2024 Summer Olympics
Already much discussed in this space.
A
The Americans, season 3
The re-watch continues. Season three was a tight, excellent set of episodes: I believe every show fell between 43 and 48 minutes. Even in 2015, that was rare in the prestige TV realm. The last four episodes, especially, were crackling with intensity as the Jennings’ secret started to spill out.
A-
Homicide: Life On The Street, selected episodes
One of the all-time great TV dramas finally arrived on a streaming platform last month. I watched a fair amount of Homicide, at least the early years, back in the day. I read the book it was based on. And, of course, I obsessed over its spiritual and thematic successor, The Wire.
Tourist Sauce, Return to Australia
The NLU crew went back to the location of their first travel series, nearly seven years later, with a bigger budget and crew, and a lot more knowledge of what they were doing. As usual, the result was great.
Buying The Cheapest Cameras In Japan
OMG!!! You don’t have to know a thing about cameras, or be interested in photography, to find this piece totally hilarious.
Every Olympic 100m Final (1912–2016)
This is pretty cool. It would be even cooler if it noted who won each race. Also, these are only men’s races, so it’s not really every 100m final.
I Visited Mount Everest Base Camp
An interesting undertaking: this kid doesn’t try to climb the entire mountain, but rather just get to base camp. Which is way harder than I would have expected, and even this is probably beyond the abilities of 95% of people.
Mascots Savage Moments Against Little Kids
This might be the greatest video ever made. Each time I see it, I laugh my ass off. Also fun is finding the full-game videos from these events. The Colts’ Blue is a beast in those games.
I Drive The Fantastic Polestar 3 For The First Time!
I was super intrigued by the Polestar 2 when I was car shopping, specifically used ones, which have plummeted in value. Someone not too far from us owns one, and I keep wanting to catch them at Target or wherever so I can ask questions. However, the closest current service center is in Columbus, OH, I have concerns about the long-term health of the line, and then the difficulty in calculating how much damage the previous owner did to the battery. It looks like the company is continuing to do great things. Now the trick is coming out with one in the $45K range so I can test drive one in three years when I get back into the car shopping game. Another trick will be not going out of business before more affordable models can hit production.
Posting this early as we head off to Florida for vacation this weekend.
Movies, Shows, etc
Tour de France
A good first two weeks became a rather boring final week as Tadej Pogacar destroyed the field for an easy win. Luckily, that last week was when I barely watched, between travel basketball and the British Open. As always, the Peacock production of the French images was laughably bad at times. My favorite was the day they were convinced a guy that had been leading solo for about an hour had the race won, and literally 15 seconds later five other riders roared past him. But at least we can still watch here in the US.
B+
Shrinking
S pulled this out again when we had visitors over the Fourth, as they had not seen it. We watched two episodes with them, then watched the next eight the next night after they left. As good as the first time.
A
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
Sigh. It didn’t make me laugh, there were no Magic Eddie Murphy Moments, some of the cast seemed way too old to have been rolled back out for another entry in the series, the story was pretty much like 8000 other cop movies, the many references to the first three films felt heavy handed, and a lot of the jokes seemed forced and/or straight out of an 80s action film playbook. And what was up with Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s accent? His character was born in Chicago then moved to Beverly Hills, yet had some weird, quasi-McConaughey Texas thing going?
C
For All Mankind, season four
This show has found a way to always stick the landing through the first three seasons. That wasn’t the case this time. Kind of a silly season all around, with some extreme silliness in the finale. Not nearly as compelling as the first two seasons, for sure, and lacked the pure drama that wrapped up season three. I read that Costa Ronin will join the cast for season five, making him the third? fourth? fifth? cast member of The Americans to make the jump. We need to find a way to tie the shows’ plot lines together, like he’s still the technology expert who was stationed in the US in the 1980s but is the KGB director in the alternative 2012 USSR of season five.
