I started reading the new Pynchon book. It got good reviews and I love him in principle, he’s disconnected, he’s a writer, he doesn’t need the penumbra, the media profile. Then again, I bought “Gravity’s Rainbow” and never made much headway, never mind “The Crying of Lot 49.”

So I’d just finished this book “The Wilderness,” by Angela Flournoy. I started to love it, but then it became a bit tedious, hard to stick with, although I did. It’s the story of young Black women and their friendship and it’s a great insight into Black culture, even hip-hop and the clubs, and I loved the choices and personal relationships, but then reading it turned into work, so I didn’t tell you about it.

I am telling you about Joan Silber’s “Mercy.”

After I finish one book, it’s hard to get into another. Even when I try. I guess if I read a book all the way through I’m connected to it, I’m invested, and it’s a rare book that hooks you immediately, so I try a new one and am disappointed and end up surfing the web on my iPad or catching up with print periodicals and I feel guilty that I’m wasting time, especially as the Grim Reaper comes into focus on the horizon, but even if I force myself, I just can’t stick with a new book.

I tried with Pynchon’s “Shadow Ticket” but it was so dense, it was hard to figure out what was going on.

And then I read a few pages of “Mercy,” and the main character was talking about his relationship with his daughter and I thought it was another family drama, and I like these, but it only had three and a half stars on Amazon, and shouldn’t I be reading the Pynchon anyway?

If it’s got less than four stars, be wary. But with days passing when I couldn’t get into a new book I decided to give “Mercy” another try, because unlike “Shadow Ticket” it cut like butter, it was easy to read.

And it wasn’t what I expected whatsoever. Yes, there is a reference to Ivan and his daughter on the very first page, but not long thereafter it goes into Ivan’s life, his history.

Not everybody is going to set the world on fire. And not everybody is a member of the underclass. Some go to college, fumble and find their way, maybe get married and have a couple of kids and before they realize it, they’re at the end of the road.

Ivan starts talking about going to Europe with his buddy Eddie, and being in search of dope.

O.K. They’re in Amsterdam.

But they come back to America and…

This is where the book becomes riveting. Ivan is driving a cab but he lives for extracurricular activities. Eddie is tending bar. But he’s got this girlfriend Ginger, is she into him or not? And they all get together one night and…

It all becomes vivid and real and I’m not going to tell you what happens but it certainly isn’t a domestic story in the suburbs.

And I like to read a story totally blind. I want to be surprised 100%. Just like I see no need to view a movie more than once. The surprise is what gets me, the new, it’s part of the essence of the experience.

So… I thought the book would be all about Ivan, but then it switched characters. Yes, I’m telling you this. Because it’s so hard to get someone to read a book, and I’m really recommending this one.

What we’ve got here is multiple lives, which intersect a bit, but everybody lives out a story and it is delineated. These are not the stories of the so-called “Greatest Generation,” these are the stories of boomers, which include divorce, multiple partners, job-hopping.

As for your friends…you maintain contact with some, but others can be incredibly close for a while and then you lose touch. But how do you feel about them?

One of the amazing things about the celebrities is how they jump from one person to another, multiple marriages and… I don’t get over people that fast. I wonder if you ever get over people. Or maybe I don’t and others do. Or maybe those celebrities don’t have deep relationships. But this concept is addressed in this book:

“I’d been so interested in all of them—now they were residents of another segment of time, though I was still attached. They belonged to me. I didn’t forget.”

Can you?

I could see myself in this book, my inner feelings. I don’t need that to enjoy a book, but when done right it both spooks me and makes me feel warm inside.

And part of my identity is my wariness, my judgment of those who are insecure and need to burnish their image based on who they know:

“They narrated their lives by citing any known figures they’d had any ties to or even just met, as if familiar names were needed to anchor stories and give them meaning. As if someone else’s glory was a credential.”

You can be in a tent in the Alaskan wilderness, or off the grid in North Dakota, and still someone will reference a famous person they know…

As for telling your story at all:

“He reacted very badly to a lack of enthusiasm for things he felt strongly about…”

Actually, in the book, this is about someone who always needs listeners to agree with them, to hang on every word and not challenge them. But for me…if you don’t show even a modicum of enthusiasm, I find I can’t tell the story at all! I just fade out, I stop.

As for that friend you had contact with that you no longer do…

“He never did have a friend like Ivan again. He was very glad for the years he hung out with Nathan—they had great talks and could happily chew over any world question. But the two of them didn’t persuade and tempt and corral each other into further adventures, pushing the proverbial envelope.”

