A summary of posts included on MORE TO COME in August 2023.

For those of us in the Washington region, August largely maintains the “everyone leaves town” vibe that it has had for decades. Yes, the Washington Nationals are still here and playing well above my expectations, which is delightful. Except for the tourists, the streets and restaurants are less crowded. This year the courts remain busy … but that’s a subject for another time.

There was still much to cover in this month’s MORE TO COME newsletter, however, so let’s jump in.

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OPPENHEIMER BLEW UP THE SCREEN

The film Oppenheimer was one of two big summer blockbusters. My post Genius, hubris, tragedy was the MTC blockbuster as well, topping the reader-views list for the month. After watching the movie, I went back and read John Hersey seminal Hiroshima to be reminded of the tragedy that followed the creation of the world’s first atomic bomb.

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A LATE POST BECAME ANOTHER READER FAVORITE

On Sunday I posted A memorable evening of Handel with two videos of our son ― the tenor Andrew Bearden Brown ― singing at the 10^th annual Handel Aria Competition where he took second prize. We are so proud of his accomplishments. I think you’ll enjoy it.

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RECOMMENDED READINGS

I ended up covering a lot of ground this month. Besides Hersey’s sobering work, I also dove into the following:

• Imani Perry’s National Book Award-winning work South to America: A Journey Below the Mason Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation was one of the most important and moving books I tackled in August. A revelatory journey to find the nation’s soul examines Perry’s meditation on the work to be done to gain a more honest rendering of the country.

• Greece, Egypt, and Jordan are on my fall travel schedule for National Trust Tours. In preparation, I read Lynne Olson’s fascinating new book Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt’s Ancient Temples from Destruction. My review of this true-life story of Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt can be found in Mother of Simbel. Added bonus: Olson includes a good bit of material about First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s role in building the historic preservation movement in the U.S.

• The power of mythology is a story about myth that involves brown water. Perhaps over ice. Sometimes with a twist. Wright Thompson’s Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, and the Things That Last was — like a fine bourbon — very satisfying.

• For the monthly entry into my “year of reading dangerously” (i.e., murder mysteries) I dove into The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John le Carré. Yes, I am rather Late to the party in reading “the greatest spy novel of all time.”

• The book’s title says it all. Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About our Past was something I just had to read. You can see my take in The long shelf life of legends and lies.

• And there is the always popular The books I read in July 2023.

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MUSIC FOR THE (OLD AND NEW) TIMES

I had some fun with the Saturday Soundtracks in August.

• As I read about how the former president and his loyal employees at Mar-a-Lago (aka indicted co-conspirators) were not being truthful about the locks and surveillance video in the stolen classified documents case, I was reminded of Somebody changed the locks. Dr. John knew about changed locks: “Somebody changed the lock on my door … And I know, something is definitely going on wrong.”

• City of Gold celebrates the terrific new album by one of my favorite young bluegrass artists, Molly Tuttle. Down Home Dispensary ― co-written by Tuttle and Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor ― can be easily explained with this line directed at the Tennessee legislature: “Hello legislators the voters have spoken / there’s too much politicking and not enough tokin’”

• Sam Bush pays tribute to his musical mentor and friend, John Hartford, on Radio John. Since this was a pandemic project, it’s probably appropriate to point out that Bush is playing virtually every instrument on this album — guitar, mandolin, fiddle, bass and banjo, as well as doing the vocals. Just wow!

• And last evening we had the second full moon in the month of August, which brought to mind the singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith’s beautiful ode to love lost, Once in a Very Blue Moon.

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CHRONICLING THESE DAYS

In the midst of a lazy summer, two issues in present-day America caught my attention on MTC.

• Authoritarians fight against modern America is as old as our nation. In Fighting the future I look at how citizens are responding to these anti-democratic moves.

• Monday was the 60^th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington. I looked to the historians for some thoughts on the meaning of that event in Refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.

And apropos of nothing other than my desire to make you smile, It was a dark and stormy night highlights the 2023 winners of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, where participants are challenged to write an atrocious opening sentence to the worst novel never written. You’ll groan, laugh, and perhaps cry.

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CONCLUSION

Thanks, as always, for reading. As you travel life’s highways be open to love, undertake some mindful walking every day, recognize the incredible privilege that most of us have, and think about how to put that privilege to use for good. Women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants, and others can feel especially vulnerable . . . because they are. Work hard for justice and democracy as the fight never ends.

Bash into some joy along the way.

And finally, try to be nice. Always be kind.

More to come . . .

DJB

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For the July 2023 summary, click here.

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Image by Steve Bidmead from Pixabay