Can you hear that? Autumn is coming just around the corner, and schools are about to start again. Before they both get here, you can visit stories about headlines, you can take a news quiz for the week that was, and then solve for X.  Alex Lifeson tries to teach us how to play Limelight on the guitar, while ALEXSUCKS looks for a 6 Pack and Cigarettes. 

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An older piece in The Atlantic that we came a crossed reading another story about Barbie was about the movie When Harry Met Sally. The piece, written in 2019 by Megan Garber, starts with the following Headline:

A headline that probably came from an editor or a team of people putting together a collection of stories and wanting to grab attention with a riled-up headline. I read the story after reading the Headline, and I went into the story wondering if I would read all the “isms” that are no longer acceptable born of a movie from 30 years ago. 

The first half of the article is about the categories men put women into and how they believe them. This is a debate for another day and one that has personality as much as behavior to thank for it. The second half of the article talks about the many places people make up names and quirky characteristics for relationships they are in. The final analysis is that it's a movie, a story, not a class in psychology or social behaviors. 

As a writer, I've studied headlines and 10-second attention spans, yet I was still sucked into the article based on the Headline. Assuming the article would scold us for unfair categorizations of others instead of a nice piece about a movie that made us laugh, cry and feel the way we feel.

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The story about the origin of using "X" as the placeholder for solving algebra problems led us to this weekly news quiz. 8 questions on news and current events, and our vacation hangover affected our first run at the quiz. We missed 2 questions, including one about music and the 50th Anniversary of a genre of music that we confused for professional wrestling? We plan to study for next week's quiz.

The letter X has been in the news recently for many different reasons; today, we bring a unique story from The Conversation on the origins of Solving for X.  The article is written by Peter Schumer, a Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Middlebury College. Professor Schumer is brilliant, and, in trying to explain a letter, when used in math, is used as a placeholder for a solution, does a great job of walking through the possible history of where it came from. 

X as a mystery solution while you work through the other parts of the equation and the ability to determine what X is after the rest of the work is complete have taken on other meanings. Sign at the "X" and "X" marks the spot are also synonymous in the States. Our favorite is Generation "X," a whole generation of unknown and mysterious folks who know what the X stands for; we just haven't bothered to tell the rest of you.

It was recently reported that a popular social media site user had their username taken, "@X."  If you are looking at a well-researched and written history of the "X" in algebra, read Professor Schumer on The Conversation.

Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett recently started a new YouTube show called Shred with Shifty, and it includes an interview with a well-known guitar player and the breakdown of a great song on the guitar. Part interview and part guitar school, these episodes appeal to music fans and musicians looking for insight into what made the song work. The first episode we watched was an interview with Alex Lifeson from Rush. Lifeson has 50 years of experience in the business, and his interview is a walk-through decades of music, guitar gear, and how he created his sound. The song they break down during the episode is “Limelight" from Moving Pictures.

Can you smell it? The days of smokes and beers.

Click on the Apple Music image to listen to the song on Apple Music or on the Spotify Image to listen to Spotify.

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Thank you for spending a few minutes with us. Here’s one for the road!

With A Shout newsletter is written by Johnny Christian with the support of a thousand idea bits and the help of many people.

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