In the New Yorker...

[serious crayons]

Does anyone do the crosswords that have started appearing on the back page? I fill them out about halfway by the time my next issue comes.

No, but I can see why they wanted to switch it up. Those cartoon captions were getting pretty lame.

I've probably said this, but one reason hard they're hard to produce good captions for is that the pictures are of absurd situations. Whereas most professional cartoons in the magazine show people walking down the street or sitting in their living room talking. I can see why these would be hard for amateurs to caption, but often they have to resort to kind of silly stretches.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I recommend the knitting story in the March 29 issue. It includes the origin story of the pussyhats. 

[Front-Ranger]

No, but I can see why they wanted to switch it up. Those cartoon captions were getting pretty lame.

I've probably said this, but one reason hard they're hard to produce good captions for is that the pictures are of absurd situations. Whereas most professional cartoons in the magazine show people walking down the street or sitting in their living room talking. I can see why these would be hard for amateurs to caption, but often they have to resort to kind of silly stretches.

They still have the cartoon captions on the next-to-last page with the crossword on the last page.

[serious crayons]

They still have the cartoon captions on the next-to-last page with the crossword on the last page.

Oh, I know, I saw those. But they're not in as prominent a place, and if they do feel like phasing them out that would be a subtler way to do it.

[Front-Ranger]

I'm watching Ken Burns' latest oeuvre, a documentary about Hemingway, inspired by its review in this week's issue.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I'm watching Ken Burns' latest oeuvre, a documentary about Hemingway, inspired by its review in this week's issue.

That's been recommended to me, but, having no interest in Hemingway, I'll be skipping it.

[serious crayons]

That's been recommended to me, but, having no interest in Hemingway, I'll be skipping it.

I have little interest in Hemingway, but I do have interest in Ken Burns. Also, Hemingway lived for a while in Sun Valley, ID, where I lived for a (much shorter) while and it would be fun to see any scenes set there.

A few years ago someone made a movie about Mariel Hemingway, who maintains this extremely healthy lifestyle (in Sun Valley) in hopes of avoiding the depression and suicide that claimed some of her family members, including her sister, Margaux, as well as her grandfather. I wanted to watch it, but couldn't find it anywhere.

[serious crayons]

I'm about halfway through Louis Menand's piece on the making of Midnight Cowboy, and it's really entertaining. Now I know why I liked Menand enough to look him up in the NYC phone book in 1993! Although most of the piece's interest comes from the details of the story itself as opposed to his writing per se.

I've only seen MC once, many decades ago -- on network TV! Meaning I probably missed about half of it, since it was rated X. I remember my mom, who had seen it in a theater, telling me it was really depressing. After I watched I said "What's so depressing about it?' She thought that was funny. Now I wonder if we reacted differently because we saw different cuts or because we were different ages. I don't remember finding movies depressing (as opposed to sad, like Brokeback Mountain) until I was in my 30s. At some point I decided to avoid them whenever possible.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I'm about halfway through Louis Menand's piece on the making of Midnight Cowboy, and it's really entertaining. Now I know why I liked Menand enough to look him up in the NYC phone book in 1993! Although most of the piece's interest comes from the details of the story itself as opposed to his writing per se.

Is this available only online? The latest hard copy I've received is this week, i.e., April 5.

It does sound very interesting.

I've never seen Midnight Cowboy. 

Incidentally, if you didn't read Judith Thurman on Ann Lowe in the March 29 issue, at least go back and look at the pictures. 

[Front-Ranger]

I'm about halfway through Louis Menand's piece on the making of Midnight Cowboy, and it's really entertaining. Now I know why I liked Menand enough to look him up in the NYC phone book in 1993! Although most of the piece's interest comes from the details of the story itself as opposed to his writing per se.

That was one of the few articles I thought was too short. There is much more to say about the movie. I may have to get the book. (Jeff, this was in the critics section, April 12 issue.)

I've only seen MC once, many decades ago -- on network TV! Meaning I probably missed about half of it, since it was rated X. I remember my mom, who had seen it in a theater, telling me it was really depressing. After I watched I said "What's so depressing about it?' She thought that was funny. Now I wonder if we reacted differently because we saw different cuts or because we were different ages.

I found it depressing for several reasons. First, it was in black-and-white and showed the gritty side of New York in the 1960s, when Times Square had become squalid. The innocent Joe Buck is traumatized by the culture. The ending is sad; Ratso never makes it to the Florida he has dreamed about. The class system has overpowered America's dreams of egalitarianism (which never really existed in the first place).

I don't remember finding movies depressing (as opposed to sad, like Brokeback Mountain) until I was in my 30s. At some point I decided to avoid them whenever possible.

Whoa, for a second there, I thought you meant you decided to avoid all movies. But that can't be, since you obviously saw Brokeback Mountain!

I'm not in the mood for a depressing movie very often, but when I look back on it, depressing movies have been among the best I've ever seen, including MC, BBM, The Hurt Locker, and Slumdog Millionaire. Just a day or so ago, I went to the theater to see the Oscar nominated animated shorts. There were seven of them, some very beautiful, some comical, some heartwarming. But the one I predict will win the Oscar is a very depressing one about gun violence. It's called "If Anything Happens, I Love You."