archive

Our short attention spans

From Vanity Fair, following John Hughes’s sudden death, at age 59, last summer, David Kamp delves into his intense connections and sudden breaks with his Brat Pack actors, as well as the essential anomaly of his brief Hollywood reign (and more and more and more). Eric Holder's War: For the attorney general, remaking the rule of law in a new century is as personal as it is professional. What's the problem with Vancouver that no one's talking about? The spectacle of the Winter Games isn't just ruining sports — it's killing our chance to be happy. Christina Larson on how Tibet is no Shangri-La — and the Dalai Lama is not what you think. Our short attention spans provoke much lamentation, but it’s really nothing new: People have been complaining about the speed and fragmentation of modern life since well before there was a “modern” to complain about. Take a quick look at fangirl history and you will realize that fangirls’ devotion has “made” some of the most significant players in pop culture history. From NYRB, Tony Judt on revolutionaries: "No one should feel guilty for being born in the right place at the right time". A review of You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation by Susannah Gora. From Against the Current, a review of Emma Goldman: A Documentary History of the American Years: Volume 1, Made for America 1890-1901 and Volume 2, Making Speech Free, 1902-1909; and Ernie Haberkern on the politics of Victor Serge (and a response). From the Vatican's Zenit, is it possible to meet God in the tangled maze of cyberspace? In an iPad world, fascination can distract. My taxi driver spoke Swahili: Ben Wisner on American dreams and Las Vegas nightmares.