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.
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…
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. :(
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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."
"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."
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".
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".
I passed this junk barge and towboat when I was out with my run club this weekend. Another runner joked it was a metaphor for his life. But, it's kind of a good one? Not glamorous but quietly powerful, useful, persistent, full of material to transform into something better. I'll take it.
Running
The highlight of my running week was visiting the first Summer Streets of the season, up in Queens. The event area was a bit desolate, but fun to take my first trip running over the Pulaski Bridge, visiting the The Hydration Guy, and coming back through Domino Park.
"Late last year, we invited students to participate in an experiment: We gave them $100 and a disposable camera each and asked, What is it like to live where you live?"
Movies Upgrade. AI plots seem so much more real these days! Just a few years into this era, and I'm sitting up in my seat a bit more with these stories. I really appreciated Logan Marshall-Green's acting in the early fight scenes: surprise and fear at his new abilities, still merciful for his enemies.
Dead Reckoning (1947). "What to do in a hot wind smelling of night-blooming jasmine except wait and sweat, and prime the body to sweat some more?" We need more writing like this! And more wise guys narrating their way down a trail of clues.
Talk Talk, Spirit of Eden. "Wealth" makes me think of Pink Floyd – is there a "Money" tie here?
Tonstartssbandht, Petunia. Lots of reverby guitar. I love "What Has Happened" – the stereo effects wobbling, brushes on the drumset, soft vocals, pulsing, hypnotic. A bit of electronic x folk vibe.
BACH. Still undefeated. One thing I really appreciate about classical is the ability to compare interpretations side-by-side.
Tianqi Du, Bach: Keyboard Concertos. Lighter, smoother, more reserved. Has a polite, sophisticated feel for me.
Gile Bae, J.S. Bach: Keyboard Concertos. This recording seemed more dark, driving, intense piano against a brighter sound in the orchestra. More Romantic-style variation in volume, more spacious echo-y. Not sure I liked it more, but appreciate the contrast.
Books
A Crown of Swords, cont.
The Cyberiad: Stories, cont.
School
I submitted my capstone project, and it got rejected for a couple little deficiencies. Ironed those out on Sunday morning, maybe get across the finish line before the end of the month.
TV
X-Files, s3e1 "The Blessing Way". Didn't love this season premiere, but appreciate how consistently this series works in spiritual/afterlife/astral plane sort of stuff. And I still love Skinner.
Lost, s4e1. We're never going back!
The Leftovers, s1e6. I love all the speculative stuff here. Like how groups hold conferences about the Departure(?), there are markets in mannequin corpses so people can have tangible funerals for the missing, the spike in charismatic opportunists, etc..
House of the Dragon(s), s2e5. Lots of dragon talk.
I traveled this past weekend, down to Maryland for a family reunion on my fiancée's side. I'd never been to one before. I was mostly surrounded by strangers, but found a warm welcome and I can see the appeal in events like this. Renewing present bonds, honoring the previous generation, encouraging and modeling for the next. Family can be a beautiful thing.
We took the trip down there on Amtrak. Couldn't ask for a smoother trip. If only the rest of the States had trains as easy as we do up in this corner of the country. Just night and day compared with the usual airport/airplane experience.
We only spent a couple hours in Baltimore, but the Baltimore Art Museum was a worthwhile side trip.
The event was hosted at a local Quaker/Friends meeting space. I liked the Biblical cartoons in the hallway.
School
Capstone project is maybe 1/4 done. (Actually more like 1/2, but I'm hedging for a confidence boost.) (It's actually more like 2/3-done, just being careful!) Maybe have that wrapped and submitted this week? We'll see.
Running
The week was just too darn hot, so I leaned on morning runs and kept'em short. Still managed to run a few miles of new-to-me streets. Also trying to make another local park turn red on my personal Strava heatmap.
Our trip out of town gave me a rare treat: trailrunning in a new city. I went out to Broad Creek Park and jogged in swampy suffocating forest and had an absolute blast.
Books Everything You Ever Wanted. Reading about listless depressed people is not very compelling. (Although it does remind me a bit of The Leftovers, with a group that has lost meaning and chosen to exit…)
Articles & Episodes & Twoots
I don't have time to dive into the new Michael Mann Archives right now. But it's super cool that he's taking ownership of this and sharing the work behind the work.
