An Apartment Full of Books and the Man Who Started It

Michael Seidenberg is an anomaly. A rarity. An eccentricity. He loves books, and while book lovers are commonplace, Seidenberg’s love is unique.

Sitting in a corner of a tiny apartment on the Upper East Side, pipe in hand, Seidenberg doesn’t hold back when talking about books. He philosophizes about the world and talks of how the Justice League of America is the basis of his personal philosophy. He theorizes that schools kill reading and laments about the seemingly disappearing love of books. Take a quick look around him and it becomes clear that the apartment is his chef-d’oeuvre. The apartment – the latest reincarnation of Brazen Head Books – is to Seidenberg what the Sistine Chapel was to Michelangelo.

Visitors to Brazen Head will find a lot of Seidenberg embedded within the bookshelves lining the walls. From an action figure of Oscar Wilde, to an old postcard of Fidel Castro – cigar in mouth – holding an I Love New York T-shirt, to framed images of authors Henry Miller and John Cowper Powys (two of his favorite), one can glean many things about the Seidenberg’s character. As Snowden Wright, a frequent visitor to Brazen Head, puts it, “You go there and it’s not just a bookstore. It’s a bookstore and him.”

Despite Criticisms, Mixed Martial Arts Continue to Grow Popular

The stage is set. Two men, dressed in only shorts, circle each other in the octagonal cage, their fists close to their face, waiting for an opening to attack. The raucous crowd surrounds the stage, cheering their favorite fighter, hoping to see a good fight. A quick punch here, a wild kick there, and then, both men are on the ground, grappling for control. One man ends up on flat on his stomach, trying valiantly to protect his head from the calculated punches of his opponent. It is soon over. The referee rushes to stop the fight. The crowd goes wild. The victor raises his fists in triumph. He is their gladiator.

This is mixed martial arts, a full contact combat sport that was once relegated to the fringes, but in recent years is experiencing a surge in popularity, creeping steadily toward the mainstream. Considered by many to be the fastest growing sport in the country, mixed martial arts – or MMA, as it is often called – has already replaced boxing and wrestling as the favored combat sport among young men. 

Financial Aid At NYU Leaves Students Often Needing More

By Henry B. Chan

When Kira Antaya decided to come to New York University, she knew it would be difficult. She knew that the cost of attending the university would be high, but she chose to attend anyways, “even if it means that you’re gonna owe somebody money for the rest of our life,” she said. Now a senior, Antaya will graduate in May with about $150,000 of debt. “I’m looking at paying this off for the rest of my life.”

Antaya is one of many students at NYU who struggle to come up with the money to attend. Approximately 60 percent of undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need receive aid from the university, a percentage that many students feel should be improved upon. Ranked number one on the Princeton Review’s list of students dissatisfied with their school’s financial aid system, students at NYU say that the school fails to meet the demonstrated need of many students, as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). However, many students still choose to attend the university, despite dissatisfaction with financial aid.