In the New Yorker...

[Jeff Wrangler]

So, the theme of deception continues in "Shouts & Murmurs" with Steve Martin's "My Husband's Secret Life." Unfortunately, it's not funny. (S&M is satire, and perhaps satire is not supposed to be funny, or at least not overtly funny.) But it does make a clever point: deception is practiced by both the con person and the person duped.

Elizabeth Kolbert reviewed a book on animal deceptions in the April 3 issue. At least that article by her wasn't doom-and-gloom depressing. It introduced me to a fish with the wonderful name bluestriped fangblenny. 

I wonder if that fish only comes out when it's brillig? 

[Front-Ranger]

If you have not read the article about the Irish author Sebastian Barry (March 27), at least go back and look at page 74 for the wonderful column filler "How's That Again? Dept." 

That was funny! And the article on Barry was too. Gotta love the Irish! Also in that issue, the article on diet pills and fat shaming cited research that "implicit bias against fat people actually grew from 2007 to 2016 with 81% of people exhibiting it by the end of the study. Every other implicit bias in the study--regarding race, gender, sexual orientation, age, and disability--waned during that period." Which tends to support your theory, Katherine, that LGBTQ+ people are treated better and given more support these days. Among school-aged children though, I'm skeptical. Children can be cruel, even today.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Children can be cruel, even today.

I guess that's one thing that never changes. 

[serious crayons]

Children, being humans, can be cruel. But different kinds of cruelty go in and out of fashion. It?s not cool to be homophobic these days. In fact, it?s now cool to be non-binary (whether you actually are or not, I often suspect).

[serious crayons]

So, the theme of deception continues in "Shouts & Murmurs" with Steve Martin's "My Husband's Secret Life." Unfortunately, it's not funny. (S&M is satire, and perhaps satire is not supposed to be funny, or at least not overtly funny.) But it does make a clever point: deception is practiced by both the con person and the person duped.

I didn?t get that point myself. I thought it was dumb and that the celebrity byline as usual overrides the need to be funny. To see proof that satire can actually often be very funny, look at The Onion. And that publication has my enduring respect for putting out a 9/11 issue that managed to be funny without being offensive or ?too soon.?

[Front-Ranger]

Guess what? S&M reenvisions Brokeback Mountain as a conversation between two urban hipsters of today in the next issue. I didn't find it funny but there were a couple of clever references. I even thought it was a bit patronizing but I suppose that is another thing that satire is allowed to do. Your thoughts would be welcome: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/04/24/brokeback-mountain-in-manhattan

[serious crayons]

Thanks for the tip, FRiend. I didn't find it funny or even interesting -- kind of bland satirizing of gay NYC hipsters sprinkled with cowboy references but aside from that and the characters' names really having nothing to do with Brokeback Mountain.That sort of stereotypical satire seems worn out and, since it's not actually funny, pretty pointless.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Of course if you have not already done so, you should read Kathryn Schulz on Jeanne Manford in the April 17 issue. I'm surprised they didn't hold that for June.

[Front-Ranger]

I'm just settling down to read that one. I didn't finish "The History of Fatigue" in that issue. Not one of Adam Gopnik's finest.

[Front-Ranger]

Of course if you have not already done so, you should read Kathryn Schulz on Jeanne Manford in the April 17 issue. I'm surprised they didn't hold that for June.

The article on Manford, "Family Values" was good. She is the person who started PFLAG. And after reading it, I noticed there were a few things I still hadn't read. I mentioned the review of the TV series "Beef" elsewhere and there were also good reviews of the movies "Air" and "Paint" and the musical "Shucked." TNY has some of the best reviews around, IMO. They include lots of context and history and, frequently, after reading the review, I'm so satisfied that I understand the topic of the book that I don't feel the need to buy the book! That's helpful, especially when the review is of a Broadway play that I'll be unlikely to see.

But the highlight of the reviews section is an unassuming piece, "Oddballs and Odysseys" by Casey Cep about the little-known author Charles Portis. After reading it, I truly feel that he's a worthy member of the firmament of road trip authors, including Kerouac, Twain, Wolfe, and even Nabokov and Proulx. There's something about the monotony of being on the road that brings out the amazing language, the fleshed out characters, and the elaborate plots and locations that make for a riveting story. I'm searching for an audiobook copy ot True Grit, perhaps his most famous work.

It was also bittersweet to read the fiction "Evensong" by Laurie Colwin, the food and fiction author who died in 1992. Her writing was always fresh and intimate. I still have her piece on gingerbread which was published in one of the food magazines back in the '80s. I received nearly all those mags, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Martha Stewart Living, etc. How many are left in printed form? I have boxes and notebooks full of the recipes. Once I tried looking up some of my favorites on the Internet to see if I could throw out the paper copies. Very few were online. Those that were were dumbed down. Jacques Cagna's Chocolate Mousse Cake, for instance, directed one to put egg whites in a blender with vinegar to whip them. That never works!