Meeting: Saturday, December 15, 2007

James Surowiecki on sovereign wealth funds.

Q. Is there a problem with government managed investment funds? There are already controls in place regarding the US government contracting with foreign companies. What would happen if China brought Boeing? or Ford?

Wheels of Fortune

Peter Hessler

The People’s Republic learns to drive.

Q. Was anything a surprise to you in this article? Have you ever driven overseas, Asia, Europe or elsewhere? What makes the China experience different from yours?

Darwin’s Surprise

Michael Specter

An evolutionary discovery about viruses.

Q. What are the dangers of bringing retroviruses back to life? What's the most promising outcome of these discoveries? Is it a good thing that our genes carry so much information about our ancestors, even attributes and viruses that are extinct? Are viruses alive?

The Book of Exodus

Geraldine Brooks

Two families, two wars, and two rescues.

Q. How amazing is this story? If this was a fictional movie, would you believe the coincidences? Does the author present an atonement theme? Which is the more dramatic rescue?

Cookbooks for carnivores.

Bill Buford

Q. All of the subjects are characters, but are they very different from each other? If you HAD to read one of their books, which would you chooses? Why?

Reading My Father

Alexandra Styron

William Styron was the quintessential tough male writer, until depression claimed him.

Q. Is it the author's skill or the story she tells that makes this article compelling? Would you care if the subject wasn't a famous author of a famous book? How would you feel reading the words of a parent and possibly identifying them or yourself in the story?

The Checklist

Atul Gawande

Intensive care can harm as well as heal, but there’s a simple way of improving the odds.

Q. What's the lesson to take from this article? Does it apply to other disciplines besides intensive care? Medicine? Do you think this practice will be widely accepted? Why would it succeed or fail?

The very different diaries of Leo Lerman and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

Louis Menand

Q. How do diaries compare to blogs? Which of the three theories apply to bloggers? To Schlessinger? To Lerman? Does the writing skill of the diarist matter?

Meeting: Saturday, December 1, 2007

Future Reading

Anthony Grafton

Dreams of a universal library.

Q. What's the upside/downside of digital libraries? If reading is an anti-social act, what does it matter if it's on a screen (a computer or a "Kindle" device) or on paper? Are books and bits complementing or conflicting?

Neptune’s Navy

Raffi Khatchadourian

A controversial bid to save the seas

Q. Does enforcing law as a civilian always make you a criminal? When the body that makes the law refuses to enforce? Watson's motives and methods are troublesome if not problematic. How is he different from fundamentalists? U.N. enforcers of WMD resolutions?

Dangerous Minds

Malcolm Gladwell

The myth of criminal profiling.

Q. If the purpose of profiling is to find criminals, what's the danger if it's inaccurate? In some disciplines, half-right is as bad as completely-wrong. Does that apply here?

“Pushing Daisies.”

Nancy Franklin

Q. Is television a good medium for complex narrative? If it's free can it be good? What's the purpose of serial network television? Its value? Are there any good zingers in this review?

James Surowiecki on the writers’ strike.

Q. Is fairness a quantifiable measure? Or is it a game, as the economists believe? Does a strike have value?

The Player Kings

Claudia Roth Pierpont

Welles and Olivier take on Shakespeare.

Q. Which man had more success with Shakespeare as an actor? a director? on the stage? in film? How are their lives similar? different?

“Young Frankenstein,” “Peter and Jerry.”

John Lahr

Q. A movie made into a musical again. Has Mel Brooks gone to the well one time too many? Should we wait for the movie version? Or just rent the original? Why do the horses whinny at the mention of "Frau Blucher"?

“Redacted,” “Love in the Time of Cholera,” “Margot at the Wedding.”

David Denby

Q. Do we really have too much media information? Or is there too much "data" to sift to find information? Is this Denby's point or does he mean something else?

Meeting: Saturday, November 17, 2007

Future Reading

Anthony Grafton

Dreams of a universal library.

Neptune’s Navy

Raffi Khatchadourian

A controversial bid to save the seas.

Christopher Wheeldon at City Center.

Joan Acocella

Dangerous Minds

Malcolm Gladwell

The myth of criminal profiling.

