Behind the Scenes

WHAT MODERNDAY MYSTERY OR STORY IN HISTORY FASCINATES YOU?

Our contributors share with us.

NATAN LAST

I’ve always loved the story of England after the Battle of Hastings, in which English, French and Latin commingle on a tiny triglossic island, and the English language as we know it today acquires its charming messiness. English borrowed the same French words twice with slight pronunciation differences, and so we have doublets like regard and reward, guarantee and warranty, guile and wile. Natan Last works in immigration advocacy and policy. His writing has appeared in Narrative, The Atlantic, Los Angeles Review of Books and elsewhere. He writes crossword puzzles for The New Yorker and The New York Times. He is currently writing a nonfiction book about crosswords, titled The Electric Grid, for Pantheon.

Under Construction, Page 18

JIM HEIMANN

Since researching material for my first book, California Crazy, I have been fascinated by oddball buildings and their creators, interviewing two of these individuals in person: Tillie Hattrup of Giant Owl/Hoot Hoot I Scream and Arthur Whizzin of the Chili Bowl chain. Both were matter-of-fact about their roadside anomalies and how they came into being. Segue 40 years later, and I meet a guy [Bobby Green] who loves the same types of buildings and ends up buying and restoring these crazy structures that are extant. Now I get to know firsthand his story and what drove him to buck convention and follow his dream. Jim Heimann is a native of Los Angeles who, in addition to his past career as a graphic designer and illustrator, currently is an educator and author, and serves as the executive editor of Taschen Publishing America LLC based in Cologne, Germany.

Citizen Preservationist, Page 28

TREVOR NAUD

I’m a fan of science fiction, and I often think about life on other planets. The evidence of water on Mars is really intriguing to me, as well as newer evidence that proves it may be in liquid form under the south polar cap. I want to be alive when (or if) we discover extraterrestrial life. Trevor Naud is a Detroit-based artist, photographer and director. His directorial music video work has been featured in Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Paste, Spin and Under the Radar. He is thematically drawn to stories of memory, simulation and repetition. His graphic work has been featured in Juxtapoz Magazine, Ain’t-Bad, 50 Watts and Picture Professional, and has been shown at Whitdel Arts and MOCAD. As a photographer, he has collaborated with artists such as Guided by Voices, Protomartyr, Vespre, Bonnie Doon, Nolan the Ninja, The Armed and Stef Chura.

Playing Detective, Page 44