You’re surprised to find that you connected best with a friend from long ago. You thought you’d have that connection with someone in the future, but you never did. And that resonance, that identification, when you click and can talk forever…that’s very hard to find.

And…

“A woman who went to award dinners in a long, spangled gown with a train. Of course she was still Ginger underneath that.”

People don’t really change. Or should I say underneath the trappings they’re still the same old no one from nowheresville. Some try to cover it up, with airs, emanating fabulousness, but in truth…even life at the top ain’t so fabulous, and you always want someone to understand you.

I still don’t think I’ve made clear what “Mercy” is about, but…

If you’re interested in the stories of people, not only their inner lives, but their choices, the unfolding of life…wow, I couldn’t put this book down. It was easy to read, but unfortunately it was short, I could have read a couple hundred more pages!

Kenny Chesney has a new autobiography, “Heart Life Music.” Kenny is open, honest and forthright…not fake humble or self-deprecating, he owns his hard work and success. I loved talking to him and you’ll love listening to him!

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kenny-chesney/id1316200737?i=1000735543040

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/99f43d7e-077a-4af5-aa4c-7f7f04fdf1f1/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-kenny-chesney

The story for me is how out of touch the press is.

The right said Trump had a mandate.

The left said the party had to run to the center.

And everybody in the pundit class, everybody in D.C., seemed to have no understanding of the mind-set of the people. And the question arises, if the press is wrong on this, what else are they wrong on?

If you’ve made it all the way to TV or Congress you’re pretty self-impressed, you ran the gauntlet and emerged victorious. But did you know that the median age of an MSNBC viewer is 72? This isn’t even your parents, this is your GRANDPARENTS! And this is my generation and I’ve got to tell you, it’s as baked into its ways as the generations before it. We thought it would be different for boomers, after all they had the greatest number of people and changed the world, but not anymore.

The world runs on tech, the internet, yet Andrew Cuomo spent double-digit millions on TV ads. Do you know anybody under thirty who watches traditional television, whether it be network or cable? Most don’t even have access, and they don’t care. If there’s a show worth seeing, and there are very few, it’s on a streaming outlet. As for the news, it’s at your fingertips online! As for the cable channels themselves, good luck finding one that has in excess of a million viewers, in a country of 340 million, a lot of these outlets don’t even have 100,000 people watching at one time. But because they’re part of the cable package old schoolers think they count, when they don’t. YouTube and TikTok count much more.

After the last election cycle, AOC told the Democratic party to give her their campaign funds, that she knew how to spend them, unlike the establishment. She was talking about online… And two years later it’s even more clear. It’s nearly impossible to reach anybody and if you want to make contact at all, you’ve got to do so online.

And if it’s not reported on Fox or in the “New York Times,” that does not mean it does not matter. Those outlets are still operating on the old paradigm of if they don’t report it, it doesn’t exist. We no longer need the imprimatur of an authority for a story to have legs, it can spread like wildfire without even making it to the so-called mainstream.

Sure, Mamdani had innovative policies that spoke to the issue of affordability, but his roots were planted online, with limited merch and gamification and…until the primary last June, the mainstream had no idea of the size of his following. It’s about getting people excited with honesty and credibility, such that they will spread the word. Your only hope is virality. I don’t mean going nuclear, although that’s great, but engendering any word of mouth at all. If people don’t want to talk about you and what you’re doing, you’re dead in the water. The days of a media outlet shoving something down the audience’s throat to the point of success are done. Gatekeepers are history. You go directly to the audience. It’s a whole new ball game, one oldsters are not prepared to play, never mind that they don’t want to believe change has happened and they’re out of date.

As for affordability… That’s all I heard on the cable channels today, both MSNBC and Fox. As if this were a revelation. Been to a grocery store recently? That’s all you’ve got to know. But if you’ve got enough money not to look at the receipt…you’re one of the chosen few, the masses are positively stupefied. Sure, inflation has calmed down, but grocery prices keep going up, it’s harder to make ends meet, and all we’re getting from both parties is platitudes, which the consumer can’t understand and don’t move the needle anyway.

D.C. is the land of no. Not only is there gridlock, no one wants any innovative legislation or action, they don’t want to take a risk. They believe in the status quo. But out in the hinterlands, the status quo went out the window long ago. Furthermore, change keeps happening, faster than ever. You might not be able to keep up, deciding you want to turn off the smartphone and see people face to face, but that just means you’re missing out, you’re losing touch with the pulse of the nation, what are the odds you’re hanging with those who have opposite opinions anyway?

