravity of the privileged classes, and maybe also diagnoses a generalized ‘what’s wrong with America’.
I have been involved with the Student Bill of Rights from its inception to its present state – and I am proud of this document. I am partly enthused and partly saddened by the controversy over the bill, although it … Read More
The Prince wants to know what happened at pickups. This year set a precedent for all manner of illegal and debauched activities and at the forefront of this tidal wave of sexual assault, underage drinking and bodily fluids, stood the … Read More
The Frist package guy keeps a mini-fridge among his personal effects behind the desk at his eponymous office. Exactly two bumper stickers decorate that fridge. One says SOUTH OF THE BORDER and the other says NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS: WITHOUT ‘EM IT … Read More
From Hell. Constantine. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Sin City. V for Vendetta. To most people, this is a list of mediocre films. To a few people, these are also the titles of graphic novels. These five films are only … Read More
As I sit here with a dirty flamenco dress I haven’t worn since April 2004, I subscribe to the city’s motto “NoDo.” The acronym stands for “Sevilla no me ha dejado,” meaning “Sevilla has not left me.” I don’t know when I will physically go back to Sevilla, but the splotches on my skirt tell me the memories will never wash away.