Musical Chairs

The cover of the June 5, 2006 issue of The New Yorker is about as clear and insightful a portrayal of the academic job market as I've ever seen, right down to the sadistic grin on the face of the Academic Lord High Mucketymuck in the foreground. Except, of course, that the proportion of successful to unsuccessful players is far greater than in reality.

Image of the cover available here at Alas (a blog), along with some commentary which tries to tie it to affirmative action or some such.