As for the last election…

Can the Democrats just admit they f*cked it up? That Biden was too old and hung on too long and the only people who wanted Harris anointed without a primary were Joe and Kamala herself? Democrats felt ripped-off. They may hate the Democratic party, deservedly, but that does not mean they’ve given up on Democratic VALUES!

Immigration was a problem that the Democrats didn’t adequately address. The educated know that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than citizens and they oftentimes do jobs citizens are unwilling to do. But that doesn’t speak to the UNFAIRNESS! The public is sick and tired of the rules being bent for everyone but them, they’re saying NO MAS! Which is part of what they said yesterday.

The media underestimated Trump’s power, his acolytes, his total vote in 2024 and they underestimated the margins of victory of Democrats yesterday. They’ve got their heads so far up their asses that they can’t see the truth, never mind that horse races get good ratings and they don’t like perceived in advance blowouts…who’s going to tune in for that?

Meanwhile, the right wing media machine convinced Democrats that they should operate from the back foot, play defense, that the Republicans were in charge of the agenda.

No one likes taxes. But people hate income inequality even more. And Trump is busy giving the rich breaks, never mind all the corporate titans coming to kiss the ring. As if one corporate titan equals a hundred thousand votes. These CEOs are no longer adored, they’re seen as whores ripping off the nation…and if you think they’re in touch with the nation… Zuckerberg may control Facebook, but that does not mean he’s knowledgeable about the conversation on his platform. Never mind everybody knowing the algorithm is f*cked, and showing you inflammatory stuff to keep you on. The public is not as stupid as you think.

But not everybody is informed. More people know more than ever before, as a result of the internet, but most people don’t get in the weeds, they vote on personality, on broad issues. But Biden and his ilk were wonks. Just make my life easy enough so I don’t have to think about you, so I can live my life without worrying about what is happening in government…that’s what people want.

So the lunatics have lost touch with the asylum. Yes, the elected officials, the government industrial complex, and the media enthralled to it. Want to know what is going on in America? You must be online hours a day, like youngsters. And if you decry this, you’re as out of touch as your parents who hated the Beatles.

Can an aged congressperson play a video game, do they even know the names of them? Video games are bigger than movies, but all we’ve got is all this press about films whose grosses are declining.

I’d say it’s a disinformation campaign, but it’s really a misinformation campaign, reporters have no idea what is really going on! One fat cat opinion writer after another sits on his or her high horse and tells you what’s going on because they spoke with insiders…how about speaking with OUTSIDERS, you’d learn more, know what is going on more!

Then there’s this story:

“There are no hip-hop songs in the US top 40 for the first time since 1990”

https://www.nme.com/news/music/there-are-no-hip-hop-songs-in-the-us-top-40-for-the-first-time-since-1990-3905278

Now the “Billboard” chart itself is flawed, but we’re constantly told we live in a hip-hop nation, that rap rules. but it hasn’t meant this little in thirty five years!

Just like the press tells us all about the antics of Taylor Swift when the truth is most people just aren’t listening to her and just don’t care. And they’re listening to nobody more, except maybe Morgan Wallen, but this narrative doesn’t fit with the media’s agenda… The music scene today is more steel wool than clear windowpane. It’s messy, hard to decipher…but they keep anointing the past.

As for the new…

The media completely missed Zach Bryan on his way up.

So you have two choices. Either keep your head in the sand, believe in everything you were into previously, refuse to question your preconceptions or…dive in knowing there are no clear answers, but he or she with the most information has the best understanding of what is happening in America, however flawed their viewpoint might still be.

I’m not saying to expect free and fair elections in the future, I’m not saying Trump’s march towards authoritarianism won’t proceed, but to think that the public is asleep and/or okay with the trajectory of our nation is just plain wrong. The public has been taking it up the a*s since the eighties, when tax rates were lowered and boomers became greedy. And they’ve been punched in the face multiple times thereafter, especially in 2008. People are both angry and disillusioned. They don’t care which party it is, neither is in touch with their feelings. Some will vote so the other won’t get power, but most people no longer believe in government, have no hope, in a completely changed world.

It’s not very complicated. The evidence is in plain sight. All you’ve got to do is connect with the great unwashed, who the rich and those in power have contempt for. People believe in America, just not this America, they want CHANGE!

I was disappointed. Because I wanted it to be more.

There was a point in the third or so episode where I was marveling over what a good show it was, especially the nuances and emotions between Kate and Hal. It made me think of “The Sopranos,” which had all the family relationships right.

