What's happened lately... Had rainy date night in the city – starting very grumpy, but I came around – where the rained-delayed outdoor dance performance made a good excuse to pop into a library exhibition on Martha Graham. Took an online class. Spent a whole Sunday on my laptop on a project for work, and loved the happy buzz of relief when I got it all done and went to bed late. Got an idea on a lark and started (inaugural?) Meat Week™, eating a different animal every day, and finding a new encouragement to cook creatively instead of phoning it in. Found a good flow at work lately – maybe just more breathing room from a summer lull, but also bigger chunks of focused time. Made cyanotypes for the first time and loved the rush of ideas and excitement from new possibilities. Life is good.
Art
Untitled (Blue Plant Woman), crayon, colored pencil and pencil on paper by Nellie Mae Rowe. Untitled (Blue Man on Red Object), poster paint and pencil on cardboard by Bill Traylor. The Baptism of Jesus in wood and paint by Leroy Almon. Multiple Housetop quilt, artist once known.
Books
Caliban's War, cont.. Still enjoying it. It's my morning subway book and my nighttime before-bed book. I often end up re-reading a fair amount that I slept-read, but it's worth it.
Running
Struggling with the heat, but getting through it, sweating through it. An early Saturning on forested trails was the right move to avoid triple-digit meltdown.
Around the Web
Gotta teach the young about meanderware. The kids don't know what they missed.
The year is 2063 and you were never interesting.
Heretic, 1931 dance performance choreographed by Martha Graham. Modern dance is so old!
Optimism is the ultimate lifehack.
How did vehicles get so expensive?
How Europe became the world champion of heat deaths.
"Whatever listening plans you might have, you should always disrupt them.."
And in that spirit, The 40 Best Albums from the Last 40 Years That You Probably Didn't Hear (but Should've) should help. Time for some crate-digging.
Music
This week was back to Bach, though. 😈 Don't think I've ever listened to so much harpsichord in such a small period of time. Never had strong feelings either way, but the instrument is growing on me.
Bach: The 6 French Suites, perf. Francesco Tristano.
Italian Concerto, BWV 971; Toccata, BWV 911; Duets, BWV 802–805; English Suite, BWV811, perf. Angela Hewitt.
And several performed by harpsichordist Lillian Gordis...
- ...Plays Bach
- Bach: Partita No. 6, English Suite, and Preludes & Fugues
- Zones, Scarlatti recordings
Jean Rondeau, Thomas Dunford, Barricades, an interesting collection of harpsichord & lute duos, and some songs.
And also...
Marconi Union, Multiforms: Ambient Transmission, Vol. 3.
Boren & Der Club of Gore, Sunset Mission. Good one for when you pour yourself a drink and go out for a smoke on the fire escape on a hot summer night, and it's only getting hotter, and you're in black and white and are a scrappy private detective or something, as in "Prowler".
Jon Hopkins, Biggi Hilmars, Wilding OST.
Movies
Zootopia. Fun and funny. Maybe I should make more room for my life for animated movies.
Zootopia 2. Felt a little flat? Better in plot and theme, but not as funny as the first.
Another Round. Affirming and heartfelt. One of my favorite movies of 2023 when I first saw it. Still love it.
Primate. One of those horror movies where once you meet everyone you know exactly who is going to die and who will survive. It's fun!
Dante's Peak. The disaster epic is a comfort-food genre. You know they'll hit all the main beats. Ebert's review sums it up well.
Fast X. Jason Momoa brings a much-needed spark. Probably the most compelling villain in the franchise?
Undertone. Solid horror. I like movies where audio plays a big role: like the podcasting in Monolith, the helpline in The Listener, and radio show in The Vast of Night.
TV
The X-Files, s6e14 "Monday" and s6e15 "Arcadia". So good when they get in this silly register.
Couples Therapy, s5e4–5.
Big Little Lies, s2e4–7. Confession, repentance, inherited sin, false idols. Our characters have to transform their lives and reject their illusions before they can address the collective lie. Great show.