Feldman's Faves: February 3, 2025

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE

Greetings from sunny Arizona (which explains the timing of today’s email – I know some of you were worried and I appreciate that).

I think it’s fair to say that this past weekend can be considered “the weekend of dumb sh%t happening”– tariff war started, Mavs trading Luka to the Lakers, etc.  Just wow.

At least the Grammys got it mostly right with Beyonce winning album of the year, Chappell Roan winning best new artist and Not Like Us winning song of the year. 

Meanwhile, I  want to thank all of you for an incredibly hard working start to the year. I know that last year was intense and so far the level of activity has not subsided. Hang in there everyone and make sure to take some time for yourselves during this very busy time. Easier said than done, I know.

No theme this week – just topics of interest.

THE DROWNED By: John Banville – Following last week’s trend of reading excellent contemporary Irish writers, I am was pleased to see that Booker Prize winner, John Banville has a new book on the shelves. As some of you may know, I am not the most patient person in this world and reading Banville and especially, The Drowned requires a certain kind of patience.  It takes a really long time to get the plot going and then to get the various elements of the story resolved but I must admit it is a deeply satisfying process. At the heart of a novel is a murder mystery that you know how it should go almost right away but the way Banville writes he starts to cast doubt on your ideas but in a way that makes you want to keep reading.  He goes on what seems to be wild tangents but ultimately brings everything together in a really neat way. Also, when I read his books I am constantly using my dictionary because he uses really fancy words that I generally do not know – yes it’s a little pretentious but at the same time it is an opportunity to expand your vocabulary. As one reviewer notes, “Irish author Banville brings back characters he originally wrote about under the name Benjamin Black. Banville’s latest 1950s-set crime novel opens with Denton Wymes, a recluse who lives in a caravan in rural Ireland with his dog, stumbling upon an unusual sight: a Mercedes SL idling in a field, its headlamps on and no driver in sight. A man named Armitage accosts Wymes, saying that his wife, who had been driving the car, has gone missing and may have “drowned herself.” Wymes is suspicious of Armitage, whose affect seems off: “It seemed a piece of bad acting, but then, Wymes told himself, that’s mostly how people behave when there’s a crisis and they’re distraught.” DI St John Strafford arrives from Dublin to investigate, quickly sussing out that nothing about the case will be straightforward—Armitage is slippery and unpredictable, Wymes is a convicted child molester, and something seems amiss about the couple whose rental house Armitage and Wymes went to for help. Meanwhile, Strafford has his own problems: His separated wife wants a divorce, and his lover—who happens to be the daughter of his pathologist colleague, Quirke—is pregnant. And when two bodies are discovered, he is faced with an increasing sense of urgency. Strafford and Quirke return as characters from Banville’s previous crime novels, and Armitage played a large role in his most recent book, The Lock-Up (2023). These are compelling people: Strafford with his emotional unavailability (“The fact was, he did not understand himself, or Phoebe, or anyone. The vagaries of the human heart baffled him”) and Quirke with his brooding depression (“He stayed away from people as much as possible. This was a loneliness company couldn’t cure”). As for the mystery at the heart of the book: Banville remains a master of suspense; it’s not easy to stop turning the pages until the novel’s genuinely surprising end. This is yet another fine thriller from an author at the top of his game. Excellent writing and a clever plot make this one stand out.”  This one is fund to read and quick to read if you are looking for a nice escape. Here’s a good review from The Guardian- https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/oct/13/the-drowned-by-john-banville-review-death-and-drizzle-in-50s-ireland

Freakonomics Radio -  Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore? – We are less than a week away from the Super Bowl so I though this PODCAST might be timely. In a year where people like Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry are the best players (by far) every time they step on the field we are still living in an an era where running backs are the 13th best paid players in the NFL (average QB getting $30M/year and running backs “only” $6M/year).  So why is this happening. The major theory is that over the past 20 Super Bowls the running back has not really been the difference maker and the focus has been on the QB and their receivers. This PODCAST goes deep into this issue and explains why this is happening. The answer has more to do with talent and more to do with the current Collective Bargaining Agreement.  Here’s an excerpt from the PODCAST itself, “They used to be the N.F.L.’s biggest stars, with paychecks to match. Now their salaries are near the bottom, and their careers are shorter than ever. We speak with an analytics guru, an agent, some former running backs (including LeSean McCoy), and the economist Roland Fryer (a former Pop Warner running back himself) to understand why”.: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519?i=1000687251397

Thank you for your ongoing engagement and participation.

And remember to stay safe, stay healthy and to docket daily.

Jon