Yay, I have the Complete New Yorker now!

It’s damn cool. Now that I own a copy of every single page the New Yorker has ever published, I can check out the completely random articles I’ve always been curious about, such as E.J. Kahn’s infamous five-part series on grain.

Seriously. In 1984-85, towards the end of the eccentric William Shawn’s 35-year editorship, by which time (some say) the New Yorker had become a parody of itself, E.J. Kahn wrote five long articles, each on a different food staple – corn, potatoes, wheat, rice, and soybeans. Part one, on corn (June 18, 1984, p. 46), is more than 40 pages long. It ends with a note at the bottom of the last page: “This is the first of a series of articles on the staple food plants. The second will run in a future issue.” Isn’t that note great?

That’s why I love these DVDs.

My copy of the Complete New Yorker on DVD should be waiting for me when I get home from work today. I’ve been so excited about this the last few days. I even upgraded to two-day shipping from free shipping because I was getting impatient. I can’t wait to see it and start using it.

Meanwhile, here’s an NPR story about the DVD archive that goes into a little bit of detail about how they did it.

TV scheduling conflicts this season that annoy me:

1) Wednesdays at 9 pm: “Lost” (ABC) vs. “Veronica Mars” (UPN) – two of last season’s best new shows. What was UPN thinking by scheduling “Veronica Mars” against a ratings powerhouse?

2) Mondays at 8:30 pm: “How I Met Your Mother” (CBS) vs. “Kitchen Confidential” (FOX) – two “Buffy” alumni competing against each other on brand-new sitcoms. Willow vs. Xander. That’s just mean.

3) Thursdays at 8 pm: “Alias” (ABC) vs. “Smallville” (WB) vs. “Will & Grace” (NBC, at 8:30). Yes, “Will & Grace” is old, but I still enjoy it. But a three-way conflict? Grr.

I still think this is all Matt’s fault for making his TV addiction rub off on me.