In the New Yorker...

[Jeff Wrangler]

Speaking of movie reviews, I don't get why David Denby's review of "The Odyssey" was even published, since he writes that he hasn't seen it yet. 

Huh? 

[Front-Ranger]

"The Whu?" 

Rereading the review, apparently it's a review of previous iterations, including the one with Kirk Douglas as Odysseus.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Over lunch today I read Michael Luo's article about the American church (June 22). I was particularly interested in what he had to say about Harry Emerson Fosdick (p. 56-57). (Yeah, "Fosdick" is kind of a funny name, but let be, let be.)

Fosdick interests me because he wrote a hymn that appears in both the Lutheran and Episcopal hymnals. (It's probably in other hymnals, too; I just know those two.)

The hymn is called "God of Grace and God of Glory," and it particularly speaks to me right now because of the final lines of the first and second verses:

"Grant us wisdom, grant us courage / For the facing of this hour."

"Grant us wisdom, grant us courage / For the living of these days."

(It doesn't hurt that the hymn is set to one of my favorite hymn tunes, "Cwm Rhondda.")

I haven't tried to research when Fosdick wrote the hymn, but I suspect it may have been around World War II.

[Front-Ranger]

I haven't read that article. I don't have the patience to read any more about evangelicals, but perhaps this is not about them?

I was so looking forward to reading about David Sedaris's partner Hugh's hip replacement, but when I opened my new issue, it wasn't in it! Does anyone recall reading about this in a previous issue?

[serious crayons]

According to the New Yorker's list of David Sedaris' essays, the most recent one was April 13 ("Why I wanted to keep my marriage a secret") and does not contain the word "hip." One instance of the word "replacement" but not in reference to a body part or surgery.

However, here's one from June 23, 2025. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/06/30/your-hip-surgery-my-headache

[Jeff Wrangler]

I haven't read that article. I don't have the patience to read any more about evangelicals, but perhaps this is not about them?

The Fosdick section of the article talks about how Fosdick actually got into a fight with "Fundamentalists" because he represented a more modern ("liberal") approach to the Bible. I found that interesting.

I seem to remember the article discussing how today's evangelicals developed.