Talk of the Town
Comment: Leaks, by Amy Davidson (p. 21)
Dept. of Bivalves: Afloat, by Raffi Khatchadourian (p. 25)
Personal History: Standing By; Fear, loathing, flying, by David Sedaris (p. 33)
I think this was my favorite humor piece from my few years of reading The New Yorker. It was also very appropriate, with a very good point. Here's a quote:
We're forever blaming the airline industry for turning us into monsters: it's the fault of the ticket agents, the baggage handlers, the slowpokes at the newsstands and the fast-food restaurants. But what if this is who we truly are, and the aitport's just a forum that allows us to be our real selves, not just hateful but gloriously so?
Shouts & Murmurs: Sleeper Camp, by Roddy Doyle (p. 36)
The Political Scene: The Empty Chamber; Just how broken is the Senate?, by George Packer (p. 38)
As a student of modern US history, and a person fascinated by LBJ, this article held a great deal of interest to me. Packer duly notes this in his article, but remarks that no Majority Leader since has wielded the power that LBJ did as Leader, or as President. In the end, I think the quote from Senator Daschle on p. 42 sums up the problems cataloged in this article best:
Daschle sketched a portrait of the contemporary senator who is too busy to think: "Sometimes, you're dialling for dollars, you get the call, you've got fifteen minutes . You don't have a clue what's on the floor, your staff is whispering in your eats, you're running onto the floor, then you check with your leader - you double check - nut, just to make triple sure, there's a little sheet of paper on the clerk's table: The leader recommends an aye vote, or a no vote. So you've got all these checks just to make sure you don't screw up, but even then you screw up sometimes. But, if you're ever pressed, 'Why did you vote that way?' - you just walk out thinking, Oh, my God, I hope nobody asks, because I don't have a clue.
The Critics: Books; Chan, The Man; On the trail of the honorable detective, by Jill Lepore (p. 70)
Musical Events: Uncanny Voices; New CDs of Chopin, Thomas Lercher, and Bach, by Alex Ross (p. 76)
I was interested in this, because I love Bach.
The Sky Line: Wheelhouse; Herzog and de Meuron reinvent the parking garage, by Paul Goldberger (p. 78)
The Current Cinema: Menfolk; "Get Low" and "Life During Wartime.", by Anthony Lane (p. 80)
Cartoons
Pp. 41, 59, 62, 65, 67, 73
Well, the Sedaris article was hysterical. The line about "...I'm going to Los Angeles" had my in stitches. Nice work this week, New Yorker.
ReplyDelete"Just How Broken is the Senate" sounds as though I should mark it down as well.