by Jason Bell

Multiple Murders

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Mass murder is as pure Americana as hamburgers, chicken salad sandwiches, and apple pie.

Saint Pop: Martyrdom and the Cult of Celebrity

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A new development in the cult of celebrity celebrates an artist’s work on the basis of personal tragedy, not the work itself.

Consider the Octopus

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My desire to become an unlikely statistic drove me to torture a living animal. Or at least to experience its death in the most intimate way possible: inside my mouth.

How to Achieve a Quality Relationship with Your Waffle-maker

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There are as many routes as there are individual souls. There are as many ways to make a waffle as there are waffle-makers.

The 10 Best-Worst Things I Ate in 2014

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Instead of reviewing the best, which risks a sappy food-gazing given voice, it might be more revealing to ask: what were the worst things I ate this year?

Some Ideas on Intimacy (Part II)

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Watching stand-up live after spending hours enjoying it on tape is about the same as having sex after watching a lot of porn.

Some Ideas on Intimacy (Part 1)

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By making it seem as though these lines are serious poetry, Bishop deflects attention from their improvisatory but crafted humor, their vulnerability, and their intimacy.

Uncomfortable Enthusiasm

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One cannot have an uncomfortable enthusiasm for luxury goods. One cannot have an uncomfortable enthusiasm for Bach or caviar.

The Underground Hedonist

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The unique pleasure of reading erotica in public, and especially on the subway, is its low-grade naughtiness.

Cubist Chop Suey

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Because the Chinese restaurant is a fantastic site produced by simulation, it is a safe space for experiment.