In the New Yorker...

[Front-Ranger]

He would probably be bewildered by that issue, but then he would be bewildered by how dark and strange our lives have become.

I went back to the August 31 issue, which came while I was in Europe so I never read it. Parts of "Wagner in Hollywood" by Alex Ross were good, and I really enjoyed a review of a feminist translation of Beowolf, by Ruth Franklin. The movie "Tesla" was reviewed (has anyone seen it?) and there was a long profile of Joe Biden by Evan Osnos. A very satisfying issue.

[Front-Ranger]

...the movie "Tesla" was reviewed (has anyone seen it?)

The reviews of "Tesla" say it's really terrible! I'm going to pass.

[Jeff Wrangler]

  What would Mr. Shaw say?!

I just realized why this confused me: It's not Shaw. It's Shawn, William Shawn, who would no doubt be shaken, not stirred, over the magazine as it is today--and as the world is, too, for that matter.

(I was, like, Who's Mr. Shaw?  )

[serious crayons]

I just realized why this confused me: It's not Shaw. It's Shawn, William Shawn, who would no doubt be shaken, not stirred, over the magazine as it is today--and as the world is, too, for that matter.

(I was, like, Who's Mr. Shaw?  )

Oops! You're a better New Yorkerologist than I am.

In the new issue with the half-mast flag, I started reading Rachel Kushner's memories of the eccentric characters she knew growing up in seedy neighborhoods of San Francisco. It starts out promising, but it's all brief descriptions of one person after another that, to me, got kind of boring.

And couldn't most of us tell similar stories about the eccentric people we've known? I grew up in a middle-class suburb of Minneapolis, not cool seedy San Francisco, so the New Yorker would not would be clamoring for my stories. But I could, for example, tell about my casual friend and coworker in a restaurant who got in a traffic altercation on his way to the Christmas party, stabbed a guy to death with a pocket knife (in self defense, he later said), attempted to bind the wounds with tape, called 911 and then continued on to the Christmas party as if nothing had happened.

See? I'm 1/20th of the way through an essay of the same kind. Could I find 19 more colorful characters to write about? Maybe not. But probably at least five or six.

So I quit that one and flipped to Jlil Lepore's piece about work. I've only just started it but so far it's excellent. I already knew about most of the work-related things she's said so far, but they don't get said enough. It's one of those book-review essays and one amazing aspect is how she manages to read that many books, plus write that much, plus teach history at Harvard.

Imagine having someone at a cocktail party ask what you do for a living and you could say, "Oh, I'm a history professor at Harvard and a staff writer at the New Yorker." 

[Front-Ranger]

Today TNY released a 12-minute video taken by Luke Mogelson of the January 6 insurrection. It's riveting!

He was incredibly brave, IMO. I could not have done that.

[serious crayons]

Thanks for posting that, FRiend! I saw something about that last night but didn't have time to watch it, resolved to watch it today but could have easily forgotten. I'll watch it post haste!

[serious crayons]

 ... OK, just watched it. It. Is. Scary.

I have no idea how the photographer got in that close (for those who haven't seen it, he's mingling right in with the insurgents, including in the chambers). He must have made himself look like one of them. Maybe he had a really subtle camera -- camera embedded in a MAGA hat, I kept thinking. But then, there are a lot of ordinary looking guys milling around holding up their cell phones, so I suppose he could have been taken for one of them.

How could so many people be so incredibly deluded?

[Front-Ranger]

It's like he was wearing a cloak of invisibility! There was a moment when the horned man wanted a picture of himself taken standing at the center of the Senate chamber. He turned to a person just to the left of Mogelson and asked him to take the picture. What if he'd asked Mogelson?

Then, there's the spot where they were destroying all the media equipment. Mogelson just kept calmly filming.

I didn't even know TNY had a filming unit.

I can't see where he would have the foresight to wear a MAGA hat or otherwise disguise himself. Who could have possibly predicted what would happen that day, other than the insurrectionists themselves?

[serious crayons]

I can't see where he would have the foresight to wear a MAGA hat or otherwise disguise himself. Who could have possibly predicted what would happen that day, other than the insurrectionists themselves?

Well, he could have kept one in his bag or worn one on purpose since he's going undercover and didn't want to be identified as a media person. I think the protest alone was already viewed as possibly turning violent or otherwise getting out of control. But then again, if he looked like all the other normal-looking guys hanging around they could just take him to be one of them.

 

[Jeff Wrangler]

It's like he was wearing a cloak of invisibility! There was a moment when the horned man wanted a picture of himself taken standing at the center of the Senate chamber. He turned to a person just to the left of Mogelson and asked him to take the picture. What if he'd asked Mogelson?

Then, there's the spot where they were destroying all the media equipment. Mogelson just kept calmly filming.

I didn't even know TNY had a filming unit.

I can't see where he would have the foresight to wear a MAGA hat or otherwise disguise himself. Who could have possibly predicted what would happen that day, other than the insurrectionists themselves?

I seem to recall that last summer Mogelson  got himself in among the BLM demonstrators in Philadelphia. at some risk to himself from the police. At least, I think it was Mogelson. I think I remember there were still photos published. I had the impression, maybe incorrectly, that he was freelance. If my memory is correct, he must have a knack for blending in. With all the selfies the insurrectionists apparently took Jan. 6, maybe it wasn't too difficult to film what was going on. I mean, if everyone was filming stuff with their phones, maybe he didn't stand out that much. I've heard about his video--it's been mentioned on the NBC network news--but I haven't seen it.