I remember getting really grumpy that first Sunday in June. Lots of waiting, and random empty timeslots to fill. Nothing clicking. This last Sunday, stark contrast: up at 530am, out the door before 6am, and a morning of trailrunning ahead of me. Always the balance of planning enough that I don’t feel lost, but not so much that I feel hemmed in. Self-management is hard!
Last Friday evening we went to see the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at BAM. Treading was an excellent duet (Steve Reich soundtrack!), but I looooooved Grace. It opens with a delicate solo that had this edgy restlessness lying underneath, then turns into a huge ensemble piece switching between gospel, house, afrobeat soundtracks. High energy, super cool, great costuming, too.
I got a new laptop and it’s great and perfect and… underwhelming. I no longer feel the quiet fury and resignation and impatience I’d feel watching the old one slowly grind through clicks and keystrokes. But in the end, just another screen and keyboard?
Some friends visited the city earlier this week, their kids in tow, and enjoyed the brief window into the kookiness and chaos that is the young mind. The one who barely looked at me when introducing myself soon latched on, eating up every morsel of attention. The distinct personalities with just a handful of years. The way brothers alternately admire and despise each other in 5-minute cycles. What a ride.
Art
Tapestries by Sam Dienst. Meditating Frog by Sengai Gibon. Aztec figure carrying corn.
Books
Extinction. Finished, glad I read it, good change of pace. The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James, a magical realist western, didn’t click with it, DNF’ed. The Story of King Arthur and his Knights by Howard Pyle, just started.
Running
Most recent highlight was doing some trailrunning up along the Hudson River valley. We took the Metro North train up to Manitou, stepped off onto a quiet country road, ran up into the hills and ridges, eventually descending back to Garrison (where we saw the train coming around the corner and finished with a desperate, exhausted last-minute sprint) to catch the train back home.
I’m feeling… excited for summer long runs!?
Articles & Episodes & Twoots
Musical stars we’re forgetting and when pop music went supernova.
Italo Calvino’s 14 Criteria for What Makes a Classic. (via)
How to Live on $432 a Month in America. “For the right young person — there are many opportunities to stop pointing the finger at the boomer and to become the boomer, if they so choose.” (via)
It’s a great time to be a human philosopher.
“[LLMs] devour schlep, and clear a path to the important stuff, where your judgement and values really matter.”
Federal law enforcement funds would be better spent solving all murders instead of deporting people.
Music
A couple albums from Of the Trees…
- Harvest
- The Tale of the Elegos. I like this one more, felt more cohesive, more natural flow.
André 3000, 7 piano sketches.
Zeena Hawkins, Three Harps, Tuning Forks & Electronics. I feel like this album title is directly marketed to me, specifically. “Tuning Forks” is great.
Ghost, Skeletá. Theatrical metal, so fun.
Brahms: Symphony No. 4 perf. Wiener Philharmoniker cond. Carlos Kleiber.
Two from Justice, both fun in the moment, but not a ton of staying power for me…
- Justice. “Genesis” is a good start, like a movie overture. Then turns into a good stank-face romp.
- Hypderdrama
Some quiet piano albums from Elijah Fox…
Steve Reich, Music for 18 Musicians. Heard this again at the Alvin Ailey show and remembered why I love it.
The Knife, The Knife. I like the messy jagged guitar reverb in “I Take Time“
Movies
For a good while there I was burned out on superhero movies and Marvel specifically. I’ve been playing catch-up, and enjoying it.
The Incredible Hulk (2008). I’ve never spent much time with Hulk comics or otherwise. I think I prefer how Ruffalo carries the role, but I love how this one looks, and gave me a new appreciation for the character.
Avengers: Age of Ultron. Probably the best villain in the whole arc?
Spider-Man: Homecoming. Spider-Man/Peter Parker is at his best when he’s a teen, rather than a bumbling adult. (Or maybe you need to be Christopher Reeve to pull it off the type?)
Thor: Ragnarok. It’s fun. I wish more of the movies were this colorful and silly.
TV
The X-Files, s4e18 “Max“. “Men with spartan lives, simple in their creature comforts, if only to allow for the complexity of their passions.”
The X-Files, s4e19 “Synchrony“. Surprised it took so long to do time travel. Or am I forgetting other episodes?
Reacher, s3e8. Each season has gotten worse. Disappointing trend!
Mark Larson 