A Fool for Art

Calvin Tomkins

Jeffrey Deitch and art-market exuberance.

“Pushing Daisies.”

Nancy Franklin

“Cyrano de Bergerac.”

John Lahr

Meeting: Saturday, November 3, 2007

October 22, 2007

The Corrections
Adam Gopnik
Of abridgments, commentaries, and art.

Q. Would you read an abridged book for pleasure? What book(s) would
you like to see abridged? What DVD commentaries have you experienced
that rate with Gopnik's examples?

A CRITIC AT LARGE

The Well-Tempered Web
Alex Ross
Why the Internet is good for classical music.

Q.

ANNALS OF LETTERS

Age of Reason
Arthur Krystal
Jacques Barzun at one hundred.

Q.

DEPT. OF POPULAR CULTURE

Fallen Idols
David Denby
Have movie stars lost their magic?

Q.

OUR LOCAL CORRESPONDENTS

Man Behind the Curtain
Rebecca Mead
Peter Gelb at the Met.

Q.

PROFILES

Stealing Life
Margaret Talbot
David Simon and "The Wire."
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/10/22/071022fa_fact_talbot/?printable=true

Q.

October 29, 2007

THE SPORTING SCENE

The Extortionist
Ben McGrath
Scott Boras's plans for baseball.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/10/29/071029fa_fact_mcgrath?printable=true

Q.

Notes of A Gastronome

Extreme Chocolate
Bill Buford
Searching for the perfect bean, in Bahia.

Q.

Meeting: Saturday, October 20, 2007

October 8, 2007

The Financial Page
Greenback Blues
James Surowiecki

Our Man in PYongyang
Rebecca Mead
Kim Jong Il's go-to guy.

October 15, 2007

Silent Minds
Jerome Groopman
Scan technology and vegetative patients.

The Blow-Up Artist
John Cassidy
Can Victor Niederhoffer survive?

Meeting: Saturday, October 6, 2007

September 17, 2007

Fantasia for Piano
Mark Singer
The incredible career of Joyce Hatto.

A history of bridge.
David Owen

The election of 1800.
Jill Lepore

September 24, 2007

Hot Flashes
Patricia Marx
Clothes for the cold.

The Abyss
Oliver Sacks
The most extreme amnesia.

Candid Camera
Anthony Lane
The making of a photographers' favorite.

J. M. W. Turner at the National Gallery.
Simon Schama

Ken Burns's "The War."
Nancy Franklin


October 1, 2007

The Tsar's Opponent
David Remnick
Garry Kasparov takes on Vladimir Putin.

Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" revisited.
Louis Menand

Meeting: Saturday, September 22, 2007

September 3 & 10, 2007

SINGAPORE JOURNAL
Three Chopsticks
Calvin Trillin
A search for the island's best street food.

Q. Are you an adventurous eater? Try everything in the food court? Would you follow Trillin on a walking and eating tour of Chinatown?

ANNALS OF AGRICULTURE
New York Local
Adam Gopnik
Fruits of the five boroughs.

Q. New Yorkers always claim they have the best choices for fresh food...meats and cheeses, produce, bread. Did Gopnik succeed with his experiment? Could it be repeated in DC?

OUR FAR-FLUNG CORRESPONDENTS
The Fast Lane
Judith Thurman
Submitting to a regime of hunger.

Q. What would have been the most difficult experience of Thurman's to endure?

PERSONAL HISTORY
My Life List
John McPhee
A world of weird eats.

Q. What's your personal "list"? Would you follow McPhee camping out in the woods?

LETTER FROM EUROPE
Spice Routes
Jane Kramer
Claudia Roden's kitchen.

Q. What does food tell us about a culture? Is it more than just history and geography?

A REPORTER AT LARGE
The Jefferson Bottles
Patrick Radden Keefe
How much rare old wine can one man find?

Q. Which is the least admirable actor in the story? Who would you want to raise a glass with?

FAMILY DINNER

Tasteless
David Sedaris

Q. What's the best joke in this essay? Do you think it's all true? Embellished? Complete fiction?

Choke
Anthony Lane

Q. What other foods are as appropriately and truthfully named as a 'choke?

THE CRITICS
BOOKS
Dante's Paradiso.
Joan Acocella

Q. Does this article inspire enough to attempt a 1000+ page work? In verse? TRANSLATED? Is it that interesting and complex?

