Author: Newley

There’s only one David Brooks. In “Patio Man and the Sprawl People,” he examines the fast-growing suburbs he calls “Sprinkler Cities.”

“My So-Called Lungs,” (New York Times; free registration required) an audio diary created by Laura Rothenberg, a woman suffering from cystic fibrosis, ran yesterday on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” It’s quite moving; it’s available here.

A classic McSweeney’s yarn: “I Am Michiko Kakutani.” A contemporary McSweeney’s yarn: “This Office is Different.”

According to James B. Twitchell, luxury has been democratized.

Japanese McDonald’s are slashing burger prices, and the Bangkok Skytrain is drowning in debt (they owe 35 billion baht, to be exact).

Dontlink.com is an amusing compilation of stupid linking policies.

“Dale Peck’s scathing review of Rick Moody and a dozen other writers of ‘postmodern drivel’ has the literary world buzzing about what makes for good — and bad — criticism.”

Tourists are eschewing the Taj Mahal; Bhutan, one of the most isolated countries in the world, is getting its own version of Windows; and, here in the States, it seems Jim Traficant’s unruly mop is definitely a rug.

In an attempt to improve their English pronunciation, some Chinese people are undergoing tongue surgery.

Beware of strangers bearing Sony Ericsson T68i camera/cell phones. They may part of an extreme guerrilla marketing campaign.