How To Be Alone (via andyradorfman)

Interviews are not conversations — conversations are objectively better. As Jack Paar told Dick Cavett, “Kid, don’t do interviews. That’s clipboards, and David Frost, and what’s your pet peeve and favorite movie. Make it a conversation.” I once thought of this as a dichotomy between two equal and opposite hosting strategies. In the “facilitated speech,” the host’s goal is simply to elicit maximally interesting and detailed responses from the guest, minimizing their own presence. In the “conversation,” the host both contributes and seeks contribution, potentially even mirroring the guest’s role. I still regard those strategies as opposite, but they sure ain’t equal. Perhaps this is an undiplomatic claim to make, but conversations are just better, always and absolutely, than formal, traditionally-conceived interviews. Those strike me as nothing more than hokey by-products of such journalistic rigidities as twitch time limits and miniscule word counts. Planned, borderline-rehearsed simulacra of conversations aren’t conversations at all. They can’t wander into the unexpected, exciting places genuine conversations do, nor can they hope to arrive at the the surprising, fascinating conclusions genuine conversations do.

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Colin Marshall: What I can tell you about interviewing after conducting, editing and broadcasting 100 of them (via Jesse Thorn)

As much as I was pleased with the interview I did with John Adams for the PSO, I think if I’d read this guide before that interview, the result would have been even better and both Adams and I would have had more fun with it.

http://saltandfat.com/post/413282683/preserved-lemons »

Why even bother preserving lemons, aren’t they a buck a pop in the grocery store year round? True enough but the preservation — really, a kind of pickling (continuing our theme from Neven’s eggs) — adds a different kind of flavor. It’s a great way to take advantage of citrus fruits when they’re at their peak. Also, you need to understand that the thing you’re preserving here is the peel of the fruit, not the pulp, which will be too salty to eat by the time you’re done.

I’m so excited to try this on lemons. Also limes — I suspect pickled lime will make a really interesting garnish for a Martini.