I got married on Friday morning and it was perfect.

Art
Concrete Mixer (Revolving Doors) by Man Ray. Brown should be used more often with bold color wheel shades.

I really like this anniversary quilt inspired by fallen leaves.

Running
Had to squeeze in runs where I could – running an errand, on the way to see family, random afternoon shake-outs. Feels weird to have the mileage cut to half of what it was two weeks ago, but it will take some time to find where to fit it all in the new work schedule.

Books
The Peripheral. DNF, plotting too erratic, lost my patience.

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold. Just started, and I don't love the writing, or the plot, but something is keeping the pages turning so I'll just go with it for now.

Articles & Episodes & Twoots
"When protecting yourself from a certain unpleasant possibility becomes non-negotiable, you’re liable to suffer in other ways, often to a much greater degree."

"You’ll be miserable if you don’t do what you’re supposed to do."

"When you can't decide which path to take, it's almost always due to ignorance. In fact you're usually suffering from three kinds of ignorance simultaneously: you don't know what makes you happy, what the various kinds of work are really like, or how well you could do them."

"The capacity to get up and walk away from the work is the same capacity that permits you to make meaningful progress in the work, when the time for that arrives."

Bad service is a sign of a better world. "Temporary parasocial relationships are right up there with big houses and fast cars for me: overrated traps that siphon away household resources from the things that actually matter. The ribeye served with a smile over clean linen is fine, but it’s got nothing on tacos uncermoniously dropped on a plastic table you can afford to share with someone you love."

Vital City, Issue 9 is all about the NYC subway.

Movies
Salt (2010). A rewatch. One of the more implausible action films I've seen lately, and that's saying something. All in good fun. Angelina Jolie elevates the material.

War for the Planet of the Apes. Another rewatch, and I had a much different reaction than my first viewing. I think I'd pinpoint the same gripes, but they didn't tip the balance this time. Really enjoyed it. There seems to be benefit in watching the others more recently, having a better sense of Caesar's arc.

Fright Night (1985). Last rewatch of the week, still fun. One of the best depictions of sexy-magnetic vampires. Great mid-80s fashion, too. I can't tell if the Evil Ed character was just an unpolished actor or just dialed up to 11? Or both?

Interview With the Vampire. Fun to compare this with the TV show, and wonder which is more true to the book. This one has more glamour, and better sets, but lacks the intrigue and tormented relationship that gives the TV show a bit of oomph and heightens the tragedy. I hope Tom Cruise will do some more goofy costume-and-makeup roles in the future…

Music
Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble. Glitchy jazz with ominous moody lounge stuff. I prefer "Amygdhala".

Masahiro Takahashi, Humid Sun. More in the dreamy/sleepy/optimistic strain of ambient.

Bach: Flute Sonatas. Check out the slow movement in BWV 1030.

TV
X-Files, s3e11 "Revelations". Stigmatic child turns the tables on Scully and Mulders usual skeptic vs. believer dynamic.

X-Files, s3e12 "War of the Coprophages". Roaches! The silliness here was a breath of fresh air. I like the repeated hang-ups and exasperation.

X-Files, s3e13 "Syzygy". Young Ryan Reynolds cameo. Uneven in tone. I wonder how I'd evaluate it if I hadn't seen movies with similar best-friends-at-odds horror plots.

The Terror, s1e5.

This week I started my new job. I had such a nice routine from the last year or so, especially my mornings. Now each of those perfectly-crafted hours are oddly-shaped chunks that don't fit where they used to. The novelty of a commute will wear off eventually but I like the chance to read more on the train, and to take mid-day breaks walking around new Manhattan blocks.

Family comes into town for our wedding soon, so the schedule is going to feel topsy-turvy for a little longer yet. (✿◠‿◠)

Art
A highlight of the week was seeing the Edges of Ailey exhibition at The Whitney, especially Romare Bearden's 'Bayou Fever' collages.

Running
I didn't run all my usual days, so I was extra-fresh for the 15 miles out to Shirley Chisholm State Park. A pleasant drizzly rain with a bunch of cute little soggy snails.

Books
The Peripheral, cont. Progress took a dip, but feels like things are picking up again.

Articles & Episodes & Twoots

"My attempts over the years to put on a show or a film as background noise always left me feeling demonically possessed by an enraged, guilty Catholic: only passively paying attention to what was happening on screen felt like a mortal sin. Somehow, Criterion24/7 unlocked something in me that finally, mercilessly, let me switch my brain off and get fed whatever was being served."

"On the wall, there were monochrome photos of Petersen’s employees and their friends: well-dressed, tattooed, and helmetless, they rolled through groves of oak and eucalyptus, and pedalled along sun-dappled ridges. The photographs looked like an ad for California."

Congress needs to invest in itself.

Movies
Inside Out 2. I enjoyed it about as much as when I watched the first one, but didn't feel as adventurous. It's a fun story with now-familiar mechanics. It did have more moments of cackling-with-recognition, and enjoyed a couple scenes with mixed animation styles. Nice trend lately – will we/do we already see this in live-action movies?

Music
Brooks & Dunn, Brand New Man. A trip down memory lane. Man, I was exhausted with the song when I was 9 years old, but… "Boot Scootin' Boogie" kinda rips? "My Next Broken Heart" and "Neon Moon" has a great lean-back feel like "Islands in the Stream" mixed with Jimmy Buffett.

