Interesting things

Middle-class Jews from Buenos Aires have begun to emigrate to Montreal, fleeing Argentina's economic crisis, says this article from the 18 Nov 02 Toronto Globe and Mail (link courtesy BoingBoing). They were invited by representatives from Montreal's Jewish community eager to replenish their shrinking numbers, the story says. So in a few years you'll be able to go to Montreal and dance the tango with a bunch of immigrant Argentinians. Cool.

This piece by Laura Miller in Sunday's NYT Magazine is an amusing and insightful piece on the spreading use of "meta," or self-referential strategies, in popular culture. And speaking of Salon -- where Miller built a steady following before becoming my San Francisco generation's leading literary arbiter -- a similar figure from the previous generation, Greil Marcus, is still holding forth, and always worth reading. Marcus refuses to confine himself to jazz and pop (or pazz and jop, as Marcus' longtime employer the Village Voice has it); his "Real Life Top 10" are ten experiences, not records. He may be old, but he still has ears for things like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.