Beirut issue

September 27, 2007

Films & Books We Have Not Seen

Cinema O.K., so I’m a bit of a film snob. I’ll just put it out there; it’s not as if my pretension is intentional as I, say, swirl my martini in my East Village loft and carry on sotto voce … Read More

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A Brief Account of the Leipzig Games Convention

Soon our hour of traveling past fields of grain and windmills in the plains of Saxony came to an end, and we arrived at the Leipzig Central Train Station. It was time to get to the Convention Center. At first … Read More

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Let It Be

The movie opens with a young man sitting alone on a beach singing The Beatles song “Girl” to the viewer. This is the first sign (to anyone who did not know, i.e. me) that Across the Universe is a musical. … Read More

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Sweet Strawberry Jam

Animal Collective doesn’t sound like a rock band. It sounds like a couple of shamans have sat down around a fire every once in a while with an acoustic guitar, a floor tom, and a delay pedal to effuse sixty … Read More

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A Book for You to Read

As sad as it is infuriating, people living comfortably usually dismiss thoughts of poverty, disease, and war. Luckily, we are sometimes shocked out of emotional detachment and we think twice, maybe truly mournfully, about the helpless people we hear about … Read More

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Stand Still

I met the faeries in Vermont.

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Shaking My Hips Dolefully

Beirut played at Terrace this Sunday. You might have heard him. You might even have been there, drinking, doing your thing. The place was crowded.

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The State of Society

After a night of drinking, it is a common activity amongst my friends to settle down in a common room and watch the Woodstock DVD. If it is early enough, we will continue to drink while watching, and will watch the whole thing through.

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Hopes and Dreams

We were ripped off, as usual, as the three of us stepped out of the taxi and into a steamy, puddle-filled section of Hanoi. Adam, a towering Beta from Long Island, wasn’t too happy. “Fifty five thousand fucking dong! Fuck … Read More

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Verbatim

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Overheard at Terrace

American student: Do you dream in English?
Indian student: Dreams are for pussies?

Overheard in Prospect Garden

Girl 1: You're alright, though?
Girl 2: I am lively and fresh, even in the autumn of my girlhood.

Overheard in the SPAM file of the Verbatim mailbox

SPAM: Good day Verbatim, use our help and you will have to make one more passport for your penis!

Overheard at Towe brunch

Guy: Wait a minute, you found that yarmulke? Oh man, now I have all sorts of Jewish lice, charging my regular lice ridiculous rates.

Overheard in diary of anonymous I-Banking recuiter

10:30 a.m. Watch markets. Autos. Oil. Gold. Take brisk walk around trading floor.
12:00 p.m. Lunch with a referral at her private club. Sheʼs wearing a velvet headband and pearls. I gear myself up for a very polite tutorial.
My tutor wears diamonds