I've been thinking about a new role in my company. I never consciously declared "this is my path and my passion", but building up expertise over time, identity sort of forms itself. So it feels weird to even consider it, opening up deeper and longer-term questions than when I was first toying with the idea. We'll see!
A problem of affluence: muffins and cupcakes today are too tall. Food is better when you can get the full experience in one bite. Make them smaller!
Art
Three Houses, watercolor by Paul Klee. Couple drinking beer, inner tube floating party, Apple River, Somerset, WI, photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt. Tapestry: Greenery by John Henry Dearle. Heavy Metal Stack: Fat Cyan Three, sculpture by Angela Bulloch.
Books
Caliban's War. Going into the last quarter or so. I'll switch to something older next.
Running
Feeling summer's ticking clock. I need to reevaluate my running to-do list and make sure I'm prioritizing some of the more ambitious and novel ones in addition to routine maintenance.
Around the Web
How—and Why—to Cull Your Book Collection.
The rise of grocery tourism. "It’s anthropology with a basket."
On Japanese electric baths. I tried one of these on my first trip to Japan a long time ago, Yakuza guys laughing at us as we sizzled.
An audio journey on the Yamanote Line.
Abuse (I presume) of disability accommodations in elite higher ed kinda sickens me.
If you want to make money, be useful to rich people.
America's most prosperous neighborhoods are its newest.
Meet the next generation of New York City Skateboarding.
Does American have a fun shortage?
"I contend that the 21st century has seen a dramatic loss of information on screen, making for a less luxurious and less satisfying experience for the viewer, and trace how this loss was manufactured, department by department."
How to listen to a Tarantino movie.
Music
Spent a lot of time with these two Bach albums and I think I'm finally starting to piece them together a little bit.
- Bach - Busoni: Goldberg Variations & Other Works perf. Chiyan Wong.
- Bach: The Art of Fugue (1978–1981) perf. Grigory Sokolov.
Adrian Johnston, Primate OST. Electronic music for murderous chimps. Echoes of "Halloween", maybe. I like "The Pool" and "Run Hannah".
Songs of Passion, works from Henry Purcell and John Dowland, perf. Thomas Dunford, Lea Desandre, Ensemble Jupiter. Dowland's "Now, o Now, I Needs Must Part" is very nice.
François Couperin, Second Livre de Pièces de clavecin perf. Christophe Rousset. "Les Barricades Mystérieuses" is a banger. I hear it as one of those songs to play at a morning wedding during a hopeful walk down the aisle, quiet sobs as everyone overflows with joy and love. Many others to like on the album.
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, Rosenkranzsonaten, C90–105, baroque violin works perf. Gunar Letzbor with Ars Antiqua Austria. It's good! Great companion when you say your morning rosary prayers.
Parle qui veut: Moralizing Songs of the Middle Ages perf. Sollazzo Ensemble dir. Anna Danilevskaia.
The latest from Four Tet aka ⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ, and I will not bother to transcribe the album title, but will definitely listen to it more!
Movies
The Bourne Supremacy. The ending never gets old, but I think I've seen the movie too many times.
Apex. Going in, I was hoping more for battles with nature (like The Revenant, say), and less crazy villain, but still a good ride. Interesting to see the main character keeping her cool in situations where every single alarm bell is going off, a wary confidence. Charlize Theron is good for that.
The Greatest Showman. The music is overall not good, but also not for me. But also: sometimes the heartstring-plucking works, and I love the pace and choreography and melodrama. It's a fun watch. "When you're careless with other people, you bring ruin upon yourself."
Ash. Sturdy trippy paranoid spooky scifi. Perfect for a midnight screening.
TV
The X-Files, s6e16 "Alpha". "Scary dogs in the city", indeed.
The Expanse, s1e3–4.
Couples Therapy, s5e6.