A triumverate of sorts
Three of my idols (well, more like two idols and one guy I simply find hilarious - I leave you to figure out who's who) were profiled in the New York Times this week.
First was an article on Atul Gawande, a surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital and assistant professor at the Harvard School of public health. He is also a gifted writer; having written extensively on medicine and public health for The New Yorker and is about to come out with his second book, Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance. (If you have never read a piece by him before, I suggest reading "Piecework: Medicine's Money Problem," a 4,000 word essay on the U.S. health system's fiscal underpinning that's classic Gawande.)
Second was an article on Timbaland, a famous American Hip Hop producer, who has just released an album entilted "Timbaland Presents Shock Value." Of additional interest to me, the profile was penned by Kelefa Sanneh - one of my favorite music writer on the Times staff.
And the final article I'd like to highlight was about the new season of the HBO show Entourage, which centers on the lives of a fictional movie star and his group of childhood friends (including his failing actor of a half-brother, his friend-cum-manager, Eric and Turtle - a third friend whose job description seems to involve equal parts "hanging out" and "spending his friends' money). And while the article was mostly a puff piece to hype the this upcoming season, there is are several paragraphs extolling the virtues of the character played by Jeremy Piven, who is always angry, mostly misogynistic, and unfailingly hilarious.
Life is South Africa is continuing to roll along, but it's been nice to spend a few moments thinking about parts of my life in the States that make me smile. If you're interested in the articles, the links are below. Have a Happy Easter weekend, and I'm sure you'll be hearing more from me quite soon. Now that I'm living in my own place and have access to internet at home, I have even fewer excuses to not post consistently.
Article on Atul Gawande
Article on Timbaland
Article on Entourage and Jeremy Piven
Labels:
music,
news,
public health
2 comments:
Entourage is just hysterical, and I can't wait for its return. In a recent trip to LA, I had a semi-Entourage moment, visiting a number of Johnny Drama's favorite establishments on "Sushi Row" in "the Valley."
I think that this season is going to be a lost cause for me. I'll have to go back and rent the DVDs when I get home (or borrow them from you, once Entourage is nominated for an Emmy).
I'm so glad people have started posting comments and writing me e-mails about my blog once again; I was afraid that my lull in posting had chased everyone away. Having internet at my place certainly makes it easier, even though I'm sort of attempting to keep my internet time limited to a reasonable amount.
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