This week I got a new bucket hat. I have not owned a bucket had since I was maybe five or six years old. And “owned” is a strong word here. I have no understanding of my relationship to that hat. It’s more like: I can see I was photographed wearing it, and I remember it being in my bedroom.
But now I’m an adult, and I intentionally bought a bucket hat, and I found myself with a funny feeling: do I look weird? After 41 years, I’ve got things pretty dialed in at this point. I can’t remember the last time I stood in front of a mirror and wasn’t sure. Took a second to gather my courage, damn the torpedos, and step out into society. Still growing!
(Btw, I look I great. And now I own two bucket hats.)
Running
Hot days are back. Wardrobe is shifting to lighter fabrics. Sunscreen is slathered. Shade is precious. Pee is orange. I designed a hilly route for run club’s weekend long run and everyone hated me for it. 😈
School
This week was a struggle. I found it difficult to focus, but in a physical sense. Like my body itself was bored and restless, didn’t want to stay put. Managed to finish a project and submit, hopefully doesn’t need too much revision.
Music
Cantus Thuringia, Time Stands Still. “Come Again” is beautiful.
Brahms: Complete Choral Works all blended together for me. I struggle with Brahms! Couldn’t name a single piece that’s stuck with me. :(
Inspired by Craig Mod’s latest newsletter, went back to listen to Tony Williams’ Tokyo Live.
I spent some time with Jamiroquai. On Travelling Without Moving, “Everyday” is smoooooth! And from Synkronized, are you sure you’ve played “Canned Heat” enough recently?
Mozart, Clarinet Concerto (+ Oboe Concerto & Bassoon Concerto).
Bach, Oboe Concertos (BWV 1053, 1055, 1056, 1059, 1060). The adagio movement in BWV 1059 is perfect, I tell you.
Tyla, “Water“. I’ve had/will have this on repeat for a while.
Movies
Space Is the Place. Sun Ra! I wouldn’t recommend it but it’s an interesting slice of history. And I appreciate that Sun Ra has been doing this space thing for decades. If you go long enough without breaking character…
The Swimmer. At opening, it captures the feeling of a boundless perfect day. By the end, nothing seems possible. The character seems to be well-known but long missing. Have to fill in the blanks as you go. I love all the image blurring, fuzzy focus, leafy obstructions, lens flare, warm comforting haze. Also: young woman meeting her boyfriend “through a computer”!
Dune: Part Two. Blah. Felt more choppy, episodic, ponderous. The movie insists you understand that everything is so Important! I found myself wondering what a non-widescreen version would look like. Even a 4:3, there’s a lot of real estate, that doesn’t always have that much going on. Entire planets with nothing but humanoids, vehicles, and vaulted rooms.
Scream VI. Really appreciate that they continue the opening schtick. The goriest one yet, but it’s not an improvement. And a bit too much plot-splaining to wrap things up. New York City, though! Change of scenery is welcome, as is new energy from cast turnover. I’ve decided that I love this franchise.
The Silence (2010). Good thriller, left me feeling icky (complimentary?). I like that it has some frustrating protagonists, a few people you just need extra time to figure out.
Articles & Episodes & Twoots
The morning after I watched the movie, I listened to “The Swimmer” as read by Anne Enright on the The New Yorker Fiction podcast.
“Storytelling is the well-orchestrated withholding of information.” George Miller on making Mad Max and collaborating with wife and editor Margaret Sixel. Loved this, too, on gardening/editing parallels:
She happens to be a really great gardener, on any scale—whether a big thing like a farm or a small back-yard garden. And she’s comprehensively good: everything is taken into account. I think that is where the same skill sets overlap. To make a great garden, you have to understand all these hidden processes and dimensions to a ridiculous degree: the soil, the geology, the sun, the light, the weather. You have to know the plant and when to put in the seed or seedling. But here’s the thing: somehow, in that process, you have got to anticipate what will happen a year down the line, or five years down the line, and how all those variables will fit into a graceful whole. I knew that’s how she approached gardens; I have seen gardens that she has done that are twenty-five years old. And I knew that is how she approached editing.
“In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, only about 6 percent of forty-year-olds had never been married. Today it is true of one in four.”
“The Earth receives about 173,000 TW [of solar energy] continuously, more than 10,000x humanity’s current needs.”
The Rise of Rapid Regional Rail.
TV
X-Files, s2e13, “Irresistible“. This was the saddest, creepiest, most unsettling episode yet. Good to see some meta conversation about the trauma and the toll of their work.
Bob’s Burgers, s8e9. Watched immediately after the X-Files episode above – needed a palate cleanser!
Bodkin, s1e1-2. Off to a strong start! A “quiet little village” mystery in the vein of Deadloch, Broadchurch, Three Pines, etc.. Podcasters, smh.
Words of Wisdom
“Boundaries are the distance at which I can love you and me simultaneously.” Prentis Hemphill, quoted in an essay on the men vs. bear debate.
Mark Larson 