The New York Times has called Antonio Monda arguably “the most well-connected New York cultural figure you’ve never heard of.” (Fans of Wes Anderson may recognize the name Antonio Monda. He was featured on the “Life Aquatic” DVD in a segment called “Mondo Monda.”)...

I usually spend my Sunday evenings in my warm house watching “Desperate Housewives” on my plasma T.V. Tonight I’m doing something different. Very Different. I’m checking into homeless shelter, as a homeless person. Why? 1) I need to discover what it’s like to be in solidarity...

The Whigs are not the same band as nineties soul rockers The Afghan Whigs. Nor are they the British political party that would later become the Liberal Party. The Whigs are a three-pronged garage band from Athens, Georgia, whose latest album, Mission Control, should be cranked up ’til it comes...

The newest offering from Jimmy Eat World, entitled Chase This Light, contains as many questions as it does answers. For just over a decade now, fearless alt-rock bandleader Jim Adkins has crafted a sound that is unique, crisp and ultimately over produced as it boasts ultra-tight stops and starts, power...

I never go to the library to read. I go to work on my own writing, where I can escape the distractions of home. One afternoon, while distracting myself from writing by perusing the New Books section, I came upon Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion, by Sara Miles. Subtitled “The Spiritual Memoir...

This is a quiet book, safe to offer those who are feeling fragile about the trajectory of their lives. I first read it four years ago during a particularly rudderless time and have reread the book since for comfort and enlightenment. Parker Palmer is best known for his contributions to the field of education....

Natasha Bedingfield – maybe better known as the extremely commercialized pop singer whose “Unwritten” played all last season every time a dancer was voted off So You Think You Can Dance. [If you're thinking, "Matt, it's pretty sad that you know that fact", my only response is three...

There comes a time when everything you’ve planned falls apart around your feet, revealing that you weren’t as on point as you really thought. Where you go from there depends upon you – you can wallow about in the dregs and dross of the past or you can realize that you have the opportunity...

Dear Reader, We have a two announcements for you. 1) To help with submissions and in seeking out new writers, we’ve brought on associate editors in a few areas. There were some concerns we’d go over budget, but then we realized none of us get paid, and there is no budget, and we could add...

You reach out your hand and Robby hands you the cigarette. Placing it in your mouth, you inhale deeply, and begin to cough. Pepe` laughs and Zeke punches him on the arm. “What do you think?” asks Robby “It is awful,” you say. “But I love it.” — Soon you are smoking three packs a...