“Last April, by a strange chance, the internet led me to a passage from the lost Biographies of third-century B.C.E. philosopher Hermippos of Smyrna.”
That must have been a strange chance indeed! I also really like his catalog (in the same post) of the principal topics of “our collective public conversation":
- The personal doings of the beautiful, the powerful, and the rich—and how to become more like them.
- The weather.
- Local threats and dangers, especially to children.
- Amusements—usually gossip about the past or about our imaginary friends, frenemies, etc. (it is amazing how many people I know who have strong opinions about Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen--many more than have any opinions at all about her creator George R.R. Martin).
- How to best procure necessities and conveniences.
- Large scale dangers (and, rarely, opportunities): plagues, wars, the fall and rise of dynasties.
- “The economy”: unemployment, spending, inflation, construction, stock market values, and bond market interest rates.
As DeLong points out, the first six have been principal topics of human discourse since time immemorial; the seventh, on the other hand, is comparatively new.
● Not all of these are funny, but a decent proportion are. One I liked: “Is it solipsistic in here, or is it just me?”
Video clip of the week: I mentioned Keith Moon earlier this week, so I thought I would put up my favorite clip of the Who, the “See Me, Feel Me” sequence from Woodstock. Hardly a non-obvious choice, but to me it’s just a transcendent performance, one of the greatest moments in rock. (YouTube "top commenter" on this clip, someone named Kevin Zachary, apparently agrees with me.)
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