When an actor got dumped…and decided to conquer Hollywood Swingers is one of the five, non-holiday movies I’ve watched the most in my life. It’s been too long since I’ve watched it. Shame it is kind of hard to find to stream for free. Or at least it’s not on any of the platforms we currently pay for. And we pay for a lot of them.
The Day Remco Evenepoel CHEATED DEATH
Holy schnikies! I would not have been able to watch this if I wasn’t aware that he survived and was riding in this year’s Tour.
Romain Bardet & Kevin Vermaerke ripping canyons in California
I assumed this was on a closed road for some reason. So it freaked me out the first time one of the riders was deep into the opposite lane on a curve and, moments later, a car came by in that lane. 40+ MPH down a hill on a bike is not for the faint of heart.
This really aired
Dig around and you’ll find evidence both for this ad airing once and it never airing. Surely it is the later, right? Regardless, it is hilarious.
The Americans, seasons one and two
I’m finally doing it: devoting this summer to re-watching one of my very favorite TV shows. My original plan was to try to knock all five seasons out in June. But as I can’t watch more than a couple shows a night, even if I love something, and there were a lot of basketball nights in the month, I only got through the first two. Guess what? It still holds up!
A-, A
Tour de France – Unchained, season two
Required viewing to prep for this year’s race. Last year, based on my viewing of season one, I was pulling for Jonas Vingegaard. This time, Tadej Pogacar came across as much more normal and empathetic. Weird.
Pearl Jam – 2024 – Los Angeles, CA – May 22nd
I watched/listened to this and began getting very excited about seeing them in a couple months. Eddie sounds great. Then he got sick last week and they’ve had to cancel the rest of their European tour, which makes me nervous for the Indy show.
Lucid Air Sapphire is The Best Performance Sedan Ever Made!
Newest entry on my If I Won The Lottery car list. I laugh at how so many young reviewers complain that Lucids look like old man cars. I think they look great. I ran that by my buddy who owns a Lucid and he replied, “Well, we are old men now.” Yikes!
My Garage Update – June 2024
Kyle Conner has become a huge part of my media diet since February. I’ve watched tons of his videos and listened to hours of his podcasts in my car journey. I’ve always wondered how many cars he actually owned. Well, if you don’t want to watch over an hour of him breaking it down, I think the answer is 20. And that’s before the loaners he has for reviews and ones his business officially owns. Now I wonder where a dude his age has the money for 20 cars, plus insurance, plus registrations, plus maintenance. Surely not just from YouTube earnings.
We knocked out season three of The Bear over the weekend, binging six episodes Friday and four Saturday.
Before I dive in, a couple preliminary notes.
First, I had not heard official word that there will be a season four until after we finished. I believe I heard there might be another season, but not that it had been confirmed. Thus, when we paused things Friday night, I was a little concerned about how things were going to wrap up in the final four episodes. Turns out that season four, or at least part of it, was shot right after season three. There’s been no word about a release date, so maybe they just shot a few parts for continuity’s sake and will reconvene later this year for a summer 2025 release? Regardless, at least one more season of The Bear!
Second, this is such a beautifully shot show, and has such perfectly selected music, and is filled with such great actors, that even an uneven, possibly disappointing season like this one still delights in so many ways. It’s always been a gorgeous show to watch, but this year it went to another level in terms of pure visuals. So many stunning moments.
Now, calling it disappointing probably isn’t fair, but that’s in comparison to the bar set in the first two years. Like so many shows that move beyond season three, that third year becomes more about setup for what’s next than being as rich as its predecessors.
I think this season can be called disappointing largely because of how it ended. Season one ended with an immense sense of relief and hope for what was ahead. Season two’s finale was a big bummer, with Carmen melting down on opening night. But there was still a sense of accomplishment from actually getting the restaurant open and an eagerness to see what happened after that first night.