Nala Sinephro, Endlessness and Space 1.8 have cool blend of ambient, funk, chamber jazz, etc.. Thoughtful and spacious, best as a full-album ride.

Minoru Muraoka, Bamboo. Gave it a listen because Japanese flute + jazz combo feels like sure-fire success. A bit disappointed it was mostly covers. Might be some more good stuff out there.

TV
X-Files, s3e10 "731". The Smoking Man is up to his old tricks! >:(

The Terror, s1e2–4. Really happy with this show. Claustrophobia in the great outdoors.

Kaos, s1e3. A rebound episode for me. The whole Minos scene is really nicely done.

Last week I got a new job. And with that, I felt a creeping anxiety about how to fill my time before it started. I'd spent the last year and change either doing schoolwork or job searching and then suddenly: not necessary anymore. The old routine no longer applies. A happy shock, but it's unsettling when one phase of my life grinds to a halt and another one starts.

I ran a race this weekend, and kinda sorta mostly didn't really want to when I woke up. It felt like a chore to get through so I could get back home and do other things. I arrived at the race later than I wanted, and didn't get to warm up, so the first few miles were a bit of a drag. Blah. A few miles in, I somehow found one of the good ways to pull myself out of a rut: asking, "Am I really giving this my best?" The answer is usually "no", and I can adjust accordingly. I suppose this is just a variation on "make the best of it". I eventually convinced myself to turn on the jets, tapped into something deeper. That, and the cheer section with Diana Ross playing around mile 5, helped turn things around.

Books
New York 2140. A little aimless toward the end, but love how it unfolds and explores all the communities involved. It will go down as one of my favorites this year.

Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past. DNF. I think I like the stories in anthropology more than the science of it.

The Peripheral. I like how William Gibson just tosses you in a pool of detail and makes you sort it out. I will go for paragraphs with no idea what's going on, you realize what a key word means, and it all clicks into place very nicely.

Running
I ran the NYRR New Balance Bronx 10 Mile this morning and finished in 5746th place overall. 😤🏆🐐

I also did some morning trailrunning, and on one evening run I saw a nice full moon over the Wendy's.

Articles & Episodes & Twoots
I spent the better part of a day last week clearing out a backlog of open tabs and unread RSS. It wasn't totally worth it, but I had fun!

"Writing on my own site has very different affordances: I’m not typing into a little box, but writing in a text file. I’m not surrounded by other people’s thinking, but located within my own body of work. As I played with setting this up, I could immediately feel how that would change the kinds of things I would say, and it felt good. Really good. Like putting on a favorite t-shirt, or coming home to my solid, quiet house after a long time away." I'd never heard of the POSSE model of online writing before – "publish on your own site, syndicate elsewhere".

Why Was the Miami Vice Pilot So Good?. "[Jan] Hammer says that when he watched the first cut of the pilot, he was unprepared 'for how beautiful it was. I thought, Wow — this is actually like something that I would watch.'" I love this line from Michael Mann: "We haven’t invented the Hula-Hoop or anything. We’re only contemporary. And if we’re different from the rest of TV, it’s because the rest of TV isn’t even contemporary."

Breaking Away from Disney Animation. Pushback/spinoffs from the early 20th c. Disney house style.

"When new creative mediums appear, it’s never immediately obvious what virtuoso-level performance with that medium looks like."

"It is my hypothesis that, back in the 2000s, everybody’s activation energy was a bit lower. More of us were bloggers, back then. Linking felt more natural, somehow. Now, in the 2020s, the algorithms do most of that work. You must lower your activation energy again."

"Being 10x faster also changes the kinds of projects that are worth doing. […] Having 10x as much feedback is a huge advantage in learning any complex skill."

"Will is a kind of skill."

"We do not really know what people want in terms of housing or transportation because their options are incredibly limited."

Great video: Cruel Musical Chairs (or Why Is Rent So High?).

To Boldly House Where no Housing has Gone Before (Part I): New York’s Land Reclamation History. "Lower Manhattan south of City Hall is about 50% bigger than it was before the Dutch arrived."

Measuring Housing Regulations at Scale.

Which School Districts Do the Best Job of Teaching Kids to Read?.

The ozone layer is healing.

Movies
Attack the Block. Over a decade old already – John Boyega is but a wee child here. It's aged very well.

Tomb Raider. Second viewing (the first), and it's still a blast. I like the young Croft's swagger, a reckless confidence that gets… corrected… but never squashed. Action movies are better when the characters act like they're in danger!

Blow Out. My third watch (the first). The ending makes me feel icky every time, gutting. I love the old accents – no one sounds like that anymore!

Music
The Quintet: Jazz at Massey Hall. (via) As you might guess, a Parker-Gillespie-Powell-Roach-Mingus line-up plays some good music! I love just about every version of "All the Things You Are".

Since I saw Nate Smith when I was in Albany last week, decided to check out the discography:

• Pocket Change, a re-listen of the first and only album of his I'd heard. All solo drumming. "DumDum" is good entry point.
• Kinfolk: Postcards from Everywhere, jazz ensemble.
• Kinfolk 2: See the Birds. Disliked most of the vocals on this album. :(
• Pocket Change 2: Mad Currency. Another solo show.

