Posts by author
Lisa Dusenbery
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Vonnegut’s Nuclear Bow-tie
Twenty years before Slaughterhouse-Five, a broke Kurt Vonnegut came up with an idea for an atomic bow-tie. While he became known for his environmentalism later in life, in 1950, Vonnegut—like America at large—seemed ready to cash-in on the atomic. “By…
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Road-Tripping
What do you look for in a highway? Curves? Covered bridges? Buffalos? This article walks us through the seven U.S. roads “worth building a dream road trip around.” “And finally, the mother of all scenic journeys, the 127 miles of…
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Morrison’s New Novel
Toni Morrison, who was in DC over the weekend to receive the 2011 Library of Congress National Book Festival Award for Creative Achievement, took part in a Q&A for the The Hay-Adams Author Series. The author touched on her upcoming…
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Frankenstein’s Conception
“Shelley has long been doubted for her version of events that led to the writing of one of the most beloved Gothic tales in the English language: That she wrote it on a challenge one night in June 1816 during…
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Social Media Art
The “Social Media” exhibit is at New York City’s Pace Gallery until October 15th. Walking us through the installations, this piece ponders the way social media art works when taken out of its natural habitat—the Internet. “It seemed to me…
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Rude Hand Gestures
“Depending on where you are, a thumbs up could just be a sign of approval. But in some countries, this refers to an action in the nether regions, and is meant as an offense. Visitors should note that to add…
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Erotic Monarchs
“The love that united them with their passionate kisses made them even more closely entwined. Divine lust! Mistress of the world!” Those are lines from an erotic poem recently discovered in writings of Frederick the Great, the monarch who turned…
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Deaf Culture
“Hearing people should not fool themselves into thinking they can understand the Deaf experience. What we need to understand, though, is that there is more to it than not being able to hear.” In honor of Deaf Awareness Week this…
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“The Phantom Tollbooth” Anniversary
“Juster was an architect who’d written a book that didn’t fit the mold of children’s books at the time — its puns were too sophisticated, the vocabulary was too difficult, and there was that whiff of political metaphor. What’s more,…
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“We Are Wisconsin”
We Are Wisconsin—The Wisconsin uprising in the words of the activists, writers, and everyday Wisconsinites who made it happen is a 300-page compilation of writings—from articles to tweets—that sprung from the Madison protest. This piece explores the impetus to archive…
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Digital Abuse Surveyed
“Young people immersed in the online world are encountering racist and sexist slurs and other name-calling that probably would appall their parents and teachers. And most consider it no big deal, a new poll says.” The survey suggests that people…
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Suburbia Saving
An emerging movement seeks to orient suburbs around farms rather than golf courses. “According [to] the American Farmland Trust, more than 6 million acres of agricultural land in the United States were lost to development between 1992 and 1997 alone.…