This week's Saunders is on writing...

One of the most difficult genres is the short essay, such as those I write here. How is one to say something non-trivial, with a clear, dramatic shape, in just 500 words? It's a great exercise in economy, very difficult to master. But here are a few simple principles.

Now that TimesSelect is dead, those old blogs such as those by Marjane Satrapi and Maira Kalman are open to everyone

Yo La Tengo is out playing the Sounds of Science again and talk about it

The NY Times on East Nashville and Americana vs. country music

And the NY Times on television, now apparently

Before the Internet, iPhones and flash drives, people jousted over who was into the Pixies when they were still a garage band or who could most lengthily argue the merits of Oasis versus Blur. Now, for all but hardcore rock aficionados, one-upmanship is more likely to center around a television series