Hans Eisenbeis It has come to our attention that someone around town is stickering our noble little magazine racks. First, there was a sticker with the strange invocation to “Fight Commonism.” Now, either the same party, or someone else, has decided to emend that bold statement with “Republicans Suck” in a few true, blue locations. After a … Read more
In today’s New York Observer, our old friend Philip Weiss indulges us in one of our favorite subjects—the history of the New Yorker. Weiss, you may know, began his decorated career in journalism here in the Twin Cities and some of his most memorable stories have been set in the area. (His profile in Harper’s … Read more
Yesterday, USA Today reported that Rolling Stone magazine has turned down an ad from a Bible publisher. A company called Zondervan, apparently the largest publisher of Bibles in the nation, wanted to buy a full-spread advertisement to reach out to “spiritually intrigued 18 to 34 years olds.” This is a demographic that is supposedly buying … Read more
Last Friday, we had what must have been the biggest, most mirthful Rakish party yet. Sad to say, the Big Boss was dreadfully sick, which is a shame, because no one hosts a party like the Big Boss. Still, just about anyone and everyone who is responsible for putting together The Rake was there, in … Read more
We should be worried about our extremities today, rather than our extremists. Last night, we repaired down the block to meet up with one of our favorite blogging professionals for a beer, and nearly lost a few toes in the process. We also lost the desire to proceed any further with the editorial “we” until … Read more
When you develop a fondness for a particular magazine writer, sometimes you begin to realize that you share their interests. Not many writers, of course, get to write about what interests them. In the never-ending battle to put food on the table, writers must deal with very high levels of rejection and frustration. When you … Read more
We were vaguely amused by Powerline, the delusional right-wing blog based here in the Twin Cities, that won Time magazine’s “Blog of the Year.” Just when we were getting ready to point out precisely how ridiculous these Big Butt and Ass Rocket guys are (or whatever—why are republicans always so obvious about their latent homosexuality?), … Read more
One of the wonderful things about TiVo is that you actually watch less TV. If you eliminate channel surfing from your routine, and you just check the queue of what the machine has recorded for you—based on your explicit instructions to record, say, the beautiful and brilliant and frightening Mary Lahammer every time she tosses … Read more
In an essay in the Times Book Review yesterday, William Deresiewicz discusses language—English, in particular, and the persistent tension generated by people who are inflexible prigs about “Correct English.” He compares this with “Standard English”—the modern effort to standardize usage to help stabilize the language for the long haul, but allowing for creativity and innovation. … Read more
Why are editors jerks? We have a lot of theories, but first let’s just say that there are some notable exceptions. Mean editors outnumber nice editors about two to one, in our experience. (Men’s and Women’s magazines: five to one. Literary magazines: one to one.) Editors tend to believe they are overworked. They also tend … Read more