I’m just hunkering down and avoiding the heat as much as I can.
Art
Bird on a branch in front of a skyline, illustration by Leo Gestel. Illustration (Typhoon), woodcut by Edward Alexander Wadsworth. Mithila/Madhubani school illustration of Three Figures: woman with two children playing ball. Drying the Linen, or Moonrise at the Priory, oil on canvas by Maurice Denis.
Books
Winter’s Heart. I guess we’re doing this!
Articles & Episodes & Twoots
How to Surf the Web in 2025, and Why You Should. “To surf, you must begin on a normal website with outbound links, and avoid all the algorithm-driven thoroughfares (Reddit, YouTube, X, any ‘apps’) that direct most of today’s internet traffic. You also have to be on a real computer, not a phone. If you end up on social media, you’re no longer surfing.”
The trend in book covers with bright type over a painting.
Which book genres are men or women more likely to leave reviews for?
NYC bakeries that sell one thing.
Can AI speak the language Japan tried to kill?
Why Does Every Commercial for A.I. Think You’re a Moron?
Heir Ball: How the Cost of Youth Sports Is Changing the N.B.A..
Music
The Knife, Tomorrow, In a Year. Reminded me of mid-19th-century opera.
Bronski Beat, The Age of Consent. I like the slinky, bluesy city feel in “Love and Money“.
Billy Idol, Rebel Yell. So good! “Rebel Yell” is eternal. Ditto for “Eyes Without a Face“.
Mark Pritchard, Thom Yorke, Tall Tales. “Back in the Game” and “The Spirit“.
Movies
Avengers: Endgame. Too many speeches, and the number of storylines to touch on kills the momentum, and its too timid to land the sentimental Americana register it dabbles in here and there… but still a good conclusion to this arc. (Maybe I just prefer the gloom of Infinity War?)
TV
The X-Files, s4e21 “Zero Sum“. “A man digs a hole, he risks falling into it.” See Proverbs 26:27.
Couples Therapy, s4e7–12.
Our Great National Parks, s1e2.
Dept. Q, s1e7.
Mark Larson 