Sabrina Carpenter, Short n' Sweet. Ton of fun! I like "Please Please Please" – I'm hearing Kacey Musgraves in there. "Slim Pickins", too. Both are great.

Mark Guiliana, The Sound of Listening and MARK, which I enjoyed more for being more energetic and weirder and harder to classify.

Tindersticks, Soft Tissue.

Brad Mehldau & Mark Guiliana, Mehliana: Taming the Dragon

White Rabbits, Milk Famous. Interesting as a historical artifact – "here's something popular I missed in the 2010s" – but I dunno, rock just isn't very interesting to me these days.

TV
X-Files, s3e9 "Nisei". Alien autopsy! I'd never heard of Unit 731, awful stuff.

IWTV, s1e5-7. This season was very Hannibal. Fun to see the change in costume, etc. over the years. I'd tune in for another season, but wouldn't put it on my calendar.

Kaos, s1e2. I thought I was done with the show after this one, but I feel like it's burrowed in, just curiosity to see where they take it.

CSI: Miami, s3e3. I like when procedurals have two murders going on in one episode.

The Terror, s1e1. Really liked the first taste. Can you imagine being life on a ship stuck in the ice in arctic winter? Lordy. (Thanks to @jamesfflynn for the rec!)

Words of Wisdom
"Wisdom is always wont to arrive late, and to be a little approximate on first possession." – attr. Francis Spufford

This weekend I went to Albany, adding another state capital to my meager collection (let's see, top of my head: AL, AZ, AR, CO, GA, HI, IN, LA, MD, MT, TN). I think we've locked in a good travel pattern: leave home early, arrive late morning, grab a snack, hit the museums, crash for a nap, then have an evening activity out before going to bed. Next morning: wake up, eat well, and get some nature before heading home.

I was pleasantly surprised with the NY State Museum, the size and scope of it. There's so much expertise and attention that goes into these places! Even the "unimpressive" ones can have a lot to offer if you're open to it. Similar feeling about Washington Park, a green treasure at the top of the hill, and the Lark Street Neighborhood was a cute entry point to it.

The best exhibition at Albany Institute of History & Art, by far, was Enchanting Threads: The Art of Salley Mavor – intricately detailed fiber arts scenes, colorful and playful. The trip accidentally coincided with the Riverfront Jazz Festival, so the evening entertainment was Nate Smith (pretty sure I first heard his sick drumming on Pocket Change). Listened by the water with a limeade, followed by a plate of Jamaican sides, and then fireworks. Couldn't have planned it better. Twilight Market was nearby – not for me, but glad to see a smaller town has room for all types.

Favorite meal was breakfast at Iron Gate Cafe, followed by lunch at El Mariachi. Stacks Espresso Bar did its job.

The biggest lesson here: you don't need a Brand Name™ travel destination to have a really fulfilling trip.

Art
I had to look her up after seeing her art, and I'm so happy that Salley Mavor has a great blog with lots of behind-the-scenes details.

Blue Leaf Form, a lithograph from William Turnbull.

This Chokwe Chief's Chair is so cool – I've never seen sculpture like that on rungs between chair legs!

Running
Cut back the mileage in prep for Bronx 10-mile. I think with one more run, or maybe two, I'll have run every street in Bed-Stuy. 🔜

Books
New York 2140, cont. Savoring this one, and hoping I can find more like it.

Articles & Episodes & Twoots
I like the whirlwind tour of California history in "How California Turned Against Growth". I would read… ~49 more capsule summaries like this.

What are subway signals and why should you care?

Robert Caro buys a writing shed: "This particular shed was a floor sample, bought because he wanted it delivered right away. The business’s owner demurred. “So I said the following thing, which is always the magic words with people who work: ‘I can’t lose the days.’”" The word count calendar is cool, too.

Celebrate Your Victories. "And then … be prepared to let it all go."

Movies
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. All about efforts to get power or keep it. Caesar and Koba's relationship is so heartbreaking, both deeply motivated by their experience, both unwilling in their own way to see past it. Koba's play-acting scenes, the whole making a fool/circus monkey act, is so brilliant.

The Firm. On rewatch, keeps getting better! (previously) An underrated Tom Cruise micro-skill: intense phone conversations.

Music
Top recs this week...

• A lovers rocks playlist from Questlove. Lots of new stuff for me, and I especially liked "El Cielo" from Radio Citizen & Bajka, "Lost Weekend Dub" from Slowly, and especially Ernest Ranglin's "In the Rain".
• Sona Jobarteh, Badinyaa Kumoo. Upbeat kora + Gambian griot from a cousin of the great Toumani Diabaté. Hard to pick just one! Maybe "Fondinkeeya", with all its intertwining threads.
• Salif Keita, "Folon"…..The Past. I like the lean-back funk feel on "Mandjou". "Nyanyama" the opening aching vocals of reminds me of Thione Secks's "Mass Ndiaye" (complimentary!!).

