is it it about race, or is it about racism?

So, right now, I either have time to read TNY or write about it, but not, it seems, both. I've read:

Frere-Jones on this Winehouse character. Aural blackface.

The spine-tingling Long Island murder thing.

And Collins on Obama, Michelle. I'm not sure that that joke Obama made at the spa is so much "a blunt discussion about race" as it is part and parcel of the couple's strategy for confronting racist anxieties about black people with political power. But there you are.

***

Finally, I've never done this before, and I may never again, but I'm happy (overjoyed) to report that recent keyword activity, according to ye olde statcounter, has included searches for "fake maltese dogs with realistic features in stores" and "lesbians who love lauren collins." May you find what your heart's desire on the internet. May you read I Hate The New Yorker until you do.

Also, Specter on carbon footprints. But you knew that.

And Hersh on Israel bombing Syria.