Valedictory

November 2, 2010

Valedictory

The Department of Homeland Humor Security has asked us to discontinue Grin & Tonic. We ourselves don't quite know why. All they said to us was "Please stop--you're killing us!" We ourselves also have recognized that there is no way a humor feature can compete with the elections, being held today, for hilarity. We know when it's time to quit--when the real world is funnier than comedy.

We hope you've enjoyed Grin & Tonic, and we also hope someday to return, as some sort of zombie phoenix, pouncing on ridiculous prey whenever we spot it. In the meantime, thank you for your readership and your nice comments, and Joe, in Tucson, we are sorry we never had a chance to use any of your parodies of medical-insurance fine print, and Mary, in Bloomington, Indiana, ditto your satire of the CNN crawl. Good idea, though.

Daniel Menaker is-- no, was -- the Editor of Grin & Tonic. Waah.

Daybook

May 21: Alexander Pope was born in London on this day in 1688. Barred from politics and university, deformed by tuberculosis, Pope seemed destined to be an outsider; this created the distance necessary for firing the satiric darts…

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In the Margin

"Rock and roll," says Robert Christgau, "has produced a surprising bounty of old men with something to say. Leonard Cohen fits this paradigm, with two significant differences.…

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With dates announced for his upcoming Old Ideas concert tour, we celebrate the inimitable Leonard Cohen: bard, survivor, legend. His most recent album is a return to form for the balladeer, exploring signature themes of lust and longing, spirituality and struggle, all overlaid with a droll sense of humor as familiar as Cohen's prophetic voice.

Wish You Were Here

When Jack Luxton hears that his estranged brother has been killed in combat, long-buried memories begin to well up like groundwater, and difficult choices Jack thought he reconciled himself to years ago turn out to be close at hand. Man Booker Prize-winner Graham Swift's novel plumbs timeless themes of regret, renewal, and the bonds of love.

The Sovereignties of Invention

The opening story in Matthew Battles's electric collection, "The Dogs in the Trees", documents the inexplicable appearance of arboreal canines. Further gorgeous fantastika follows, producing a volume sure to draw comparisons to Borges and George Saunders.