And as for rest of my listening…

• LL Cool J, The Force. It was "Black Code Suite" that put Sona Jobarteh ↑ on my radar. I like the throwback feel, machine gun chatter in "Basquiat Energy"
• Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1. Number 8 just hits different, huh?
• Jeff Majors, For Us All (Yoka Boka).
• Raleigh Ritche, You're a Man Now, Boy. Straightforward modern pop/R&B by the star of the Interview with the Vampire TV show.
• Bonnie Prince Billy, Hear the Children Sing the Evidence. The wandering folk you'd expect from him!

TV
X-Files, s3e8 "Oubliette". A dungeon kidnapping thriller!

The Leftovers, s2e2 "A Matter of Geography". Focusing on the NY folks' move to Texas. Kevin is losing it.

Kaos, s1e1. I wish it were a little snappier and goofier, but I generally like where it's going.

Last week I finished a project: MoviePeers.com, a novelty website inspired by a tweet from last year. I'd been meaning to circle back to it for a while! Felt good to wrap it up and ship it.

The long weekend felt like it split the week into two parts – one in goblin mode, watching movies, reading; the other cranking through interviews, administrative stuff. Also got a wedding license and picked up my ring. Big week!

Art
A Navajo weaving of an Intel Pentium chip.

The flat face of this mask (kplekple) really tickles me for some reason.

Extraordinary Values, painting by Ray Yoshida.

Running
It's that time of year where an evening run comes with a lovely sunset.

I ran about ~16.5 miles yesterday, my longest in a good while. Felt great during the run. Feeling some "overdid it" kinks in the system today, but really happy with my progress, the fact that it didn't feel like a big deal. Running with company probably helped with that. The next couple weeks will be a short taper to my next race.

Books
New York 2140, cont. This book has been so fun. Halfway through.

Articles & Episodes & Twoots
"The older you get, the more you’re able to look at it and go, well, it’s not my brilliance that made this thing a hit and it’s not my stupidity that made this one flop."

"One Minute Park allows you to visit parks from around the world for one minute each." (via Naive Weekly, one of my favorite newsletters)

On luxury produce: "A certain kind of tomato has become a status symbol."

How pour-over coffee got good.

"Nobody has ever scolded themselves for failure to complete a reference book. They are intended to be used as the reader demands—nothing more. You owe no obeisance to the author; there is no pretense of a conversation."

Progressives need to learn to take the W. "There’s another, more subtle cost of perpetual outrage as a theory of change. I think it leads to premature exhaustion and unnecessary disillusionment, by preventing progressives from realizing when they’ve had major successes."

The latest issue of Bright Wall/Dark Room is focused on Spike Lee.

The Secret Inside One Million Checkboxes.

Furnishing your house with server racks.

Movies
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. It's crazy how good this movie looks. An under-appreciated franchise this century. I love how they show the ape societies developing – architecture, costume, tools. Interesting that they do the same no-kiss greeting as in Fury Road/Furiosa: foreheads touching, hand on the back of the other's. LOL at apes talking about now-immiserated scavenger humans like stray animals. I like the very gradual character reveals!

Incroyable mais vrai (Incredible But True). A couple buys a house that happens to have a portal where you can time travel 12 hours ahead while also getting 3 days younger. Great soundtrack! Old-school classical and videogame-like electronic versions. I like the use of montage to fast forward.

Beast. Jessie Buckley is awesome and after seeing this and Men and Women Talking, I'll keep tuning in.

Beetlejuice. Speaking over very gradual character reveals. They very literally do not make them like this anymore. What a manic, crazy blend – I love the actors, across the cast, putting all their chips in. The suicide jokes (?!) didn't age well!

Music
Started off the week in an R&B mood…

• Prince, For You. Never gone that deep in the Prince archives before. "Soft and Wet" is the only one I knew of, still bouncy and perfect. The demented backbeat in "In Love" feels like a decade ahead of time.
• Maze, Frankie Beverly, Silky Soul. Late '80s disco/funk/soul/R&B – even if you don't know the songs, the music sounds so familiar and comforting (and owes a tremendous debt to Marvin Gaye). "Love's On the Run" has the bump.
• The Best of Sade. When the "Best Of" album comes out before two other killer albums. "Hang On to Your Love" deserves some more attention. "Kiss of Life" has lovely production, something I'd listen to when I take my imaginary sailboat out at sunset. The grinding, vaguely menacing electric guitar takes "No Ordinary Love" to a level few can reach.

I like listening to other people's playlists. But more often, I just pillage and plunder for ideas. I usually end up skimming the titles and snagging a couple albums that catch my eye. This week, albums stolen from a playlist for driving around Oahu:

• Pacific, from Haruomi Honoso, Shigeru Suzuki, and Tatsuro Yamashita. "ノスタルジア・オブ・アイランド (Nostalgia of the Island)" is an easy fave, lazy and happy.
• Raymond Scott, Manhattan Research, Inc.. I really like the noises, but there was too much talking (for me, at the time).
• Daniel Lanois, Shine.
• Gaussian Curve, Clouds.
• A.R.T. Wilson, Overworld.

Cameroon: Baka Pygmy Music. Highlights are the children singing in "Hut Song" and aquatic percussion in "The Water Drum".

