Drunken Volcano

NYer Haiku: October 30, 2006

2006-10-31T11:06:00.000-05:00

New Yorker Haiku

30 October, 2006

The Financial Page: Safe as Houses?
By James Surowiecki

House price index climbs
With inflation, bigger homes,
While your home's worth falls.

The Political Scene: Southern Discomfort
By Peter J. Boyer

James Webb's war record?
Virginians prefer to hear
George Allen's scandals.

Personal History: Snook
By Ian Frazier

It takes obsession,
Countless casts, to catch your own
Holy Grail of fish.

A Reporter at Large: Millions for Millions
By Connie Bruck

For-profit or not-,
Microfinance helps the poor
With just a few bucks.

Profiles: The Show-Woman
By Hilton Als

Write a play a day?
No problem for sharp, bold, black
Suzan-Lori Parks.

Fiction: Republica and Grau
By Daniel Alarcon

It's tough for a boy,
Learning grimy beggar's cons,
To stay unsoiled.

Pop Music: Body Language
By Sasha Frere-Jones

Janet's latest songs,
Even with her bedroom voice,
Might put you to sleep.

A Critic at Large: The Revolutionist
By Keith Gessen

Kind writer Herzen
Showed us the clumsy nature
Of progressives' lives.

The Theatre: Human Shield
By John Lahr

"Rachel Corrie" shows
Hectic, messy mind tackling
The world's injustice.

On Television: Guilty as Sin
By Tad Friend

James Woods plays dirty,
For justice, in snide, clever,
rather schmaltzy "Shark."

The Current Cinema: Battle Fatigue
By David Denby

"Flags" blends irony,
Valor; "Babel" too well made
For trite sob story.

NYer Haiku: October 23, 2006

2006-10-23T22:14:00.000-04:00

New Yorker Haiku

23 October, 2006

On the Air: Arriba!
By Dan Baum

Spanish radio's
Almendarez: "Listeners,
Become citizens!"

Our Local Correspondents: Mink Inc.
By Lauran Collins

Rosenfeld's fur coats
Are fitting wear for either
Rap star or matron.

Life and Letters: Rewriting Nature
By Adam Gopnik

Darwin, happy to
Let the facts speak for themselves,
Deftly arranged them.

A Reporter at Large: The Last Drop
By Michael Specter

We don't price it right,
And we use too much; could we
Run out of water?

Fiction: Stairway to Heaven
By Aleksandar Hemon

Bored in Africa,
Teenage writer finds neighbor
An edgy subject.

Books: The Nutty Professors
By Anthony Grafton

Hot-shot professors
Used glamour to trounce custom;
So rose modern schools.

The Theatre: Blowing Smoke
By John Lahr

LaBute's "Wrecks" captures
Man blinded by self, dying
In his own darkness.

Dancing: Hard and Fast
By Joan Acocella

Kathak-inspired,
Khan's stunning "Kaash" reunites
rhythm, modern dance.

The Current Cinema: Lost in the Revolution
By Anthony Lane

"Marie" is hollow,
But "Infamous" Capote
Deserves second look.

NYer Haiku will be back Monday!

2006-10-18T11:09:00.000-04:00

The ball has been dropped again this week, sadly. Sincerest apologies. But the NYer haiku will definitely return Monday.

NYer Haiku off this week

2006-10-10T15:10:00.000-04:00

Due to unexpected circumstances, there won't be any NYer Haiku this week. It will resume with next Monday, October 16's issue.

NYer Haiku: October 2, 2006

2006-10-02T12:45:00.000-04:00

New Yorker Haiku

2 October, 2006

Notes of a Gastronome: TV Dinners
By Bill Buford

Food Network wants food
That's pretty, quick, comforting;
Same goes for its hosts.

Casual: Pinchuck's Law
By Woody Allen

Hiding in our midst:
Accidental murderers,
Who just want to talk.

Personal History: A Return
Ben Bradlee

Men who were once boys
Fighting in the Pacific
Go back, remember.

Profiles: Command Performance
By John Lahr

Helen Mirren learned
Bravery, self-possession
That's fit for a queen.

Our Far-Flung Correspondents: The Path of Stones
Burkhard Bilger

Madagascar's gems:
Riches in the jungle bring
Both wealth and chaos.

Fiction: Other People's Deaths
By Lore Segal

None one knows the words
To say to a young widow;
But some wish they did.

A Critic at Large: Unstrung
Jim Holt

String theory's beauty
Ain't enough: it's time for more
Points of view, results.

Books: Dispossession
By Louis Menand

Fazier's "Thirteen Moons":
Tiresome narrator, but world
Of old, brutal truths.

The Theatre: Kingdom Come
By Hilton Als

"The Pain and the Itch"
A must see. Cumpsty's a great
"Richard II".

Pop Music: The Closer
By Sasha Frere-Jones

Ludacris's raps
Add spice to other's tracks,
More than to his own.

The Current Cinema: Power Players
By David Denby

Choosing a strongman?
"The Last King of Scotland" rules
Over Willie Stark.

