James W. Elkins

- - - Working in books journalism, it's rare to come across a recently published novel for which you have not a single shred of preconception. But that was my purely innocent state when I spied a copy of "Weak in Comparison to Dreams," by James Elkins, a longtime professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Written by James Elkins | Model: Brandon Napier. Posted in Gear Weather in the Hill Country around Austin, Texas can be unpredictable, so when a random 62°F day forecast popped up on my radar, it was a perfect opportunity to test my new J34  ABS dual-sport helmet from Just1 Racing, a company predominately known for their excellent motocross helmets and sponsorship of numerous racers around the world. One of my favorite features of the J34 is how it looks.

Despite naming themselves after an archduke whose assassination sparked the inferno of World War I, Franz Ferdinand are way beyond a cheeky in-joke. They’re a tightly coiled dance-punk band with a striking sense of melody, overflowing with clever songs and infectious hooks. On a recent muggy summer evening, these four musicians from Glasgow unleashed their act in Williamsburg’s newest venue, Volume.