Back to Beethoven again this week, comparing/contrasting recordings to make my soul bigger:

• Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4, Op.58 & Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 19 perf. Rudolf Serkin, Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra.
• Beethoven: Piano Concerto Nos. 4 & 5 perf. Daniel Barenboim, Berliner Philharmoniker.
• Beethoven: Piano Concertos No. 3 Op. 37 & No. 4 Op. 58 per. Krystian Zimerman, Leonard Bernstein, Wiener Philharmoniker. I like how the piano sounds here, it seems to have the most "sparkle" to it.
• Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 4, perf. Mitsuko Uchida, Kurt Sanderling, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. This sound is so smooth and round and full, and feels like a wider overall dynamic range in the recording/performance. Probably my favorite of this bunch.

TV
X-Files, s3e7 "The Walk". Another military revenge plot, this one in a veterans hospital. Fun to see the "No sir, it's unusual." guy from No Country for Old Men in a starring role here.

The Leftovers, s2e1 "Axis Mundi". This show. Dang. This is why we say some works have a "rich text". I took a bunch of notes, but feel like I just need to let them simmer. I had no idea Regina King was in this show!

Interview With the Vampire, s3-4. So, this Claudia character… I appreciate what she's doing for the story, but a very tiresome presence on screen.

Last weekend I tried on my wedding ring, and what a lovely feeling. It came out a bit too large, but the re-size should be perfect when I pick it up again. How many things do I own that I expect will be with me until I die?

Running
Ran to a new area yesterday, Forest Park. I need to get back there to see some more of the trails. But maybe take a shortcut on the subway instead of getting there six miles in.

Books
New York 2140, cont.

Articles & Episodes & Twoots
YouTube TV, flipping through channels like we used to. Mixed feelings! It feels nostalgically satisfying, there's always some curiosity and surprise in what's next but… I'm glad we've moved on.

"Most of our everyday knowledge of how to use computers can be considered folklore."

"There is a genre of 21st century male 'I have perfected the game of life' routine that essentially assumes the absence of other people". Sad!

OpenStreetMap, then and now. It's incredible to see the progress and detail added since 2008. Incredible public resource, up there with Wikipedia.

James Flynn analyzes the everyday genius in a short clip of The Big Lebowski.

Movies
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. The Furiosas hold their own. Chris Hemsworth is a delight. I like that his Dementus is not particularly smart. I also like that Furiosa is mostly silent, like Max. The inventive vehicles and weapons and tactics are an ongoing treat. I really like the episodic format. It feels more refreshing in this fiction context than when I see it in a biopic or something.

The African Desperate. Fun work in the editing/cuts/sound, and in the presentation of phone/text convo. And the art school talk is so perfectly eye-rolling. Interesting how the dialogue is so filled with throwaway memes, references, abbrevs, catchphrases. Ultimately I struggled with the characters, who seem aimless, insufferable, self-destructive. Like being sober when everyone else is drunk or drugged – a bit of a drag!

Late Night With the Devil. Horror movie on the set of a live television show. We get breaks from the action when they go to commercial. Refreshing change in setting.

Music
Leo Takami, Tree of Life. More straightforwardly meditative and drifting than last week's.

Abel Selaocoe, Where Is Home / Hae Ke Kae. South African cello and vocal wanderings.

Afro-pop from Amero-Zimbabwean Chiwoniso…

• Ancient Voices. The title track has a steady bittersweet momentum, and I like the chorus joining in to tell the story.
• Rebel Woman
• Tichazomuona, with Dumisani Maraire. The mbira has a perfect sound.

Barry White, Is This Whatcha Want?. Unassailable: "Don't Make Me Wait Too Long".

Floating Points, Ocotillo. "Del Oro" stayed on loop for a while.

TV
Interview with the Vampire, s1e1–2. Trashy horror-romance. Can't believe it took this long, but watching this made me realize that Hannibal is a vampire.

How to With John Wilson, s1e3. The shine is wearing off a bit, but still a valuable reminder how interesting other people are, and how being open opens up a lot.

Words of Wisdom
"God forgive me for being so idle; I am quite sillily interested in this work."

I've been working on a coding project (more to come) and collaborating with AI is so fun. I like the near-limitless patience – explain X for the tenth time, remind me why we're doing Y, let's start over from scratch... again. Stuff that would exhaust a human teammate is taken without flinching. I hope we can learn from this.

Books
New York 2140. Loving this book so far – intrigue in a New York City partially submerged by global sea level rise. Exactly what I needed. Really appreciate this line:

"Stick your finger on your little tourist map and wherever it lands, amazing things will have happened. The ghosts will rise up through the manhole covers like steam on a cold morning, telling you their stories with the same boring maniacal ancient-mariner intensity that any New Yorker manifests if they start talking about history. Don’t get them started! Because a New Yorker interested in the history of New York is by definition a lunatic, going against the tide, swimming or rowing upstream against the press of his fellow citizens, all of whom don’t give a shit about this past stuff."

The Path of Daggers, cont.

Running
I'm now over 1,000 miles for the year so far. Getting close to filling out my map of Bed-Stuy, too. Just a few more runs and I'll have every street done.

Articles & Episodes & Twoots
Eastern Parkway was never meant to be a highway. If only…

"I was '2 months away from quitting the podcast' for 2 years."

"It’s worth listening to your intuition because this is what’ll set your perspective apart from everyone else who’s also looking around for problems to solve."

"In midlife almost everything looks like a midlife crisis book."