Meeting: Saturday, September 1, 2007

The issue of 08-20-2007, published 08-13-2007

The Dark Side
by David Owen
What we're missing in the night sky.

Parallel Play
by Tim Page
Living with Asperger's syndrome.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/20/070820fa_fact_page?printable=true

The issue of 08-27-2007, published 08-20-2007

Royals
Posh Spices
by Rebecca Mead
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2007/08/27/070827ta_talk_mead?printable=true

Piggybank Dept.
Driving Drunks
by Ben McGrath
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2007/08/27/070827ta_talk_mcgrath?printable=true

Sowing For Apocalypse
by John Seabrook
The creation of a global seed bank.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/2007/08/27/070827on_audio_seabrook

Lone Sailors
The Antonioni legacy, "Deep Water."
by Anthony Lane
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2007/08/27/070827crci_cinema_lane?printable=true
http://www.newyorker.com/online/2007/08/13/070813on_audio_denby?printable=true

Dollar Diplomacy
The Marshall Plan, sixty years on.
by Niall Ferguson
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2007/08/27/070827crbo_books_ferguson?printable=true
http://www.newyorker.com/online/2007/08/27/slideshow_070827_marshall?viewall=true#showHeader

Meeting: Saturday, June 2, 2007

The issue of 2007-05-21, published 2007-05-14

Shouts & Murmurs
Share Our Joy
by Larry Doyle

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2007/05/21/070521sh_shouts_doyle
http://www.gwynnanddavesharetheirjoy.com/
(Be sure to check the online article and the hyperlinks withing. Very
funny, I think.)

Q. Clever or dumb? Gimmick? Groundbreaking? Funny?

In Fashion
Cut Loose
Paul Poiret's revolution.
by Judith Thurman

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/artworld/2007/05/21/070521craw_artworld_thurman?printable=true
http://www.newyorker.com/online/2007/05/21/slideshow_070521_poiret?viewall=true

Q. "For whom, Madame, do you mourn?" Poiret is said to have asked
Chanel, alluding to her favorite color. And her reply, equally
acidic. Was Poiret ahead of his time? Or did he get it wrong, later
to be corrected by more recent designers?

The issue of 2007-05-28, published 2007-05-21

ANNALS OF BIOGRAPHY
Angels and Ages
by Adam Gopnik
Lincoln's legacy in language.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/05/28/070528fa_fact_gopnik/?printable=true

DEPT. OF TECHNOLOGY
Remember This?
by Alec Wilkinson
Gordon Bell, virtual pack rat.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/05/28/070528fa_fact_wilkinson?printable=true

Q. We have two articles, one where there isn't enough historical
record, and another where there is (will be) too much. What is the
proper amount? How can you possibly know it at the time? Which
condition is better?

A CRITIC AT LARGE
A Boy's World
by Anthony Lane
The Tintin century.

Q. What's the attraction of the Tintin narrative? the Tintin "medium"?

LETTER FROM TURKMENISTAN
The Golden Man
by Paul Theroux
Saparmurat Niyazov's reign of insanity.

Q. How is Niyazov different from other dictators? Similar?

Meeting: Tuesday, May 22, 2007

The issue of 2007-05-07, published 2007-04-30

ANNALS OF LAW

The CSI Effect
Jeffrey Toobin
The limits of the crime lab.

Q. What was most surprising about real life crime labs? Does the
article inspire more or less confidence for you about our law
enforment agencies?

PROFILES

The Conciliator
Larissa MacFarquhar
Barack Obama's vision.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/05/07/070507fa_fact_macfarquhar?printable=true

Q. What did you learn about Obama's past and his candidacy? Did this
article change your opinion about him?

The issue of 2007-05-14, published 2007-05-07

ONWARD AND UPWARD WITH THE ARTS

Struts and Frets
Burkhard Bilger
Reinventing the guitar.

