I’m clearly not wasting enough time watching TV or stuff on my computer as this month’s list is again rather lean. Don’t worry, with colder weather arriving and the holiday TV season beginning, I expect to get this back where it should be soon.
Movies, Shows, etc
Halloween Baking Championship
It’s holiday baking show season, bitches! The kids don’t watch anymore, but S does. And I’ve cut Halloween Wars from the rotation so start with just this. From the first episode I was sure Ryan would win. He slipped up in the finale and Hollie was a worthy champion.
A-
Searching for Italy, season two
It’s a damn shame CNN decided not to do a season three, because this was one of the best things on TV. It made us want to go back to Italy soon.
A
A
Seinfeld, random episodes
I hit a streak where I watched at least one episode each weekday for something like two weeks straight. There’s not a bad season, but when they are in the midst of seasons two-through-four, just about every episode is terrific.
A
The Big Short
Another film that I, inexplicably, had not seen. I’ve reached the age where I get suspicious of any traditional motion picture that attempts to explain some cultural, political, or economic phenomenon via drama, even if I agree with its perspective. At least in how I evaluate it as an “explanation” for said event. But you can’t argue that this isn’t a compelling movie to watch. I love all the little sly notes throughout that remind the viewer that the people who are ostensibly the Good Guys of the film are, with one or two notable exceptions, not really worthy of our admiration. They still profited massively off the economic meltdown that ruined so many regular people’s lives.
A-
Pearl Jam – Ten Revisited (2009 TV Special)
Love both the interviews and live performances from the band’s early days.
A
Stranger Things, season one
For some reason this jumped into my mind a couple weeks ago. It is my favorite season of the show, and the finale is one of my favorite single episodes ever. It takes place around Halloween, might as well watch it again!
Only my memory was wrong. Season one begins on November 3, 1983. It is season two that takes place over Halloween. Oh well. It was worth the re-watch for the fall, Indiana vibes alone.
A
American Experience War of the Worlds
It had been a couple years since I logged a Halloween-time listen to Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds. After I knocked it out on Halloween day I came across this PBS documentary about the alleged panic it caused. I found it interesting that this counters the widely accepted argument that very few people were actually fooled by the broadcast. Which is kind of fun. I like there being some mystery and/or controversy about what really happened. I think Welles would approve.
B+
Nile Rodgers & CHIC: Tiny Desk Concert
First off, Nile Rodgers is an American treasure. Second, this is one of the most delightful, joyous, magical performances you will ever watch. There is a massive surprise in the middle.
A+
Shorts, YouTubes, etc
A 20 Mile Backpacking Trip to the Heart of the Cascade Mountains
It’s been awhile since I’ve watched one of these hiking+photography videos.
The Inconvenient Podcast
Beau Miles gets asked to appear on a podcast about parenting. So of course he turns it into an adventure for both him and his daughter and the podcast host and his kids.
Best of Colin and Che “OFFENSIVE JOKES”
Sometimes you have to watch what the algorithm spits out to you.
Music/Podcasts
Plain English with Derek Thompson
I’ve blurbed this show before. Thompson’s current series about the Israel-Palestinian conflict has been excellent. As an American, liberal Jew, he has mixed feelings about the situation. I really appreciate how he and his guests do their best to examine events with as little emotion and as much respect for the people directly affected as is possible.