Unreal Cities? Unreal Cities?
Do “smart” urban automation projects have more in common with Jane Jacobs or Le Corbusier?
Jan 15, 2014 / Books & the Arts / Catherine Tumber
Paris! Paris! Paris! Paris!
All reds come in the shape of lips. Even—s’il vous plaît—our shy little Mazovian cherries. So we shall write with a promiscuous tongue and instead of a period—make a lip print. At the railway station buffet in Radom we drink beer, and the world seen through a full mug is yellowed with the fright of Van Gogh, and a mug—mon Dieu!—also has no ear. Paris! Paris! Ai, dana, da dana! We climb atop our dresser stands and dream of the avant-garde’s New Trick: The Straight Line, which is a stem, and at its end hangs a lip-colored cherry. Oh, sweet drop of Marseillaise, little planet of our malignancy, flow down, drop into our thin borschts! We geometricians of form, puddle-jumpers into others’ imaginations, are waiting for you. And let the folk sing along: Paris! Paris! Ai dana, da dana! (translated from the Polish by Jennifer Grotz and Piotr Sommer)
Jan 14, 2014 / Books & the Arts / Jerzy Ficowski
Letters Letters
Hisssssssssss… the scourge of gentrification… fighting school “reform”… Ai Weiwei, revolutionary… exploit this proletarian—please!
Jan 14, 2014 / Our Readers
Puzzle No. 3310 Puzzle No. 3310
And don’t miss Kosman and Picciotto’s crossword blog, Word Salad.
Jan 14, 2014 / Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto
Bill de Blasio’s Persuasive Case for Universal Pre-K Bill de Blasio’s Persuasive Case for Universal Pre-K
If the mayor can get the governor and state legislators to support him, New York could become the model for how to fund crucial priorities in a progressive, sustainable way.
Jan 14, 2014 / Katrina vanden Heuvel
Pro-Choice Advocates Plan Offensive in the States Pro-Choice Advocates Plan Offensive in the States
States passed fifty-three laws restricting abortion last year, but midterm elections give pro-choice activists an opportunity to flip the trend.
Jan 14, 2014 / Zoë Carpenter
The Spanish-Language Version of Healthcare.gov Is a Mess The Spanish-Language Version of Healthcare.gov Is a Mess
It launched months late, loads slowly and is poorly translated.
Jan 14, 2014 / Jessica Weisberg
Seventy-five Leading Economists Just Told Congress to Raise the Minimum Wage Seventy-five Leading Economists Just Told Congress to Raise the Minimum Wage
Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 would grow the U.S. economy by about $22 billion and create 85,000 new jobs.
Jan 14, 2014 / Steven Hsieh
One Wrong Way to Pay for an Unemployment Benefit Extension One Wrong Way to Pay for an Unemployment Benefit Extension
In order to save a miniscule three-thousands of a percent of the federal budget, Republicans and Democrats are considering a needlessly cruel cut in support for unemployed disabled...
Jan 14, 2014 / George Zornick
Court Strikes Down Net Neutrality Order Court Strikes Down Net Neutrality Order
The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled that the Federal Communications Commission lacks the authority to enforce net neutrality rules.
Jan 14, 2014 / Leticia Miranda