But then “The Diplomat” got caught up in fantastical plot lines, whereas “The Sopranos”… Tony was always a secondary mob guy, owning his own turf, king of his own turf, but the situations and issues he found himself in were relatively small time, they were believable, whereas the situations in “The Diplomat”…

Maybe the show should have ended. That’s a tough call, to blow the whistle when reception is still good, when everybody is on a high.

Now the machinations between Hal and Grace, whether he is deserving of the vice presidency, are well done. He’s uncontrollable, at times a hothead, always convinced he is right. And then there’s Bradley Whitford as Grace’s husband…he doesn’t ring true, but some of his insights are spot-on. Who is looking out for Grace? Would the end result of decisions be that she is squeezed out of the presidency? And his jealousy re the relationship between Grace and Hal…when people have no portfolio, they build scenarios in their heads. And the interactions between Grace and Whitford’s Todd are pretty damn good…when they roll around on the bed, when they discuss issues.

But those issues…

The show is carried by Keri Russell. Who gives an amazing performance. She can be two-faced, just like a politician, turning on the charm to impress when she doesn’t feel it inside.

And then there’s Trowbridge as the PM… I like him, he’s a bit of an idiot, but he’s got a good tuning fork, he can catch the vibe…most of the time, anyway, but…

The whole concept of America blowing up a British aircraft carrier with forty-odd men onboard… They should have left that plot point in the rearview mirror. But they kept focused on it, and then more and more plot was added on that you just couldn’t take seriously.

Which every person in this show takes their job, seriously.

But in 2025, we see politicians as doofuses. And we watch and see the endless negotiations, the hand-wringing in this series, when we feel we could come up with an answer in seconds. Sure, a lot hangs in the balance, but the decisions are belabored, especially over the consequences, and is this what politicians and diplomats do, always focus on soft issues… I mean it’s never black and white, they’re worrying about the effects and…

If this were real life, and these issues were in play, there would be more edge.

Then again, these international issues rarely come up. We’ve got the aircraft carrier, the Russian sub, what next, an astronaut lost in space?

Being a diplomat, even an ambassador, is usually boring. But a lot of stories can be derived from everyday life. Then the series would have been more believable.

And why exactly did Kate decide to “separate” from Hal, and why exactly did she decide to get back together? Not enough backstory, not enough facts were laid down, these decisions seemed surface, rather arbitrary, whereas Carmela’s relationship with Tony? Her contemplation whether to stay or go? It was very nuanced.

As for Kate’s relationship with Callum… This guy radiates no sexual energy, what exactly is the attraction? He’s smart, but not suave, not charismatic.

So they keep laying logs on the plot, wrenching up the supposed tension to the point where you start to disengage, you’re watching to see what happens, but you’re no longer involved. Whereas in previous seasons, with much less at stake plot-wise, you were.

You might say I’m nitpicking, however…

In what world is good good enough? It’s hard to make a show as good as “The Diplomat,” why not try to make it even better, one of the great shows of all time, why not wrestle over the action such that it is realistic as opposed to a big screen plot-driven film? Series are all about the characters, the small stories, that’s where the focus should be.

As for tone…

“House of Cards” could be funny, yet serious. The plot lines were believable. And Kevin Spacey as the president took his job more seriously than everybody in this show, he knew what was at stake, you could feel it, it was palpable. Whereas in “The Diplomat” everybody’s impressed with themselves, saying LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT MY TITLE AND MY POWER! Power emanates from the inside. And at times Keri/Kate gets it right, but…

Multiple times the president’s inner circle is stymied, they’ve been debating an issue ad infinitum, and then Keri comes up with an idea to save the day. Why didn’t she come up with the idea earlier? I mean this is their territory, they work in it every day. It’s just not believable that when everybody is flummoxed, long after a decision has been made, that she will suddenly gain insight none of them have and save the day like Spanky in the “Little Rascals.”

Now let me be clear, “The Diplomat” is light years better than most of today’s series. Kudos. You don’t have to dumb yourself down to watch it. But instead of continuing to walk the razor’s edge, they jumped down into mass market with endless unbelievable twists and all the gravitas, never mind believability, is excised.

It’s hard to get it right. To keep your vision and not compromise.

Try.

P.S. We are now watching “The Asset.” A lot less money was thrown at the screen, but it is gripping in a way that “The Diplomat” is not. At times “The Diplomat” is uber-serious, then it’s bozos playing at politics. The visceral quality of “The Asset” hits right between your eyes. The Danish (along with the Israelis) are known for making the best television. Watch this and you can see why.