On her quietly brilliant 2011 solo debut, Last Summer, the Fiery Furnaces singer/guitarist Eleanor Friedberger dialed back the art-pop zaniness of her day job several notches, which gave her verbose travelogues welcome breathing room. On Personal Record, Friedberger settles further into a vintage, Laurel Canyon-inspired sonic space, in which sparkling electric pianos and swirling organs commune with her ... Read More

  Oh Erin, say it ain't so! Fierce single mom turned justice-crusader/biopic inspiration Erin Brockovich (now Brockovich-Ellis) was arrested on Friday for driving her boat when she shouldn’t have been. A state wildlife and game warden on Nevada’s Lake Mead noticed her struggling to dock it, and discovered she was a bit too tipsy to be steering the boat in the first place. In his words, she “exhibited several ... Read More

  Is this the end of the "man bike"...? And why are bicycles gendered anyhow? Since the beginning of time for the bicycle (1817!) bikes have had genders, and dudes have rolled around on frames made specifically for their manly selves. Officials in the Netherlands say the age-old male bike design is straight up dangerous, and want man bikes off the road. The problem: standard men’s frames have a horizontal crossbar. That’s ... Read More

  It all started with a vagina. Earlier this spring, a Facebook support group directed towards moms posted a picture of an anatomically correct vulva. The group boasted a readership of around 22,000, and the image was clearly meant for education, empowerment, and advocacy. It fell in line with the other discussion topics on Motherwise – which writes about “breastfeeding, parenting issues, and birthing options,” as ... Read More

Following her debut novel, The City is a Rising Tide, Rebecca Lee presents a collection of seven biting stories about the luxury we take in life’s ordinary comforts, and the threats, real or imagined, that lurk beyond the surface. As of this writing, Bobcat was longlisted for the international Frank O’Connor Prize for story collections, and the praise is due: with deadpan humor, Lee’s light touch illuminates the contrasts ... Read More