Andrew Levy’s parents knew that the rare and deadly cancer in his blood could not be beaten, so they began to prepare for the worst. Then something mysterious happened.
As society becomes more wedded to technology, it's important to consider the formulas that govern our data.
In his new book, In Praise of Forgetting: Historical Memory and Its Ironies, journalist David Rieff questions the idea that remembering the past is an inherently virtuous practice that will help us solve present-day problems. It’s a philosophical argument that he pursues across the globe, invoking examples drawn from the histories of the United States, Argentina, Spain, Germany, Bosnia, Israel, and Ireland, among others. “What if,” Rieff asks, “a decent measure of communal forgetting is actually the sine qua non of a peaceful and decent society, while remembering is the politically, socially, and morally risky pursuit?”
A few weeks ago, an old friend who was traveling to New Orleans for the first time emailed to ask me for restaurant and bar recommendations. I sent him my usual list—some personal favorites from the time I lived in the city, pre-Katrina, from 1998 to 2003: Willie Mae's Scotch House, Restaurant August, Molly's at the Market, and Dante's Kitchen—as well as newer places that have opened since I left for New York, like Cochon, La Petite Grocery, and MoPho. I told him to go to Shaya and Domenica, because everyone tells everyone to go to Shaya and Domenica these days, though I haven't been to either. I strongly advised him to grab a Grasshopper at Tujague's, and a Sazerac at The Roosevelt, then I reluctantly hit send.
The reason I say "reluctantly" is because I really didn't want to send him any recommendations at all. Instead, I wanted to send an email back that read something like this: "Go anywhere that looks good to you. Then let me know what you find." In other words, discover your own places to eat. Eat without a map.
Dining with a friend online.