The editors' blog

THE VISIONARY COMEDY OF CHRIS ROCK

Chris Rock may have been wrong about AIDS—but only slightly. In his second blockbuster comedy special for HBO, "Bigger and Blacker" (1999), Rock emphatically suggested that:

CHARLES SAATCHI HAS AN ADDICTION

POLYMATHS: 20 LIVING EXAMPLES

A main feature for the autumn issue of Intelligent Life magazine looks at the decline of the polymath. The author, Edward Carr, argues that in this age of specialisation, the polymath has become an endangered species. For an accompanying table, we set about identifying living examples.

KANYE WEST'S SELF-HELP ADVICE

Kanye West's self-help book is a small, spiral-bound thing, too big for your back pocket but a perfect fit for the coffee table. Its bright yellow, blue, pink and green text is printed on glossy black paper, often in quite large sizes. It's durable, so much so that you could throw it across the room and it would survive the launch unscathed. At times it feels like a children's book.

TIME FOR A SPARK REVIVAL

Despite her many awards, her damehood and her distinguished champions—Evelyn Waugh saw her as a writer “whom people rejoice to introduce to their friends”—Muriel Spark remains outside the highest literary firmament.

WHAT'S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN?

Our friends at The Economist's Democracy in America blog make a convincing case for the Senate to pass cap-and-trade legislation:

How warm were the oceans this summer? The warmest they've ever been since measurements started in 1880.

PEARL JAM'S POSITIVE VIBES

A rare survivor of Seattle’s grunge scene, Pearl Jam are not resting on
their angst-ridden laurels. For their ninth album, Backspacer, they have embraced a fast early-pop sound, tinged with 1980s
California-style punk. This is the band's leanest offering to date--just 37 minutes long--but with time enough for both ballads and soaring anthems.

SUNSHINE AND DARKNESS IN 1960s LA

With newspapers crowded with stories about the death of Susan

"NICE TUMMY"

For a perfect balance of titillation and wistfulness, take a moment to watch this reunion of burlesque dancers (a video on NYT): "A Life in the (Satin) Gloves".

WHO'S AFRAID OF COCO CHANEL?

The real question of "Coco Before Chanel" is not how the woman of its title became herself, but whether the actress Audrey Tautou can plausibly portray a character who isn't