Recent Articles

spambot_thumb personal 02.03.12 How I Lost My Blog’s Only Fan

Leah Caldwell confuses a human with a spambot, which begs the question: what does it mean to be human?
humor 02.01.12 The Growing Creepiness of Pandora’s Music Recommendations

Jeremy Blachman notices his Pandora recommendations becoming increasingly sinister.
opinion 01.30.12 The Ghost in the Timeline

For Jonathan Gourlay, Facebook Timeline has turned his news feed into an online cemetery.
personal 01.27.12 Tumorous: Plastic Fantastic

After her mastectomy, Juliet Disparte gets breast implants — a process that reveals just how shallow she is.
arts 01.25.12 Screener Season

For Lauren Bagby, awards season marks the time to track and trade DVD screeners with friends and coworkers in the movie biz.
humor 01.23.12 Jay McInerney Celebrates Chinese New Year and Reads Your Zodiac Sign

Jonathan San talks to Jay McInerney, who brings the bitter, depressed prose of his novels to horoscopes.
personal 01.20.12 The Long Run: Notes on a Taper

As the New York City Marathon nears, Lindsay Crouse lessens her running and ups her eating and sleeping.
personal 01.18.12 Burgled in Philly

When John Davidson’s apartment gets robbed, he learns that the easiest way to get his stuff back is to have one drug dealer lie to another drug dealer while he lies to the police.
personal 01.16.12 Welcome Back Boody: A Death in the Family

Katie Boody struggles to console one of her brightest students after his older brother is murdered.
arts 01.13.12 When Your TV Show Gets Cancelled

Lauren Bagby has advice in case the show you’re working on doesn’t get picked up for a second season.
personal 01.11.12 Hold the Everything: A Food Plainist’s Lament

Luke Epplin likes his food bland and simple — why is that so hard to explain?
arts 01.09.12 In the Land of the Non-Reader

Jonathan Gourlay stops reading books. This is what happens to him.

Mission Statement

We don’t write perfectly, but we do respect writing.

We believe in publishing good ideas and polished prose. We edit everything. We argue about every inch of our site because we care about details. We cherish and shamelessly emulate those who do it better than us.

We want, more than anything, to improve. That’s what The Bygone Bureau is about. If you see something that needs fixing, tell us. If you think you can do better, or just want to get better yourself, we’re all ears.

We expect quality from ourselves and everyone we work with, and we hope you expect that from us too.

We’re not suggesting anything groundbreaking, but we know how often smart voices get lost in the overwhelming expanse of the web. So we invited some of them here to be found. If you’ve got something to say and think it matters to say it well, you’re in the right place.

Welcome.