Movies
Totally Killer. Dialogue reminded me of Hitman a bit, not in a good way, sometimes sort of listless, slow, obvious. And it ran the "boy, times have changed" and raunchy humor into the ground. But! It's a pretty fun satire and I like the time travel angle.

Sherlock Holmes (2009). I love the fashion from this time period. Leaning into Sherlock's restlessness and Watson's gambling is a plus.

Music
Continuing the Asian kick from last week, I really enjoyed the stuff I've found in the Nonesuch Explorer Series.

• Explorer Series: Indonesia - Java: Court Gamelan, Vol. I
• Explorer Series: Indonesia - Java: Court Gamelan, Vol. II
• Explorer Series: Europe - Bulgaria: Village and Folk Music of Bulgaria. Really liked all the 1-3 minute track lengths on this album. The tight small-group harmonies in "Jofcharche mlado" followed by the more expansive chorus + woodwind + strumming" in Trugnal mi Yane Sandanski, Iele" capture the range well.

After seeing a random twitter thread about it, I switched over to Japanese jazz…

• Leo Takami, Next Door. Maybe my favorite of the bunch. Reminds me of Pat Metheny – nylon electric guitar + piano + percussion is a proven blend, like in "As If Listening". "Family Tree" opens and closes with this melancholy line where I feel like he's quoting something – Eno's Airports, or Satie's Gymnopedies, or a snippet of Copland – but maybe that's just what happens when something is so spare, clear, beautiful, dialed in. Or maybe it's a quote!
• Masabumi Kikuchi, Poo-Sun.
• Hiromasa Suzuki, High-Flying opens with the title track quoting Marvin Gaye. A bit more funk/fusion/blues-y than the previous.
• Masabumi Kikuch & Masahiko Togashi, Poetry.
• And a playlist: "japanese jazz when driving on a warm rainy night".

I really enjoyed this compare/contrast exercise, and I should do it more often:

• Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 "Eroica" & Coriolan Overture, performed by Budapest Festival Orchestra, 2024. Is #3 the best Beethoven symphony?
• Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, Op. 55 "Eroica" - Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1, Op. 11 (Live), from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, 2018. A notable increase in tempo in this Eroica. Buoyant!

Star Feminine Band, self-titled and Paris. High-energy Beninese teenage garage band!

TV
The X-Files…

• s3e4 "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose". Quote of the season so far: "I believe in your abilities, but not your attitude."
• s3e5 "The List". This show loves to consider revenge after death. Has a great moody look to it – deep shadows, Florida sweat. Stories set in the prison system, with so many abuses of power, are really tough to watch.
• s3e6 "2Shy". I like how they literalize the psychopath's hunger to kill. Also: old school internet dating! Vulnerability, loneliness, hopefulness, the willingness to ignore red flags. Also interesting to see the villain's reluctance to engage when it's not on his terms.

The Leftovers, s1e10 "The Prodigal Son Returns". Season finale stuck the landing. I am hooked.

How To With John Wilson, s1e1. So unexpectedly funny! I love the juxtaposition of image and word. This really made me appreciate NYC anew. Can't wait to make my way through the rest.

Words of Wisdom
"All hobbies require zero talent if you’re comfortable with being bad at them." Get a hobby!

Ups and downs last week. Found myself in a bout of mid-week doldrums. That's been a Wednesday/Thursday pattern a few times, and… I think it may be caffeine-related. Time to cut back.

Running
The race I was in left me defaulting to higher speeds, so it took a bit of time and conscious effot dial it back to the norm. After the race week taper, ramped up the volume quite a bit. It's funny how noticeable it is when I'm underfed. A big healthy meal and a good night of sleep can make a big difference.

Books
The Vaster Wilds. Don't read it to cheer yourself up.

Don Quixote, trans. Grossman. Pretty sure I've DNF'ed this in every decade I've been alive. 🤷‍♂️

Nuts & Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World in a Big Way. Nails are more interesting than you'd think!

Articles & Episodes & Twoots
"Thriving and growing cultures are liberal about handing out 'cultural green cards.'."

Movies
The Rental. Effective! Good use of fog. Interesting choice to keep the villain unknown. I dig it. Airbnbs are creepy!

Collateral. Never gets old.

Days of Heaven. I was really disappointed with the sound at BAM Harvey Theater – too hot, too echo-y – but it's still a splendid movie. I'm happy I got to see it on a big screen again. I really like Malick's willingness to remove boring, functional dialogue. He'll give you a couple clips of dialogue, or what they see, just enough to get the basic idea of what people want, and then he lets you look at how they're processing it all.

Music
Listened to a bunch of great music from Asia this week…

Explorer Series: Indonesia - Bali: Golden Rain. Love the contrast in frenetic melodies vs. the very ponderous ding-dong of the deeper gongs in the first couple tracks. The explosive piston vocals in "Ketjak: the Ramayana Monkey Chant" are fantastic.

Mandolin Duo: U. Srinivas – Vol. 1.

Gundecha Brothers, Bhaktamar Stotra.

Sabri Brothers, Qawwali: Sufi Music of Pakistan.

Nusrate Fateh Ali Khan, Best Urdu Qawwalies. Seven hours' worth! "Allah Hoo Allah Hoo" is a banger.