The Eyes of Lacy. "Owlishness, then, is the opposite of pretty, petty, and shallow; it is a term we reserve for those who are more lens than body, who make us acutely, uncomfortably aware of our own moral and physical imperfections."
Nicolas Cage Will Always Go Big. "It’s not crazy to think he’s trained (or retrained) some part of the movie-watching public to be more open-minded in general when evaluating quality acting, encouraging them to prize factors other than delicacy."
Movies Top Gun: Maverick. Second viewing, still love it. Those opening scenes with the test flight are just achingly beautiful. I just want to soak them in. Reminds me of the plane/boat travel scenes in Miami Vice.
Music
Lots of electronic this week, and while all were enjoyable, few tracks in particular got etched in my mind.
s2e23 "Soft Light". Tony Shalhoub (!) is scared of his shadow. I reallly like the concept in this one. It's rare that the weekly "monster" is ashamed, fearful, caring.
s2e24 "Our Town". Another warning about food supply chain vulnerability, but with a factory chicken town cannibal cult.
s2e25 "Anasazi". Poisoning an apartment building's water supply is wild. I wonder how much that has happened before. Out to the desert for aliens, and the sloppiest cover-up job you've ever seen.
The Leftovers, s1e5. One of the cult people gets a free day and returns with renewed faith. This show is agonizing in a great way.
Today I decided on my wedding band. At a couple points in the brief sizing tests, my finger felt trapped and panicky. It will be fun to get used to it. I can't wait to fidget-spin it when I'm lost in thought.
School
Last week was a big turning point: passed my two final classes, and moved on to the capstone project for my degree. And with that, a big shift in attitude and confidence. The finish line is in sight.
Books A Crown of Swords. Returned to where I left off in the Wheel of Time series, as an antidote to a general book lull and a couple sleepless nights. And what do you know, I pushed through some boring stuff and found my groove again. (I'll also give some credit to House of the Dragon for making me want to get wrapped up in a fantasy universe again, if not that particular one.)
Articles & Episodes & Twoots How Olympic athletes get fed. "There are also grab-and-go spaces with things like burgers and shawarma sandwiches. We don’t talk about nutritional values there, because this is what the athletes want after competing."
“Bullshit Jobs” is a Terrible, Curiosity-Killing Concept. "Consider reading it an act of meta-anthropology, exploring why a professional anthropologist could be so relentlessly, aggressively incurious about the lives and experiences of others."
Movies Jagged Edge. Sexy legal thriller! I don't think I've seen Jeff Bridges and Glenn Close so young before. Really appreciate how this one toys with your convictions.
Inside Out (2015). Better than expected! Not sure I dig the Bing Bong character. I also wonder what this story would be like with Sadness' journey at its center.
TV
The X-Files, s2e22 "F. Emasculata". This episode inspired gruesome artwork in my household.
The Expanse, s2e13. Season finale! Everyone has the Protomolecule now! The episode suffered in a way that many long-running series do: I didn't trust that anyone was really in danger.
The Leftovers, s1e4. Such an odd show. It's great. Appreciate how often they tell a full story arc within each episode, not just a path from A to B.
Bob's Burgers, s5e12. Silliness, like usual!
House of the Dragon, s2e4. Dragons, etc..
Game of Thrones, s3e9. The "red wedding", etc.. I only made it a few episodes into GOT, but glad to get some closure on what this was all about.
So much TV this week! I need to get back into the movie groove…
Music
Holly Herndon, Platform. Oddball cyborg vocals and synthesizer stuff. In wake of PROTO a couple weeks ago, maybe my favorite album of the week.
Kamasi Washington, Fearless Movement. A lot more hiphop/rapping than previous albums, and more vocals in general. Not my preference, but the ensemble is as locked as ever. "Road to Self (KO)" is the slow-build multi-genre noodling I signed up for.
The Blackbyrds, Action. I love "Soft and Easy". Is there word for that kind of ostinato on the electric guitar that shows up in this Barry White genre?
Akusmi, Fleeting Future and Lines. Chamber minimalism in the spirit of Reich, Glass, et al..
On recommendation from my brother, listened to Sylvain Rifflet, Cake Walk From a Space Ship and Dooble. Jazz a bit on the experimental side.
What am I making harder than it needs to be? In a response to a tweet about counterproductive difficulty in beginner running programs, I found something to ponder:
"People like it to be harder than it has to be. You know why? Because if it was easier than they thought, it would make them realize they could have been further along years ago. It’s like a confirmation bias to protect the ego that it has to be hard. I’m not saying it’s easy but sometimes it isnt as hard as you think."