NYer Haiku: September 25, 2006

2006-09-25T11:18:00.000-04:00

New Yorker Haiku

The Fashion Issue: 25 September, 2006

The Financial Page: Wagers of Sin
By James Surowiecki

Online bets allow
Oversight, good predictions;
Smarter than lotto.

On And Off The Avenue: Cool Enough For School
By Patricia Marx

Fall studies start with
Staples, thrift stores, Bed Bath &
Beyond.... Best take notes.

Annals of Accessories: Bag Lady
By Andrea Lee

Handbags outprice rent?
Seems a lot, but consider
All the R. & D.

Letter From Nova Scotia: Rag Time
By Calving Trillin

Second-hand bargains:
Frenchy's gives fashion-obsessed
Endless hope of finds.

Fiction: Freight
By Henry Roth

Even hobos can't
Escape pasts, prejudices,
Fighting over dimes.

Profiles: The Huntress
By Larissa MacFarquhar

"Be romantic, bold":
Diane von Furstenberg's clothes
Designed for such lives.

The Art World: I Remember MOMA
By Calvin Tomkins

Wait, say curators:
New MOMA seems a stranger
But we'll grow closer.

A Critic At Large: Dressed For Success
By Judith Thurman

Court fashion diva,
Antoinette's sins were small, but
She died like a queen.

The Theatre: The War Room
By Hilton Als

Ensler's "The Treatment"
Advocates more than explores.
"Asylum": cliches.

Musical Events: Fervor
By Alex Ross

Adored singer gone:
Lorraine's deft, strong, warm voice leaves
Wonder, sorrow, thanks.

On Television: Backstage Angst
By Tad Friend

Snappy lines spice up
Sorkin's skit-writers drama,
If not real people.

The Current Cinema: Dream On
By Anthony Lane

"The science of sleep"
Needs to wake up; "Renaissance"
A tech/art marvel.

NYer Haiku: September 18, 2006

2006-09-18T15:25:00.000-04:00

New Yorker Haiku

September 18, 2006

Annals of Economics: Mind Games
By John Cassidy

Economists want
To scan your brain, find why you
Aren't more rational.

Reflections: In the Waiting Room
By David Sedaris

Forget learning French:
In Paris, "d'accord" means
Random fun (sans clothes)!

Profiles: The Wanderer
By David Remnick

Ex-Prez Clinton now
Working to save Africa
As Friend of Bill (Gates).

Fiction: Something That Needs Nothing
By Miranda July

Girl, not one she wants?
A wig and a peep-show gig
Might work for a spell.

On Television: Her Debut
By Tad Friend

Couric as anchor:
So much likability,
No time left for news.

A Critic At Large: War and Remembrance
By Ian Buruma

Grass's great memoir:
Boy lost in heroic myths.
(Is the man as well?)

Books: Hugger-Mugger
By John Updike

Congo schemes, despair
From le Carre. No closure
In Ward Just's dark tale.

The Current Cinema: Inescapable Pasts
By David Denby

"The Black Dahlia"
Is choked of life. "The Ground Truth":
Feel Iraq vets' shock.

NYer Haiku: September 11, 2006

2006-09-11T19:55:00.000-04:00

New Yorker Haiku

Five Years After: September 11, 2006

The Financial Page: Osama's Bank Account
By Steve Coll

Family account
For Osama's share of wealth
Has no balance now.

Dept. of Law Enforcement: Junior
By Jane Mayer

He knows Al Qaeda,
But wants to know the ladies:
FBI's odd source.

Letter From Gaza: The Forgotten War
By Jeffrey Goldberg

Hamas suffering.
Wimpy rockets, and no press?
"We're the real martyrs!"

Annals of Terrorism: The Master Plan
By Lawrence Wright

Al Qaeda? Old news:
Islamists' twenty year plan
Has more to offer.

Letter From Sudan
By George Packer

When hardline dead-ends,
Taha's tolerant Islam
May be future's choice.

Fiction: Black Ice
By Cate Kennedy

Don't mock country folk.
They like rabbits, trees, but most:
To have the last laugh.

A Critic At Large: Surveillance Society
By Caleb Cain

Mass observation:
Taking notes on normal lives.
Nice thought; didn't last.

Books: Heaven's Gate
By Joan Acocella

McDermott's novel
Probes tragedy, mercy of
Middling postwar lives.

The Art World: New and Old
By Peter Schjeldahl

Works at MOMA show
New media's range, and need
For subjects as strong.

The Current Cinema: Supermen
By Anthony Lane

Affleck, Lane capture
(in "Hollywoodland") rise, fall
Of super-fifties.

NYer Haiku: September 4, 2006

2006-09-05T15:48:00.000-04:00

New Yorker Haiku

September 4, 2006

The Financial Page: Dealer's Choice
By James Surowiecki

Car dealers, by law,
Can stop G.M. dropping brands.
Pay for past, bully!

Letter From Durham: Big Men On Campus
By Peter J. Boyer

Attacked by profs, press,
Duke Lacrosse team's discipline
Better than critics'.

