In the New Yorker...

[serious crayons]

Wow, did we ever think we'd be paying for and going to Rolling Stones concerts in the year 20-flipping-21?

And if we're surprised, imagine how they feel! Mick Jagger's famous quote is that he couldn't see himself singing "Satistaction" in his 40s. 

Paul McCartney calls the RS a "blues cover band" in the Oct. 18 issue. Old grudges die hard.

That's pretty snarky, ignoring their immense catalog of good songs they wrote. However, the Rolling Stones might find it slightly flattering given that the band sprang from Mick and Keith's shared deep interest in American blues, and they have in fact done a number of covers or penned their own blues songs. The two knew each other in kindergarten then reunited on a train when one or the other got on holding a big stack of Chess records and they discovered they were both really into them. In interviews and things, they always speak of old blues players with the deepest respect. In fact, Keith was less concerned about the Stones being "too old" to play their music because look at all the guys like Muddy Waters, BB King, Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, etc., playing well into old age.

I think those were influences on the Beatles, too, though they leaned a bit more Beach Boys. Whom I didn't like back in the day but have since come to respect -- Bill Pohlad's "Love and Mercy" deserves lot of credit. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

BTW, I just did a quick google to see if I was missing a recording studio in Mississippi and found there's something called the Mississippi Blues Trail stretching alongside the Mississippi on Hwy 61 from New Orleans to Minneapolis through the Mississippi Delta. I've taken that route before, since I moved from one city to the other, but not since the official Missippi Blues Trail with interpretive signs was designated. That would be a fun road trip! Many significant locations in addition to the Delta -- Hannibal, MO, Memphis, etc. Good BBQ, too!

On another subject the magazine has just made its Festival online interviews free to subscribers. I will try to carve hatchet out time to watch.

That sounds intriguing! Do you access on their site?

Shteyngart is the one who wrote the painful-to-read article about his adult circumcision in the October 11 issue.

I like Gary Shteyngart but I couldn't bring myself to read that one.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I like Gary Shteyngart but I couldn't bring myself to read that one.

No way for Jack to get it right with his old man when Jack saw he had some extra material that Jack was missin'. 

[Jeff Wrangler]

I nearly fell off my chair laughing.

Over lunch today I read Paul McCartney on "Eleanor Rigby" (Oct. 25). Then I came to the "Correction of the Week" at the end of the article, on page 24, and read, "Also, the author of 'Dracula' was incorrect. He is Bram Stoker, not Jane Austen."

Now there is a topic for a "Shouts and Murmurs": Dracula as if it had been written by Jane Austen. 

[Front-Ranger]

I nearly fell off my chair laughing.

Now there is a topic for a "Shouts and Murmurs": Dracula as if it had been written by Jane Austen. 

Or, Sense & Sensibility as if it had been written by Bram Stoker!

[serious crayons]

Now there is a topic for a "Shouts and Murmurs": Dracula as if it had been written by Jane Austen. 

A few people were doing that on Facebook. Mine was "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a vampire in possession of sharp fangs must be in want of a neck."

[Jeff Wrangler]

A few people were doing that on Facebook. Mine was "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a vampire in possession of sharp fangs must be in want of a neck."

    

[Front-Ranger]

After reading the two longish letters from the two main people featured in the Sept. 27 article, "The Damage Done" about long COVID, I decided maybe I should go back and read it again. Upon doing so, I had the same reaction as the first time: it is a balanced account of the growth of the patient advocate role in health giving. The letter writers seem to think the author was wrong in including any reference to other opinions. But, maybe the story shouldn't have been assigned to a practicing physician, Dhruv Khullar, to avoid any possible perception of bias. What do you all think?

I'm delving into the book review for The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, which is coming out soon. By David Wengrow and David Graeber, who sadly died last year at the age of 59, it is in the vein of Sapiens, chronicling the decline of civilization from migratory hunting/gathering into agriculture and bureaucracy. I already read a review of it in The Atlantic.

[serious crayons]

After reading the two longish letters from the two main people featured in the Sept. 27 article, "The Damage Done" about long COVID, I decided maybe I should go back and read it again. Upon doing so, I had the same reaction as the first time: it is a balanced account of the growth of the patient advocate role in health giving. The letter writers seem to think the author was wrong in including any reference to other opinions. But, maybe the story shouldn't have been assigned to a practicing physician, Dhruv Khullar, to avoid any possible perception of bias. What do you all think?

Well, I haven't read any of the above but they have practicing physicians write about medical issues all the time. Atul Gawande and that other guy (Jerome?). Most likely in a situation like that, the writer pitched it to them rather than the other way around. But -- again without having seen it -- of course the article should reference other opinions, unless I'm not understanding the particular circumstances of this article.

I'm delving into the book review for The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, which is coming out soon. By David Wengrow and David Graeber, who sadly died last year at the age of 59, it is in the vein of Sapiens, chronicling the decline of civilization from migratory hunting/gathering into agriculture and bureaucracy. I already read a review of it in The Atlantic.

I read the Atlantic one and the NYT one, both very enticing. I'm about 3/4 of the way through Harari's Sapiens (it's really long and I read slow). I've seen it be presented as discrediting Sapiens but someone on FB says it's more about adding layers than sweeping away the whole perspective. I hope so!

[Jeff Wrangler]

Well, I haven't read any of the above but they have practicing physicians write about medical issues all the time. Atul Gawande and that other guy (Jerome?).

Groopman

[serious crayons]

Groopman

Oh right, belated thanks!