Entries from June 2009

Jun. 12, 2009

The Economics of Dealing Crack

At TED in 2004, Steven Levitt, the University of Chicago economist and co-author of Freakonomics, analyzes the economics of the street-corner crack trade. Contrary to popular belief, the “corner boys” make less than minimum wage — for a job with a higher mortality rate than death row. The Freakonomics blog is also worth a visit.

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Jun. 11, 2009

Creating Writers: Do MFA Programs Produce Dull Writers?

Are MFA programs to blame for all the dull books out there?

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Jun. 9, 2009

“The Lazarus Project” by Aleksandar Hemon

Aleksandar Hemon’s remarkable “The Lazarus Project” features a very Hemon-like protagonist. It is the book’s greatest strength and weakness.

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Jun. 6, 2009

“The Commitments”

I watched “The Commitments” last night for the first time in years, and it holds up remarkably well. Alan Parker’s 1991 film, based on Roddy Doyle’s debut novel, tells the story of a Dublin hustler named Jimmy Rabbitte who puts together a soul band composed mostly of working-class kids who know nothing about soul or [...]

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Jun. 4, 2009

I Miss U: Updike Is Gone

I miss John Updike. Not his work. I loved his stories and some of his novels, but lately I admired his books more than I enjoyed them, and sometimes not even that. Anyway, he left more books than I will ever be able or inclined to read. It is not Updike’s writing that I miss, [...]

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Jun. 1, 2009

WriterTube: Cormac McCarthy

No new posts today. I’ve got writing to do. Here’s something to look at in the meantime, part one of Cormac McCarthy’s interview with Oprah. A great get for Oprah, I suppose, though I wish she’d questioned him more deeply. For years McCarthy famously refused to give interviews, so you hate to see Oprah squander [...]

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