Alex Kuczynski
You Say DeLillo, I Say ... Writers' Claws Are Out at PEN Gala
At around 7:45 p.m. on Monday, April 28, writer Carl Bernstein was mingling at the cocktail hour before the PEN Literary Awards at the Museum of Natural History, Coca Cola in hand, looking very healthy. “I ride a bike and listen to a lot of music,” he said. “I mostly listen to classical but also rock. read more »
Miracle Makeovers: Nip-and-Tuck Unpacked
The Transom
The Times on Ralph Lauren on Madison
Ralph likes Madison
Who knew things had gotten so bad "in the last couple of years"? Who knew the Episcopalians were resisitng? Who knew Joan Didion cared? read more »
- Max AbelsonCritical Shopping at Trader Joe's
Better than Night Train?
If I may venture into oenological territory for a moment, the chardonnay had a light, lively nose, beautiful legs and a pretty clean finish for something that costs less than a bottle of Night Train.
There's more where that came from, including the consumption of Pzazz Protein Juice, Moral Fiber muffins, and hydrocodone. read more »
- Michael CalderoneTrends: Sometimes a Pair Is All You Need
"A 20-foot long bra that has been slung over a billboard along the West Side Highway for the past month needs a new home." - GIANT BRA IS STRAPPED FOR A HOME, by Holly M. Sanders, The New York Post, January 27, 2006. read more »
—Matt HaberKey Word: "Much"
It's ironic that much of the expanded coverage of both the Times (Thursday Styles, House & Home, Real Estate) and the Journal (the Friday weekend section, the Saturday edition) is dedicated to the sort of high-end consumption that reporters can't really afford. As a result, there's a nose-pressed-to-the-glass quality to much of the coverage. --Daniel Gross, Slate, Dec. 19
I tried on a shearling coat in chocolate suede. Again, it was so unlike the shearling coat I owned that it does not even belong in the same category. There were no bulky pockets; the inside was cut so that I didn't look like a sack of potatoes. It was my birthday. I bought it. (It was $5,000, and all I can say is that I'm glad I spent the last year paying off my credit cards.) --Alex Kuczynski, New York Times Thursday Styles, Dec. 15read more »
Can't Spell "Denim" Without M-E
"Those who follow this column may recall that I recently purchased a pair of blue jeans at Target for $27." read more »
Having dispensed with Darwin on the op-ed page, it seems, the Times is now taking on Copernicus: Clearly, the solar system revolves around Alex Kucznyski's ass.Scenes From a Class Struggle at the Mt. Kisco Target
In Consumer Philosophy by Tar-zhay, Kuczynski visits the Mount Kisco Target superstore and looks deep into the heart and mind of the American discount shopper. What she sees there is nothing short of a Cliff's Notes version of Tom Frank's What's The Matter with Kansas:
Sure, Target's image is more sophisticated than Wal-Mart's. But two things seriously bug me about the chain.Dark days, indeed. But halogen lamps are 20% off in aisle five. read more »
First, the affiliation with designers like [Michael] Graves and [Isaac] Mizrahi strikes me as a bit of lip service. They certainly add a hip note to the store's advertising campaigns, but at the Mount Kisco store, one of 1,351 nationwide, there was not much Graves merchandise on display. I couldn't find a teapot, but I did find an ergonomic paper shredder in the Graves half-aisle beneath a picture of a woman who looked like the actress Felicity Huffman and the words "I like to coordinate my keyboard with my toaster."
These are dark days for the middle classes if such ambitious, obsessive coordinating is actually taking place.
Also, to the Times copy editor who had the restraint to read Ms. Kuczynski's lede paragraph about Buddha paraphernalia at Target and not write the headline The Buddha of Suburbia: We salute you!
—Matt Haber