Q. Has any other instrument evolved (or been invented) comparably to
the guitar? Why do you think it hasn't changed much in 30 years? Or
any instrument? Are they perfect now? Most interesting revelation?

ANNALS OF COMMUNICATIONS

Critical Mass
Ken Auletta
The great arbiter of consumer technology.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/05/14/070514fa_fact_auletta?printable=true

Q. Do you read Mossberg's column in the WSJ? Do you more often agree
with him, or not? What do you think of his proclamation that there's
a war between technology and consumers? Is the exchange described in
the opening paragraphs credible?

PROFILES

Branson's Luck
Michael Specter
A billionaire and his biofuels.

Q. What is Branson's talent when it comes to his businesses? Just
luck? Knows when to walk away? Passion and hard work paid off?

Meeting: Thursday, May 10, 2007

The issue of 2007-04-23, published 2007-04-16

The Sporting Scene
Waiting for Manny
Boston's mystery man.
by Ben McGrath
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/04/23/070423fa_fact_mcgrath?printable=true
http://www.newyorker.com/online/2007/04/30/070430on_ask_mcgrath?printable=true

Q. Is Ramirez a hero? A role model? What's the most colorful
anecdote in the article? Is it a well written article, on par with
Roger Angell's baseball writing?

Books
The Old Devil
A life of Kingsley Amis.
by Adam Gopnik
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2007/04/23/070423crbo_books_gopnik?printable=true

Q. Does Gopnik's article interest you in reading the biography or
Amis or Amis' novels? This is a review of a book about an author who
wrote books and book reviews. And we're critiquing this review... Got
that?

The issue of 2007-04-30, published 2007-04-23

A Critic at Large
Lady Be Good
A centenary season of Barbara Stanwyck.
by Anthony Lane
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/04/30/070430fa_fact_lane?printable=true

Q. Does Lane's praise hold water? Would his comments apply to other
stars of the era? Hepburn? Rosalind Russell?

Annals of Medicine
The Way We Age Now
Medicine has increased the ranks of the elderly. Can it make old age any easier?
by Atul Gawande
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/04/30/070430fa_fact_gawande?printable=true

Q. What's the most surprising revelation in this article? Are you
optimistic or pessimistic about the future of geriatric health care?

Saturday, March 10, 2007

The issue of 2007-02-19, published 2007-02-12

WHATEVER IT TAKES
by JANE MAYER
The politics of the man behind "24."

http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/070219fa_fact_mayer
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/02/19/070219fa_fact_mayer

Q. What is patriotism? Is it like truth? Faith? Morality? Do you play the Jack Bauer drinking game? ("you're going to have to trust me...")

THE WAY WE ARE
by DAVID SEDARIS
Of wildflowers and weed.

http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/070219fa_fact_sedaris

Q. Funny? Not funny? How many stereotypes can you count?

THE ORIGAMI LAB
by SUSAN ORLEAN
Why a physicist dropped everything for paper folding.

http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/070219fa_fact_orlean
http://www.newyorker.com/online/multimedia/2007/02/19/070219_orlean
http://www.langorigami.com/index.php4
http://www.langorigami.com/art/compositions/compositions.php4

Q. Using paper money for origami paper. How dastardly is that? Why do you think Lang pursues it full time?

NOTABLE QUOTABLES
by LOUIS MENAND
Is there anything that is not a quotation?

http://www.newyorker.com/printables/critics/070219crbo_books_menand

Q. "Play it again, Sam". "Ketchup is a vegetable". Why are mis-quotations so prevalent? What makes a quotation notable?

SIGHT UNSEEN
by JOHN LAHR
Alan Ball and Wallace Shawn on denial.

http://www.newyorker.com/printables/critics/070219crth_theatre_lahr

Q. What is denial? Is it necessary? Healthy? Dangerous? In all cases? Is it denial that makes people unseen or the invisibility that permits denial?


The issue of 2007-03-05, published 2007-02-26

ON THE BLOCK
PECKED
by Rebecca Mead

http://www.newyorker.com/printables/talk/070305ta_talk_mead

Q. How can this possibly be art? Or, perhaps, why is Christie's spend $70k on this? Is a few column inches of mention in TNY worth that much in publicity? To sell this? To whom?

