Author Topic: In the New Yorker...  (Read 1921166 times)

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: In the New Yorker...
« Reply #1460 on: September 16, 2016, 09:16:18 am »
Funny I just finished Janet Malcolm's article about the pianist Yuja Wang (Sept. 5), and this morning I learn she's appearing here at the Kimmel Center with the Philadelphia Orchestra next weekend.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: In the New Yorker...
« Reply #1461 on: September 19, 2016, 01:48:38 pm »
At lunch today I finished Ariel Levy's article about ayahuasca (Sept. 12). Not something I'd want to experiment with. ...
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline serious crayons

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Re: In the New Yorker...
« Reply #1462 on: September 20, 2016, 09:21:24 am »
Me nether, and I've done all the other things. This one just sounds too brutal and sickening.

However, I recently read the one from a couple of years ago about therapists' experiments with LSD for anxiety and other mental-health issues, especially fear of death for people with terminal diseases. That one I would try, terminally diseased or otherwise. As far as I know, it's not available around here.

Apparently the researchers have had amazing results. Guided by therapists throughout, people take what sound like fairly high doses of psychedelics and emerge with transformed outlooks about life, feeling like they've confronted huge universal truths. They feel better about death or whatever their issue was. The success rates are really high, so to speak. Later, even much later, many rank it among their most profound life experiences. A psychologist is quoted saying something like, with what other drug would you see that kind of results and not immediately rush to get it approved?

My own assumption is that it triggers something in your brain rather than actually taking you to see the universe's secrets or whatever. But if it works, it works.




Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: In the New Yorker...
« Reply #1463 on: September 20, 2016, 09:35:11 am »
However, I recently read the one from a couple of years ago about therapists' experiments with LSD for anxiety and other mental-health issues, especially fear of death for people with terminal diseases. That one I would try, terminally diseased or otherwise. As far as I know, it's not available around here.

I remember that article. It was fascinating. Was there something in there about using it to treat depression as well, or do I have it confused with another article?

« Last Edit: September 21, 2016, 01:27:29 pm by Jeff Wrangler »
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: In the New Yorker...
« Reply #1464 on: September 21, 2016, 01:29:41 pm »
I'm really enjoying the article about Yvon Chouinard, one of the founders of the outdoors-gear company Patagonia (Sept. 19). I'd be terrified to meet the man, though. I can only imagine what he'd think of a non-outdoorsperson like me.  :-\
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline serious crayons

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Re: In the New Yorker...
« Reply #1465 on: September 25, 2016, 10:29:42 am »
I kind of skipped over the Style Issue. Why do they even have that? Not that the articles can't be interesting, I'm sure I've read some good ones over the years, but they could have been distributed among other issues. To me, "style" isn't a big enough subject in the context of the New Yorker to warrant an issue of its own. We've got Vogue and a dozen other publications for that.

Anyway, now I'm reading a profile in the latest issue of the transgender model/actress Hari Nef, with whom I'm familiar because she plays a recurring role on Transparent. This one could have gone in the Style Issue, come to think of it.


Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: In the New Yorker...
« Reply #1466 on: September 26, 2016, 01:34:40 pm »
I kind of skipped over the Style Issue.

If you haven't done so, I recommend going back and reading Jane Kramer's essay on the new book, Ten Restaurants That Changed America. It's a delight! (In the course of her life so far, Kramer has eaten at eight of them, and one was Howard Johnson's.  ;D )
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline serious crayons

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Re: In the New Yorker...
« Reply #1467 on: September 27, 2016, 09:38:14 am »
If you haven't done so, I recommend going back and reading Jane Kramer's essay on the new book, Ten Restaurants That Changed America. It's a delight! (In the course of her life so far, Kramer has eaten at eight of them, and one was Howard Johnson's.  ;D )

I saw that list somewhere and didn't realize it was connected with a whole story. I will go back and read it! Besides Howard Johnson's, the only one I've eaten at was Antoine's, and I was surprised it made the list -- it's a classic old New Orleans fine-dining creole restaurant, but there are a bunch of those. But it opened in 1840 (I see from googling), so maybe back then it was more culturally revolutionary somehow. When I saw the theme of the list, the only one I correctly predicted was Chez Panisse.



Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: In the New Yorker...
« Reply #1468 on: September 27, 2016, 11:28:41 am »
I saw that list somewhere and didn't realize it was connected with a whole story. I will go back and read it! Besides Howard Johnson's, the only one I've eaten at was Antoine's, and I was surprised it made the list -- it's a classic old New Orleans fine-dining creole restaurant, but there are a bunch of those. But it opened in 1840 (I see from googling), so maybe back then it was more culturally revolutionary somehow. When I saw the theme of the list, the only one I correctly predicted was Chez Panisse.

It was interesting to read that Antoine's went back that far (I wonder how it managed to get through the Civil War and the Union occupation of New Orleans?), and to learn a little of the history of Delmonico's.

If you've seen the list of restaurants, I guess I'm not giving anything away by saying mention of Schrafft's immediately brought to mind the line from Auntie Mame about "your nephew spoke French to the counter man at Schrafft's."  :laugh:

And it might be interesting to read the actual book to see if the author explains why he does not include McDonald's. I mean, isn't it obvious that McDonald's changed America? Change isn't always for the better. (Didn't Time magazine once make Adolf Hitler its "Man of the Year"?) When I was a very small boy, all the restaurants at rest areas on the Pennsylvania Turnpike were HoJo's. Then they all turned into fast food franchises.  :-\
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: In the New Yorker...
« Reply #1469 on: September 30, 2016, 01:35:02 pm »
Anyway, now I'm reading a profile in the latest issue of the transgender model/actress Hari Nef, with whom I'm familiar because she plays a recurring role on Transparent. This one could have gone in the Style Issue, come to think of it.

I finished that article over lunch today. It was interesting to me in a way that all articles about the Fashion World are interesting to me; they're so far removed from my existence that it's like visiting another planet. I go back and forth from being utterly fascinated to completely annoyed by these entitled people.

I mustn't have read correctly. I didn't realize she took the role on Transparent until the article came back to it, near the end.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.