Articles

2011′s Top Ten AlbumsJan. 16, 2012 Manifesto detailing my campaign for election as Emperor of Earth. No, not really. It’s what the title says.
Nerd FlirtingSept. 29, 2011 If a bookish nerd chooses to flirt, what might he or she do to make sure the flirtee is another Bookworm? If, like me, you don’t feel like memorizing and reciting bits of “To His Coy Mistress” to every potential mate, I offer alternatives.
The 20 Best Tracks of 2011 (So Far)Jul. 5, 2011 It’s amazing how quickly talking music often becomes both complicated art criticism and autobiography. At the half year mark in a twelve-month span marked by scads of exciting new releases, I felt like addressing some of the records that have been released thus far mightn’t only be fun, but was in order.
Review: The King of Limbs (Radiohead)Feb. 23, 2011 Composed after a minimum of twenty listens, so it’s not knee-jerk. Plus: mini-reviews of every other Radiohead LP in a lengthy preamble that explains my reaction to Limbs.
It’s a Bad Week for RationalismDec. 2, 2010 In reaction to two unsettling stories: the Smithsonian was forced to remove an art piece about HIV because it featured imagery disrespectful to Christianity and, in the same week, a southern judge stripped a loving father of his parental rights for one reason—he didn’t believe in a god.
The Reunion of Broken PartsNov. 23, 2010 Alex Rose’s “Ostracon” was deservedly voted Best of the Best in 2009′s Best American Short Stories. But oddly, it seems as if the industry has yet to take significant note of the man’s prowess and creativity. This article explores one possible reason Rose hasn’t hit a “tipping point” with even the contemporary lit. crowd yet.
The Disengaged Have Disengaged the EngagedNov. 8, 2010 In reaction to the general public sentiment that the reason for the poor performance of so many American students enrolled in city schools is that the teachers just plain suck.
2010′s Top Ten AlbumsNov. 8, 2010 If the title doesn’t tip you off, no hint I drop here will help you.
Why You Should Be Tracking Down & Buying Literary JournalsSep. 27, 2010 A brief explanation of the bizarre world of literary journals—a world you most likely have never entered or, perhaps, even heard of, unless of course you’re trying to get published in literary journals.
Another Version of the Truth: The Alternate Reality Game as Ergodic LiteratureMay 07, 2010 Multimedia Alternate Reality Games, which began a decade back as inventive marketing campaigns, have become art forms in their own right. 42 Entertainment’s 2007 Year Zero experience proved the ARG is in transition from its “additive” phase into its “expressive” phase—a shift that marks any new art form’s incipient legitimacy.