I've gotten more injury-averse as I've gotten older. I want to avoid injury, because I really really want to avoid not being able to run. The change in mindset has pushed me to take a longer view. I can always come back tomorrow... but only if I don't wreck my progress today. (And also, sometimes: I can always come back tomorrow... but it'll be better if I do something today.) The reward for this consistent, steady, non-punishing approach has been a couple of the best running years of my life.
Seeing that tweet also made me think back to playing music in college. I was working through a marimba piece during a lesson with my percussion teacher. I played through a section, then he stopped me and asked a simple question: what does "Allegro" mean? I gave the simple answer: "fast". And he countered with a bit reframe: what about "fleet", "brisk", "energetic", "zippy", "storming"? Play again, same tempo, but it feels different, it sounds different. I recognized "fast" mode felt like a sprinter, tense, coiled, explosive, muscular. But I could also play fast like a… robin? Or a stream?
We went through a similar exercise when playing snare one day. I'd sometimes wind up like a caveman with especially difficult pieces, not playing relaxed. So: tap 20 times with the same force, but start with a heavy grip and gradually loosen it. The drum makes a sound, but the drumstick itself does, too. A tense fist is tiring, and the wood can't resonate as much, and the overall sound can have a dramatically different color to it. You have to set things in motion, trust the work to release its own vibrations out into the world.
School
Revisions, revisions, revisions. Few things as annoying as finishing something, moving on… and then later recognizing the work isn't finished yet. My program is ~94% complete at this point. Funny feeling on the precipice. But lots of hard work to go.
Running
Took a break this week, dialed it back about 20%. It's startling how much easier a 4-run week feels compared to a 5-run week. One small goal accomplished: I've now run every street in the Clinton Hill neighborhood.
Books Moonbound. Robin Sloan is just a fountain of ideas and optimism, and both of those traits carry through in this scifi-fantasy mishmash. It has fun and enjoys playing with your expectations.
The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn. It's only a couple decades old, but funny how much that was common knowledge then (neighborhood boundaries, makeup) doesn't apply anymore. Appreciate the historical nuggets in here. Glad to live in a place that changes.
How to Catch a Lab Leak. Fascinating interview about researching Soviet Union anthrax deaths. "All of these things are full of stories of human beings and all the nutcakes and crazy things that happened. You've got to make allowance for that in nearly everything."
The quiet return of eugenics. "The new eugenics will shortly be with us, although it will not describe itself as such. It will be described with euphemisms such as ‘genetic enhancement’ or ‘genetic health’."
High-pressure youth sports is bad for America. "Shifting from informal and school-based sports to expensive pay-to-play leagues has landed us in a pretty dysfunctional place, where parenting is unnecessarily complicated, society is unnecessarily inegalitarian, and communities are unnecessarily weak."
Event Horizon. Horror in space, etc.. It's done much better elsewhere.
The Lady Vanishes (1938). It takes a moment to adjust to old movies. I like the wisecracks and innuendo here. Good to see an elderly actress in a dynamic main role; shame to see our firecracker primary heroine largely be set aside when she partners up.
TV
The Expanse, s2e12. I keep thinking about about starting over from the beginning of the series. I think there are some nuances I keep bluffing my way through.
The Leftovers, s1e3. Uh-oh. The cult bought the church down the street.
House of the Dragon, s2e3. Ended this episode not necessarily interested in more GOT lore specifically, but more interested in being immersed in one of those elaborate worlds. Inspired me to pick up the Wheel of Time series again before going to bed.
Wild Portugal. As with many nature docs, too much slow-motion footage. Bustards look really cool. I had no idea the whole genet family existed. Wolves are still the best.
This week we got our wedding invitations back from the printer (featuring custom designs by Jara Montez!), and… it's the coolest feeling. Just a few months away.
Pierrot with Clarinet by Jacques Lipchitz. I recognize the word from the orchestral piece "Pierrot Lunaire", the movie "Pierrot Le Fou", etc., but never knew what it was – a sad clown!
Books Zero Days. A husband/wife team of security consultants are caught in a web of intrigue. Been a while since I've read a book in first-person perspective. A bit wordy, but it flies right by.
School
Buckled down, finished a class. One to go. Great way to kick off the second half of the year.
