All the Kids From School Will Be Naked in the Pool
June 22, 2007

The Fountains of Wayne have a song called “Fire Island” on Welcome, Interstate Managers. It goes: “All the kids from school / Will be naked in the pool / While our parents are on Fire Island.” And it’s impossible for... more

The People in My Neighborhood
June 20, 2007

There is a heavyset man, maybe in his 40s, who sits outside on a fold-out chair and sings old standards to himself. He stares up all afternoon--at the sun, at the berry tree that hangs over his porch--in his undershirt... more

Because I'm Worth It. And I'm Sloppy.
June 19, 2007

I dyed my hair last night. Nothing dramatic, just a tad warmer brown. I like dying my hair. It gives me a feeling of racy adventure, even if the reality is that, unless you gave birth to me, you wouldn’t... more

Shins Too Narrow
June 07, 2007

My cousin had the answers for everything. The song “Billie Jean,” for instance, in which Michael Jackson so provocatively growled: So we danced / On the floor / In the round.” What did that mean? Well, that meant to “have... more

The Jetset Life Is Gonna Kill Ya
June 02, 2007

As chance would have it—or as work would have it—I wound up in Berlin today. These things don’t generally happen to me. But work brought me to Berlin today, for one day only, and I have to say: I can’t... more