Rare Voodoo Songs from Northern Haiti. Really beautiful singing with minimal percussion accompaniment, as in "Pikan Kwenna".

James, Seven. If you like early U2, you might like this.

TV
The X-Files, s3e3 "D.P.O.". I like this lightning kid, and most of the creepiness comes from the very real-life stalking rather than the superpowers or generic villainy. Jack Black guest appearance!

The Leftovers, s1e9. Based on this and Hannibal: if you see an odd deer, it's a bad sign. Deer, metronome, smoking. Everybody disappeared. :(

Columbo, s4e3 "By Dawn's Early Light".

Lost, s4e2. The island is getting crowded!

This week I watched a bunch of the Olympics. Peacock made all the difference – finally a focus on events without all the backstory filler! I'll tune again for Los Angeles 2028 if (I'm not there in person…)

The clear highlight for me was watching a distant relative win a silver medal. I won't mention their name out of respect for privacy/not wanting to be a celebrity stalker. I just recently learned we're related! But man, what a thrill. I've never watched the Olympics with rooting interest like that, and ended up jumping up and down in my living room.

I found myself thinking back to the first Olympics I paid attention to, 1992 in Barcelona. Imagine 9 years old and seeing the Dream Team guys playing together, Dan & Dave commercials during the lead-up, the torch getting lit with a bow & arrow, and later Derek Redmond limps through the finish of a 400m semifinal with his dad. So much athletic drama to soak in, and knowledge that it was going to be down the road in Atlanta in just few years' time.

Anyway, great week, a renewed spirit. The vibes have shifted!

Art
Rugs by Agda Österberg.

Enjoy summer more, read books, poster by Bill Sokol.

Running
Yesterday I ran the Percy Sutton Harlem 5k.

The last race I'd run was back in 2019, before I left Atlanta. I did that one in 24:03, at 7:45/mile. Yesterday on a tougher course in warmer weather: 25:20 at 8:10. I had 25:00 as my reasonable goal going in, so I'm really happy with how things turned out. Haven't lost much speed in the last 5 years, but I can handle much longer distances much more easily than I could then. It was a really fun course, too. A squished loop, with plenty of sharp turns and some wicked hills to crush your spirts before you sail back down.

The 5k is kind of a perfect distance. And when you recover a few minutes after finishing? Plenty of energy left to cheer for others.

Books
Here in the Dark. First-person narration is tricky, especially when the narrator has sharp edges. (__ that one noir with narration I really liked?)

The Vaster Wilds. Archaic, prayerful language. Reminds me of The Road, but not as morose and dreary. It's got more urgency at the point we enter the story.

The Path of Daggers, cont.

Articles & Episodes & Twoots
"One of the great pleasures of trends is the option of sitting them out." (via)

Designs for the 1968 Mexico City Olympics from Lance Wyman.

"Big week for the glasses community."

"These examples are real ways I've used LLMs to help me. They're not designed to showcase some impressive capabiltiy; they come from my need to get actual work done. This means the examples aren't glamorous, but a large fraction of the work I do every day isn't, and the LLMs that are available to me today let me automate away almost all of that work."

Do Quests, Not Goals.

"You’ve got to be proud of your wounds."

Plant Care and Power Tools.

When online content disappears. "38% of webpages that existed in 2013 are no longer accessible a decade later"

A much-needed change: a new generation of elite female runners embraces strength over thinness.

How a Rare Disorder Makes People See Monsters. This is wild.

The Urban Family Exodus Is a Warning for Progressives.

Movies
Hit Man. Overall fun, but it had too many flabby, listless passages. Not loose or goofy enough for a hangout flick. Not tight enough for a thrill. It just felt low-energy for me. Surprisingly quiet, too. I'm willing to chalk some of it up to mismatched expectations, but I was a bit let down. "Hit Man serves as a fitting microcosm of the dilemma of this charismatic new face: all the right components there but in the wrong proportions, too many ideas and not enough wisdom to discern which are worth pursuing, the right time but the wrong place."

Superman: The Movie (1978). Better in keeping with the spirit of the week, rewatched this in celebration of Truth, justice, and the American Way.™ I got all choked up hearing Lois' dazzled, hopeful, love-doped reflections during their flight scene. "If you need a friend… I'm the one to fly to." 😭

Music
Mase, Welcome Back. "Breathe, Stretch, Shake" is so good. And the electronic (vocoder??) backbeat on "Into What You Say" is undermined by a terrible chorus. (Thanks, Jara!)

Christine & The Queens, PARANO¨IA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE. More "epic" than previous albums but I'm not sure it benefits. Will need a few more listens.

Muslimgauze, Mullah Said. Haunting and tranceful. Goblet drums! "Every Grain of Palestinian Sand" just buckles in and keeps pressing forward. Really liked this album.

Ezéchiel Pailhès, Ventas Rumba. Latin keyboard work, would make a good companion with Frankie Reyes from last week. I like the title track.

GoGo Penguin, Man Made Object. I looped their 2018 tune "Raven" a bunch in the past, and "Branches Break" on this album has similar flavor, a prominent acoustic bass, a chattering drumset, and a pressing forward momentum.

B. Fleischman, The Humbucking Coil

Job for a Cowboy, Doom. It'll wake you up.

