NPR has a "Series of Unfortunate Literary Illusions"

Here's a podcast interview with Daniel Handler

Here's another interview

Here's an article/review from Kit Reed, who claims to be the inspiration for Kit Snicket

Here's an interview with Chris Ware

The Guardian doesn't particularly like the new Paul Auster, Travels in the Scriptorium, not out in the US until February

Neil Pollack on Hungry, Hungry Hippos

Richard Hell on the end of CBGBs

Here's an article about the Decemberists

"In recent years, an array of artists who, like Meloy, engage with the past in a new way has emerged. This group can't be called a movement, although its members are mostly in their 30s or 40s and have fairly recently earned fame. What they share is a fascination with worlds beyond the reach of contemporary life and a desire to discover how those worlds might connect to the rush of the contemporary.

Some, including writers Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket), Jonathan Lethem and Wesley Stace, blend the historical and the wondrous by connecting to such old-fashioned genres as children's horror, the noirish detective story and the Victorian novel. Others, among them graphic novelist Chris Ware and silent-film revivalist Guy Maddin, work in vintage styles, but with a melancholy sense of distance. Songwriter Stephin Merritt revived the pop standard for indie rockers; humorist John Hodgman revamped the almanac. Like these artists, the Decemberists explore the antique to gain a new perspective on emotion itself."

This article treats the Decemberists in the context of war:

"Given that the band's history neatly coincides with the United States' various armed conflicts in the Middle East, it's no surprise to hear Meloy describe the Decemberists as a "wartime band.""

Here's an article about Swan Lake

Here's an article about the New Pornographers