Diary of a Casual Gamer: year one
Sometimes, it’s possible to be too clever. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it’s possible to be too fond of what one views as one’s own cleverness. As an example, let me put forward the column “Diary of a Casual Gamer,” for which as much as I enjoy the title, and … Continue reading
Family tree
I first became aware of Charlotte Gainsbourg while dipping in the river of her father, Serge Gainsbourg. On the cover of his 1971 masterpiece, Historie de Melody Nelson, the cover girl is Mrs. Jane Birkin, Mr. Gainsbourg’s wife. What many don’t know is the fact that while Mrs. Birkin was portraying a sort of Lolita … Continue reading
The Cinephiles: year one
1. What was your first column? Coming off of my own blog, Four Inches of Dirty Water (A clumsy Robert Altman reference), which mostly consisted of pretty straightforward film reviews, I think I was still struggling a bit to find my voice. My first piece for The Idler — “It’s the unanswered questions that haunt … Continue reading
Dysphonia: year one
1. What was your first column? My first column was not as much a column as a diatribe against the writer Neal Pollack. I’m not sure that my style has mellowed, but I think the first column stinks: clunky, short, and sort of pointless really. I don’t know if it is the best first thing … Continue reading
Year One: Readers’ picks
As part of the celebration of our first year, we reached out to some Idler readers and asked them to share their favorite pieces from the site. — Suzanne Fischer: Duck decoys, lost laptops, and a necklace to grieve with: Teal Amthor Shaffer’s post “Souvenirs” is a bittersweet exploration of the emotional power we invest … Continue reading
Flipside: year one
1. What was your first column? My first column for The Idler was “The passions of John Waters”, about Waters’ 2010 memoir Role Models. The nice thing about writing nonfiction articles is that you’re not usually forced to revisit them. It’s easier to plow ahead onto the next piece, unlike novel-writing, where the length and … Continue reading
Drawn and Paneled: year one
When I was first asked to write for The Idler I was crushed that I couldn’t do it. I had just accepted a job in Boston and had three weeks to leave my position at the Michigan House of Representatives, fly to Boston, apartment hunt, fly back to Michigan, pack, and drive to the Eastern … Continue reading
