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Monday, May 25, 2009 at 3:00PM 
The Week in Review
A crowded train is the center of empathy for a lost world. Mere years ago the New York-Boston Amtrak corridor was the nation's greatest singles bar. Even if you were married, it was a meeting ground for freaks and pushers, Catholics and castradas. You never had to worry about buying drugs for travel; they had them in the cafe car.
- Alex broke down the best of SF writer Poul Anderson.
- Yvonne's awesome adventure in stock photography.
- Sex with Christians hurts a lot.
Once I met a childless Washington-based couple who felt like the church kids were theirs, too. They never could conceive. I gave them as much of myself as I was able. Jesus I was cute as a button in 2002, why didn't I realize it?
- David Foster Wallace trashed John Updike.
- Lambert analyzed what bands in fact SMELL like.
- Yvonne visited Ruben in his elevator where he spends his time.
On a crowded train you can meet anyone, hear a sob story that would make Oprah ovulate with jealousy. The proliferation of cell phones opened up new spheres for the budding Pollyannas of this generation. Lives would be shared, no permission required.
- Events spiralled way of control for our tastes. Chaos!
- Kathryn held a lot of envy in her heart for Jonathan Franzen's success.
- An excerpt from Mathias Svalina's Play.
Train travel is the partial inspiration for Bret Easton Ellis' The Informers, it's where they decide to execute each others' Kill Lists on Strangers On A Train. The subway, costing 2 exruciating dollars, offers little of this satisfaction. It is like picking through still black and white photographs: Amtrak's in technicolor. For what they charge, it should be.
- Kill lists are difficult to maintain and execute.
- Alex broke down the greatest movie of the 1990s.
- Tyler was amused by so very much.
A government-run mass transit system is the most inefficient business besides Newsweek Magazine. They never should have built these rails, which sit fallow and empty at prices few except the very rich can afford. No wonder the train's denizens are a self-satisfied bunch. For years I rode mostly at night, wherre the weeping throes of colege students filled each car, hormones flooding through the central air conditioning, businessmen drunk from the mere thrill of being douchebags.
- Molly discussed the results of American Idol.
- Karina tackled the legacy of Tennessee Williams.
- Chad investigating the meaning of National Lampoon's Vacation.
The rails are now more sedate.
"Infinity Guitars" - Sleigh Bells (mp3)
"At The Beach" - Sleigh Bells (mp3)
"Ring Ring" - Sleigh Bells (mp3)
Reader Comments (1)
Some interesting pictures.
You would think that you could be safer on a train than in a car!