Running
I've steadily been filling out the map, and got another quick win – finished running every street in Clinton Hill. With that and Crown Heights already done, next project is running all the streets in Fort Greene and Bed-Stuy.
Enjoyed my extra hill workouts this month, but recognize the cost in simple time away from home. I talked with a run club buddy this weekend about his prep for a 50-mile race, and he talked about how it "became his whole personality" for a few months. Not sure I want to go there.
Black Coffee, Home Brewed. Took a minute to get used to longer track lengths – all but one over 6 minutes! Didn't know what I was getting into. "Mama" represents well the trance feel throughout the album.
I worked in a bunch more classical this week, especially woodwinds. I wonder what music of this era will still be heard in 200–300 years…
Articles & Episodes & Twoots
USA Olympian heptathlete Anna Hall shared her competition journal, and it's just fascinating to see the blend of goals, tips, motivational talk, progress tracking, etc.. "Choose Violence!!!!!!"
"Dribbling out details of a character’s past like breadcrumbs is a hackish and tiresome device: Filling in backstory shouldn’t be confused with character development." I've never watched the show in question, but really appreciate this criticism. I often feel ambivalent about flashback scenes, and now that it's been spelled out, I think this is probably one reason why.
Movies Trigger Warning. It's not great, but it gets the job done. I appreciate Alba's heroine using knives and machetes instead of a gun. Tiptoes close to "Kill Bill" form at a few moments – I think leaning more in the western/martial arts direction could have been interesting. Also appreciate all the Mexican pride – leather jacket with the eagle and snake, embroidered blouse, etc. – and the varieties of southwestern lifestyle on display. I could do without the slurs to underscore the villainy.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978). Never saw the original, but got inspired to watch this after learning of Donald Sutherland's passing. It's so good. Creepy plant horror is under-explored.
TV
The X-Files, s2e20 "Humbug". Murderous intrigue in a circus sideshow community. Right from the jump, it toys with your prejudices and expectations. Fun episode.
The X-Files, s2e21 "The Calusari". Really appreciate how this episode was shot. One of the better climaxes in the series. Even if we've seen similar before in e.g. "The Exorcist", some sights just don't lose their impact.
The Leftovers, s1e1–2. I kept seeing this show pop up every now and then, even before the recent 10th anniversary appreciations. Finally piqued my curiosity to check it out. I'm in!
The Expanse, s2e11. I'm really growing to appreciate how much the political intrigue is becoming more compelling. They've shaped that arc and transition very nicely.
House of the Dragon, s2e2. The collective decision-making is just… come on, people! What a silly show.
Good week. Last week's R&R helped a lot. Came into this week with more focus and more time-in-chair than I'd been able to do previously.
After launching runwear.app, I decided to let all the ideas in the backlog simmer for a little while, and switched over to a new coding project. Feels good to have a clean sheet of paper and a steep learning curve again.
I think it also helped that I returned to my old burger place again. And again. I'm realizing the extra time and energy is worth it, even on a 90º afternoon...
School
Finished up two projects for my current class. One to go.
Running
Three of four Wednesday evening hill workouts complete. Really happy I worked this in. Next month, switching to trail runs. Trails at twilight? Can't beat it. Falling in love with running again. I've been on such a high, and knock on wood, healthy as can be. So many ideas and goals bubbling up. (Maybe that's one thing hobbies are good for: a low-stakes area of continuous work, experimentation, reward… so you can better recognize by contrast the areas where you don't have it!)
Books The Good Thieves. Katherine Rundell strikes again. Her writing style doesn't strike me as much as it did the first time, but that's to be expected by the time you a writer's fourth book. It's still as lively as ever, and I still appreciate the relentless optimism and mild deviance she promotes. 😈
Music
This felt like a "clean-up" week, not as focused as previous ones. Just tidying up some stray albums I'd saved for later.
Overseas, from Tommy Flanagan. I really like how his toms are tuned, high and resonant. As on "Dalarna", the piano + brushes combo is still undefeated.
Thom Yorke, Anima. I like "Twist" for its full saturation. "Not The News" has this wonderful brush/sandpaper sound, along with sirens and bleeps and bloops. Just perfect.
No Doubt, Tragic Kingdom. I gained a glancing awareness of the "I'm Just a Girl" discourse, which led me to better things: re-listening to this album. "Spiderwebs" is due for a revival?
