Bibliomaniac’s Guide to Reading

Some days, it seems like reading is a lost art. Sure, we read text messages and Tweets and even Japanese cell phone novels; we read on the iPhone and the Kindle and maybe even the headlines at NYTimes.com, but when was the last time you sat down with a serious work of literary fiction or [...]

Daily Oddities, June 9th/10th

We’re starting this round of Daily Oddities with something everybody wants–a job! Today’s odd job listings include counting bees in New York City and catelouging controlled substances for the NYPD. Awesome much?
Now that you’re gainfully employed, lets take a quick gander around the globe.
GLOBE: Things are getting ridiculous in Russia, where the racing collapse of [...]

Roma vs. Gypsy: NYT Copy Fail

(VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP!!!)

3rdWorldImagineer is back today with another instalment of ‘why language matters’. For the record, I am not a PC fascist, but I do think it’s critical to examine how we talk about certain subjects, particularly ones gaining steam in the media. Hence, my semi-annual beef with the AP Stylebook.
For the uninitiated, the AP [...]

the things i like to write about (are weird)

From time to time, when I am writing, I have this thought—which I occasionally post on FB:
“sometimes i sit down and i write some shit and i think, holy mother of G-d i am a sick, terrible person. at least i’m thin”
Usually in those exact words . Anyone who knows me knows that i write [...]

The Reimagineers, Chapter 11: Sept. 7th, The Coney Island Apocalypse

I’m already several chapters past this, but it felt like a good time to share. Cuz I FELT LIKE IT, motherfuckers
CHAPTER 11: SEPT. 7TH, 2008—THE CONEY ISLAND APOCALYPSE:
Look up.
There in the sky, ten thousand feet straight up from here, a four-and-a-half year old refugee with thick plastic glasses will see his first American seagull. He [...]

The Reimagineers, Chapter 10—The Cyclone Cycle

In life, Mr. Mohammad had been 5’3”, though death, he was 5 inches even. Mr. Ajaz had been taller, almost 5’7”, with vehement mustaches and a wife who washed cotton shalwarz and kurta pajamas and yellowing undershirts ($3 the pack on Kings Highway) every Tuesday and Sunday afternoon at the Tel Aviv Coin-Op on CI [...]

Colombian Imagineering

“Stealing books is a crime but not a sin”
-Gabriel Garcia Marquez
There’s just something about poor war-torn Colombia and books. If you don’t think so, check out the New York Times slideshow on rural Colombia’s Biblioburro—that’s library donkey, for those not in the know—a team of one teacher and two donkeys who routinely travel to the [...]