THE NEW DISORDER
by DAVID DENBY
Adventures in film narrative.

http://www.newyorker.com/printables/critics/070305crat_atlarge_denby

Q. Do you enjoy movies with fractured timelines? What makes them attractive or annoying? Is disorder the right word for the title?

Meeting: Saturday, February 10, 2007

Issue of 2007-01-29, published 2007-01-22

WHAT'S THE TROUBLE?
by JEROME GROOPMAN
How doctors think.
http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/070129fa_fact_groopman

Q. Dr. Croskerry says "The implicit assumption in medicine is that we know how to think. But we don't." Do you agree with him? What other professions make that assumption? Aren't most jobs white collar jobs about problem solving, i.e. thinking?

SHOUTS & MURMURS
SEVENTY-TWO VIRGINS
by STEVE MARTIN
http://www.newyorker.com/printables/shouts/070129sh_shouts_martin

Q. Which one of the 72 jokes is the funniest? Or are they all misogynistic? Is there an age or gender factor to this humor? Will Martin endure a fatwa Ala Rushdie?

THE BIRDS
by DAVID SEDARIS
Why did they want to come in?
http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/070129fa_fact_sedaris

Q. Is Sedaris back in form? What makes this piece funny to you? Is it profound also, or just clever?

KREMLIN, INC.
by MICHAEL SPECTER
Why are Vladimir Putin's opponents dying?
http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/070129fa_fact_specter

Q. Politkovskaya writes "... I want you to know the truth. Then you'll be free of cynicism.'' Does truth overcome cynicism? This journalist was a crusader, but many of her claims (in this article) are argumentative and dubious. Where are the facts and observations? Are there similarities between her work and say Molly Ivins?


Issue of 2007-02-05, published 2007-01-29

THE FINANCIAL PAGE
OVER THERE
by James Surowiecki
http://www.newyorker.com/printables/talk/070205ta_talk_surowiecki

Q. Is there a "wolf at the door"? Is it the same wolf that Wall Street claims? What's the irony in this aspect of global economy? What are the dangers?

GOOGLE'S MOON SHOT
by JEFFREY TOOBIN
The quest for the universal library.
http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/070205fa_fact_toobin

Q. It's clear that Google's motives aren't altruistic. But who is being harmed? Authors? Publishing? Ordinary people? What's the danger?

HOSTILE ACTS
by TAD FRIEND
"The Sarah Silverman Program" puts the mean back in funny.
http://www.newyorker.com/printables/critics/070205crte_television_friend

QUIET DEPRAVITY
by DANA GOODYEAR
The demure outrages of a standup comic.
http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/051024fa_fact

Q. Do Tad Friend and Dana Goodyear concur about Silverman's humor? What's her modus operandi for provoking a laugh? What other sitcoms or comedians mine these veins?

SOUND EFFECTS
by ANTHONY LANE
"The Situation" and a season of Ennio Morricone.
http://www.newyorker.com/printables/critics/070205crci_cinema_lane

Q. Forget Kevin Bacon and Burgess Meredith, Ennio Morricone is the most prolific professional in the production of film! Quality aside, strictly on quantity, is this truly astounding or just akin to a movie reviewer?

Meeting: Saturday, January 13, 2007

Issue of 2007-01-08 Posted 2007-01-01

THE SPORTING SCENE
The Unbeautiful Game
by Adam Gopnik
What's happening to football?

Q. Gopnik has written many beautiful sentences in his article. Last
year we read Roger Angell's baseball wrap up which also was well
written. How do they contrast? Why is football "unbeautiful"?

OPEN SECRETS
by MALCOLM GLADWELL
Enron, intelligence, and the perils of too much information.

http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/070108fa_fact

Q. Puzzles versus mysteries: Is the peril too much information or too
little context? How is this conundrum apply to the web or Google?
The phone book?

BIG PICTURES
by DAVID DENBY
Hollywood looks for a future.

http://www.newyorker.com/printables/critics/070108crat_atlarge

Q. Time and technology march on. Will the future of movie watching
will be better or worse than today? Or the (imaginary?) golden age?