Electrelane, The Power Out. I don't listen to rock very much anymore! Just really lost the taste for it, unless it drifts more into the prog/metal realm. I really like hippie/folk/cult/choral flavor in "The Valleys".
Moodswings, Moodfood. Easy listening wallpaper. Always appreciate when nature sounds work their way in, as on "Thailand". Really nice orchestration – saxes, bass, shaker – in "Yebo/Sema".
Movies F/X. A movie special effects genius is recruited by the Justice Department to help stage a fake assassination, so they can move a key witness out of sight and move a big case move forward. Lots of fun. They don't make'em like this anymore!
I keep a tally of how I spend my working hours. I put it all in a spreadsheet to make sure I've got enough "butt in chair" time when it comes to school, coding, career stuff. It also helps me admit when I'm burned out, because the numbers don't lie. Recently: 📉. So I took a few days off this week, just focusing on rest and recuperation. And movies. Felt great. Coming out of this weekend with a just-enough-vacation sort of freshness.
A couple other highlights this week:
Having hot dogs and potato chips for dinner, along with a summer blockbuster on TV.
I finished v1 of www.runwear.app, aka Project Runwear, a little experiment to help me figure out my running outfit given the local weather, dialed in based on my own experience. It's not essential right now – these days the main question is: tshirt or tanktop? – but it will be useful in the fall and winter, soon enough.
Books Titanium Noir. A blend of hard-boiled detective in a scifi web of intrigue. I thought I was going to drop it, but glad I decided to push through. There's some sort of "wise guy" crack on just about every page, often our can't-help-himself hero just digging the hole a little deeper.
The case again travel. "You have to let go of wanting to do anything existentially and focus on shortest term pleasure. Optimization of time and energy is the complete antithesis of loafing." and "Moving is the most passive thing that feels active." (via)
Running
Hill workouts are going well. And I've started taking small tangents from our run clubs usual routes – breaking off for little spells of novelty before rejoining. Gotta do the things that keep me interested.
Holly Herndon, PROTO. Herndon was a recent guest on Ezra Klein Show, and is thoughtful on her use of AI systems in her music. I like the overlapping voices and orchestra hits in "Eternal"
Movies The Rock. Nicolas Cage is such a gem. I should really spend more time with his filmography.
Perfect Days. Such mixed feelings! It's lovely but I felt a little remote from it. Some of this may be situational. The theater played a pre-roll promo with the director and lead – "This beautiful movie is about X. It's also about Y. So-and-so is a true talent." – and I found it really, really off-putting.
She's Gotta Have It. Spike Lee was just shot out of a cannon, huh? Really cool seeing Fort Greene Park, just down the road. And man, he loves a musical interlude. Didn't know he was doing those from the jump. Why not?
Men. What you might call a "rich text". E.g. we're picking apples in gardens within the first few minutes, and plenty more comparably subtle imagery to come. Really appreciate the eeriness simmering underneath from the very beginning. The sinister, fantastical turns toward the end are a bit too drawn out, but effective in their own way.
Orion and the Dark. Glad to see animated movies mixing in different visual styles in the middle of the movie. Interesting that they didn't have that contrast for the framing device. Don't always love a narrator, but it fits the structure.
Passing. Really heartbreaking, uncomfortable. I like how how the upper-class milieu just heightens everything, draws in your focus. Ditto for dense, allusive conversations, and our limited view through Clare's perspective. We get only a limited sense of the tradeoffs, though some acutely felt. The book was one of my favorites read in 2022.
Immortals. This got on my radar from cool-looking stills. I think I was expecting something a more clean, campy, cartoony, adventurous. It was much more in the 300 vein, with plenty "look at this badass being a badass" slow-mo-ments, plenty of bloody splatter to go around. Still elevated by the thoughtful sets and costuming. (The Fall is the only other Tarsem film I've seen, with a narrator dials up the kooky visuals even more.)
TV
The X-Files, s2e17, "End Game". Alien Bounty Hunter escapes again. I still love Skinner so much. The most unpredictable character in the show.
The X-Files, s2e18, "Fearful Symmetry". Zoos are bad! Love the recurring PNW environmentalist hippie types we've seen in this show.
The Expanse, s2e5–8. I liked the first season, and the corresponding first book in the series. I abandoned the show a while back, though. I started to tune out when the Mars characters and bureucrats were getting more focus. I think I'm still trying to figure out exactly where TV fits in my life.
Bodkin, s1e6. Curious how they're gonna wrap this up…