Annals of the West: The Searchers
By Dana Goodyear

Lit-quoting cowboys!
Deep Springs is out-of-this-world:
Bad wi-fi, no girls.

In The Kitchen: The Lunchroom Rebellion
Burkhard Bilger

Yes, kids can be taught
To like healthy meals. Too bad
State budgeters can't.

A Critic At Large: Learning The Score
By Alex Ross

Musicians' new plan
(As music ed left behind):
Play with, not at, kids.

A Reporter At Large: The Baby Lab
By Margaret Talbot

Men and women's brains,
says Spelke, just like babies,
Have same built-in smarts.

Our Far-flung Correspondents: Deerfield in the Desert
By Nick Paumgarten

New England prep school:
Build it in Jordan, and Poof!
It seems progressive.

Fiction: Kansas
By Antonya Nelson

Messed-up parents scared
When young daughters disappear.
(This home, wouldn't you?)

Books: Bob on Bob
By Louis Menand

Dylan interviews
Like a songbird asked to talk;
Should just let him sing.

The Theatre: Wagon Train
By Hilton Als

Streep gritty, spare as
Woman who only survives,
Brecht's "Mother Courage."

On Television: Hot Properties
By Tad Friend

Hollywood "Listing":
Fun digs, but empty. "The Hill":
Too inside beltway.

Pop Music: Sex Symbols
By Sasha Frere-Jones

Aguilera's back.
Voice great; songs ehh. Timberlake?
Pretty much reverse.

The Current Cinema: Disasters
By David Denby

"Snakes on a Plane" bites.
Care about New Orleans? See
"When the Levees Broke."

NYer Haiku: Long Weekend

2006-09-04T15:59:00.000-04:00

The NYer Haiku is taking a three day weekend in honor of Labor Day, but the September 4 edition of the magazine will be haiku-ized and posted sometime tomorrow, so do check back!

NYer Haiku: August 28, 2006

2006-08-28T16:55:00.000-04:00

New Yorker Haiku

August 28, 2006

The Financial Page: Private Lies
By James Surowiecki

Management buyouts:
We'll tell you what firm's worth, then
Buy it from you. Cool?

Dept. of Human Resources: The Risk Pool
By Malcolm Gladwell

Pensions: credit cards
For firms. If/when business shrinks,
bills don't (default looms).

Backstage Chronicles: Petrified
By John Lahr

Actors need love too.
But will audience give it?
So begins stagefright.

Annals of Mathematics: Manifold Destiny
By Sylvia Nasar and David Gruber

Yao boasts: "My guys proved
Poincare's guess!" Perelman
Doesn't; but he did.

Fiction: "How Was It To Be Dead?"
By Richard Ford

"Dead" husband returns.
Current hubby wants the rule
"No take-backs." Not wife.

Books: Uppie Redux?
By David Denby

A modern lefty,
Sinclair was (mostly): smart, pure,
Naive, and ignored.

The Sky Line: Mile-High
By Paul Goldberger

Libeskind's arty
Art museum lacks good rooms
To put, you know, art.

The Art World: Going East
By Peter Schjeldahl

France (lost) in Egypt:
Old Salon art, at Dahesh,
Now seems relevant.

The Current Cinema: Borderlines
By Anthony Lane

Film on film ratings:
Tame stuff. "Factotum": potent
Take on writer-drunk.

2006-08-21T11:25:00.000-04:00

New Yorker Haiku

Welcome to the haiku synopsis of The New Yorker. Like many people, I enjoy reading The New Yorker on a weekly basis, but often feel like it could be more concise. For example, Seymour Hersh's piece "Watching Lebanon" in the Aug. 21 issue was brilliant, original reporting on the thinking behind Israel's bombing campaign in Lebanon. I think we can all agree that it does no disservice to the importance of the article to observe that, at 5077 words, it was roughly 5060 words too long.

I hope to post these regularly. I'm still fiddling with formatting, and welcome suggestions. Preferably in haiku form.

August 21, 2006

Annals of National Security: Watching Lebanon
By Seymour M. Hersh

Israel provides
Great test for "bomb Iran" plan.
(Hmm, maybe needs work?)

The Sporting Scene: Blank Monday
By William Finnegan

Surfboard-core magnate
Quits, breaks his molds. Need a board?
Prepare for rough waves.

Letter From New Orleans: The Lost Year
By Dan Baum

Things are better now.
Before, waited for promised help;
Now, know not to wait.

Onward And Upward With The Arts: Measure for Measure
By Justin Davidson

Conducting's first rule:
Win hearts, earn respect, or else
Players will play you.

Fiction: The Spot
By David Means

End comes natural
From, to, those already dead
Lost in Michigan

The Current Cinema: On Duty
By David Denby

Even his critics
Agree: Stone's latest is good
For America.

Books: The philosopher Stoned
By Adam Kirsch

Walter Benjamin:
Stayed clear thinker on hashish,
Less so Marxism.

Dancing: World Stage
By Joan Acocella

Israeli dancers:
If they stop their po-mo stunts,
The terrorists win.

Musical Events: What Next?
By Alex Ross

New operas work
Where alluring music meets
Comfortless worldview.