October 27, 2011
"If psychoanalysis was late 19th century secular Judaism’s way of finding spiritual meaning in a post-religious world, and retail is the late 20th century’s way of finding spiritual meaning in a post-religious world, what does it mean that I’m impersonating the father of psychoanalysis in a store window to commemorate a religious holiday?"

— David Rakoff in “Christmas Freud,” a segment of the Christmas and Commerce episode of This American Life. 

October 27, 2011
"Clerks Barry and Dick are emotional cripples stuck in that male pop-culture circle of hell in which having seen a film (the right kind of film) or owning a record (the right kind of record) act as substitutes for being able to express what these things mean to them. Since they are incapable of really talking about human feelings, they get by by standing next to each other at rock shows and making each other complicated tapes of obscure songs."

— Sarah Vowell on characters in Nick Horby’s High Fidelity

July 6, 2011
My Ira

My Ira