TV
The X-Files, s3e2. "Paper Clip". I love seeing the Smoking Man nervous and trying to cover his tracks. Skinner taking action!

The Leftovers, s1e8. Kevin is having memory lapses. His daughter is chaotic and trying to join the cult. Nora has a gun. Cult lady got kidnapped, and then…

House of the Dragon, s2e7-8. Welp. Farewell to all that.

New York Undercover, s1e1. Off to a good start. With musical guest Teddy Pendergrass!

One way to have a fun life is to literally run your errands. (A bike is also a lovely way to do these things, but for shorter distances, bikes add a bit of overheard I don't have patience for.) I did that a few times in the last week: walking a mile to the library and doing a lazy loop back for an extra two; and making a mid-day two-mile loop to deliver something to a friend. In previous lives in Atlanta and LA, I'd take longer-than-necessary runs to the grocery store, then take MARTA or walk back after loading up.

Always pays to mix in more of what you love into your day-to-day.

School
I finished! New bachelor's degree in computer science on the way. I recorded, let's see, 1286 hours in total getting the thing done. I don't know think it will feel really real until I get the diploma in the mail. But I learned a lot, I'm glad I did it, and it feels good to be done. I'm ready to get back to work.

Running
My highest volume of miles in the last year, at least – a bit over 38. Not feeling too bad, all things considered. But looking forward to a bit of a taper the next few days, and really excited for the Percy Sutton Harlem 5k at the end of the week. I hears it's a hilly, "rude" course.

Books
I realized today that it's been a year since I had a homework-free weekend. I wonder how my reading habits will change now that I have more brainpower for non-school reading…

A Crown of Swords. The Wheel of Time, book 7. Finally finished. Robert Jordan's books have these crushingly tedious sequences but so often in the last 20% the momentum builds and it all adds up to something really fun. That's how he tricks you into the next one.

The Path of Daggers. The Wheel of Time, book 8. See above. Shortest book in the series, though!

Articles & Episodes & Twoots
The Columbo Screenshots twitter account is a daily source of delight.

Bring Back the Animation. "There’s an airiness, a spontaneity to hand-drawn animation, which lends a playfulness to even the creepiest, most surreal imagery. Consider the “Friends on the Other Side” sequence in The Princess and the Frog, and its rapid-fire dance of floating heads, exploding skulls, and sinister swirls of fire and fog. If these elements had any weight or volume, they’d either be too terrifying or, more likely, too kitschy. Delivered as a two-dimensional, hand-drawn experience, it’s all fast and fun — like a thought briefly brought to life, then snatched back into the ether."

Coping strategies for the serial project hoarder. "No project of mine is finished until I’ve told people about it in some way."

"Running, and other forms of aerobic activity, offer an inherent rewards structure that never seems to lie. You do the work, you reap the benefits. If you don’t, you won’t. In that way, endurance training is one of the most honest expressions of self that we have."

The Summer of Girly Pop.

"We need some quick education for the terminally online in just how unusual they are."

Traffic Enforcement Dwindled in the Pandemic. This is bad!

Urban explorer captures images of North DeKalb Mall before demolition. When I still lived in Atlanta, I'd often go to the AMC attached to this mall. I hope it gets a new lease on life.

Movies
Das Lehrerzimmer (The Teachers' Lounge). So good! A school community frays when a thief runs loose, frustrations rise, and accusations start flying. This will make my best-of list at the end of the year. But you don't have to take my word for it: "It's probably the best thriller of this type since "Uncut Gems," another movie where just watching realistic characters making bad decisions was so nerve-wracking that it made you want to crawl under your seat. "

Music
Hermanos Gutiérrez, Sonido Cósmico. These guys are so good. One way music can be good is to reward all levels of attention, and these guys make stuff that satisfies the full range of attention. The wah-wah and organ in "Barrio Hustle" is a special treat.

Sally Oldfield, Mirrors: The Bronze Anthology. Really enjoyed this album. Reminds me of those other '70s folk/pop greats – Carole King, Carly Simon, Francoise Hardy, etc.. Marimba is criminally underused – nice to hear it in "Sun In My Eyes". And the sparkling glockenspiel on "Blue Water" – excellent. "Strange Day in Berlin" opens with undulating woodwinds that made me think of Smetana's "Vltava/The Moldau".

Jordi Savall's reconstruction of Bach's Markus Passion, BWV 247, one of many reconstructed versions.

Frankie Reyes, Originalitos. I remember being obsessed with Boleros Valses y Mas a few years back. This is another delightful go-round with Latin synthesizer keyboard pieces. Like something you'd hear on a merry-go-round, or in a silent film soundtrack?

Amiina, Kurr. "Sogg" has a pleasant, drifting melancholy.

Ice Spice, Y2K!. We need more albums with short track lengths! It's okay to stop when you've said all you need to say. I like contrast of the suggestive, labored delivery in Bitch I'm Packin' and the aggressive, confrontational "Gimmie a Light".

Tarwater, Dwellers on the Threshold.

TV
The Leftovers, s1e7. The son/bodyguard is growing more skeptical of the cult guy. Cult guy never blinks and gives incredible hugs (???).

House of the Dragon, s2e6. Ongoing highlight is the spy/advisor characters to help stir things up.