Jerusalem Journal There’s no easy way to tour Israel on foot, especially when people are trying to steal your art supplies. Staff illustrator Danny Gregory returns to the land where his family’s been for more than 70 years.

The Letters of Gary Benchley, Rock Star: Beyond the Show If a band plays a concert, and no one pays attention, can it still aspire to musical greatness? Is anything louder than the sound of no hands clapping? Aspiring rock star Gary Benchley meets pure failure and calls his mom, and finds love expressed in sculpture to be less than rock-solid.

Two Lone Swordsmen, From the Double Gone Chapel Isn’t this supposed to be techno? Er, electronica or whatever? And yet it sounds so un-manufactured. So handmade and crafted,…

Notes on a Federal Culture Urban character is easy – Chicago has architecture, New York has culture, Los Angeles has a six-hour flight to New York – but what about cities with zero personality? Let’s say, Washington? D.C. writer Clay Risen comes up with a few traits for home.