Welcome, friends, to Scientology Mecca. That is, Los Angeles.
When you live here, or even if you don’t, you tend to have encounters with people who are Scientologists. These folks don’t necessarily tell you they claim L. Ron Hubbard as a guru, but instead may engage you in looping, leading conversation in order to ultimately, if [...]
To the reader: My Friend the Spy is the first Great Whatsit serial. It is a true story (save for the author’s pseudonym), to be told in weekly installations over the coming months.
I found the fax stuffed into my mailbox at the offices of the St. Petersburg Times, the English-language newspaper in Russia’s second largest [...]
I’m sure I’m not the only member of my demographic, the 30-to-45s, who received this book as a gift last Christmas:
Filled with witty insight into the mix tape’s form and social function, packed with personal testimonials and playlists and pictures, Thurston’s love letter to an all but extinct art form will double as an act of historic [...]
The problem with a clear, sparkling, golden October day is the pressure to go outside. We heard the news report — “This could be the last sunny day; snow due Thursday” — but the week had been long, the sofa soft, and inertia is always seductive. Finally, resigned to our socialization that fresh air is “good for [...]
Bryan’s recent mention of the David Byrne perennially-relevant lyrics “How did I get here?” reached me in a very personal way. Recently, I have found myself complaining to Farrell on an almost-nightly basis about the frustrations of my current job. (And Lisa P, that’s AFTER self-censorship whittles things down…) Anyway, I decided that for my [...]