I love New York with a love that can be considered unhealthy, and Colson Whitehead’s (what an unfortunate last name) The Colossus of New York had received rave reviews. “Pitch-perfect,” one reviewer wrote. Maybe I’m just not hip enough, but the book didn’t grab me. Maybe I’m too much of a journalist, but I wanted [...]

Having just finished writing a major project about a predominantly Spanish-speaking neighborhood in Brooklyn, I figured that now was the time to finally figure out the proper label for immigrants from Central and South America.*  I remembered learning something about how “Hispanic” was a term created not so long ago, not a term preferred by the [...]

Photographer: davidfg. Used under a Creative Commons license.Last week I came across The Editorialiste’s blog, and this post in particular: Journalism Internships Are A Joke (Financially). Period. Mr. Nusca makes some good points, and yes, there are many who take this same viewpoint, but I believe there are some things the naysayers don’t address. As [...]

The Splasher is still at it. He/she made NYT’s B1 today, with one good picture and one photo that is completely irrelevant to the story. (Oh, wait. Behind the dude, there’s a Splashered painting. I have to say I’m not too impressed with whoever edited these photos today.) Marc Schiller, who runs a Web site about [...]

Anyone who lives on this earth should pick up a copy of Garbage Land, by Elizabeth Royte. I won’t say this book will change your life, but it may. After you finish reading, “out of sight, out of mind” will be a foreign phrase. Royte, a resident of Park Slope, Brooklyn, a fairly well-off, educated, [...]

Street art fascinates me. I admire anyone who is willing to risk life, limb, or incarceration for the sake of creative expression. For example, Jennifer Toth’s The Mole People contains a chapter about graffiti writers. Some would work all night on a subway car, dodging cops and literally running for their lives, even though they [...]