This time, though, it feels like the core of the show is spinning apart. Sydney is so dissatisfied with Carmy’s disfunction and controlling nature that she will surely take Shapiro’s offer to jump ship to where she has more control and security. Richie, having discovered how a prestige restaurant should be run, seems disgusted by every choice Carmen makes. Marcus is too expensive for what he provides (according to The Computer). Tina tries nobly, but often can’t handle the pressures of the dinner rush or meet Carmy’s expectations. Natalie just had a kid and her husband just won an important trial. She can turn her back on an enterprise that is home to exactly the kind of toxic relationships she does not want to expose her daughter to.
And Carmen is so inside his own head that he can’t relax and enjoy the reality of running the restaurant he’s always wanted. He has stacks of notebooks filled with incredible ideas. Yet he spends hours staring at plates me makes, tinkers with, and then tosses aside because they can’t reach the impossible ideal he thinks will earn the Michelin star he craves. He’s forgotten what great food is supposed to be about, and is wasting his own talent and that of his crew in his pursuit of perfection. He built this great team, empowered and inspired them, then totally undermines them when they are on the verge of success. Instead of all the good things he learned from Chef Terry and others, he’s repeating the negativity pumped out by Chef David.
Where the audience could once put up with his moods and tantrums, he’s become unlikable in almost everything he does. He was one the tortured artist with a dream. Now he’s just kind of a dick.
All of this is worth it because, I think and hope, it will lead to someplace very interesting next season. It’s just a bummer that so much time was spent without advancing the story very far.
I LOVED episode one. Thirty minutes of food and photography porn. It was quite a way to remind, refresh, and reset. I can’t recall another show ever taking that direction to set up a new season, devoting an entire episode to the process. It also ended up being a perfect setup for how cluttered Carmy’s mind would be by the end of the year. The soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, a constant drone that never either peaked or crashed, was a superb accompaniment.
We finally got Tina’s origin story! That was another of my favorite episodes of the season. You see where that fierce pride in her comes from. I think it helped that you know how it ends up, but her meeting and conversation with Mikey was a wonderful piece of TV. I like to think the tears in Liza Colon-Zayas’ eyes were because she knew what a powerful moment that was, not just because of her character’s emotions.
Little tidbit some of you might already know: the man who played Tina’s wife, David Zayas, is Liza’s real-life husband.
Another great episode: “Ice Chips.” Shockingly intimate moments between Natalie and Donna in the hospital. The intensity of them just looking and holding each other was as powerful as the screaming in season two’s “Fishes.” Them coming to an understanding of each other and Donna having to step aside when Pete shows up was a huge gut punch. I don’t think Donna is a super sympathetic character because she is SOOOO crazy. Sure, you feel sorry for how she is and how she got there. But you also see the havoc and pain she causes, especially in Sugar, and you want to tell her to knock it the fuck off. But the moment when she leaves Natalie’s room and you see life drain from her as she realizes she is alone again, was devastating.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but there were too many and too much of the Faks this season. When a show starts running out its comic foil more often, it generally means something is awry with the core story. In this case, I think they just needed 10 episodes and couldn’t quite get there, so padded each one with some Fak nonsense. Don’t get me wrong: I love the Faks! But like a powerful spice, they need to be used sparingly to avoid overwhelming the dish they are in.
Along those lines, John Cena was funny as Sammy Fak. But was he needed? His presence distracted. Just let Matty Matheson do his thing.
I didn’t get all the people who hated Claire’s introduction last year. Most of that criticism was that she was kind of formulaic and we never got to know much about her, thus her time on screen distracted from the story we were really interested in. I doubt those people will be pleased with how she floated in and out of this season, without ever being a big part of it aside from a couple scenes. And I guess this means she’s back next year?
Marcus is still the best. His eulogy for his mother was wonderful.
Favorite line of the year: Chef David telling Carmy “You basically made nachos” when he adds a dot of sauce to an already spare dish. Joel McHale is so good in his limited moments as David.
Another good line, this time from Richie: “Chef Carmen uses power phrases ’cause he’s a baby replicant who’s not self-actualized.” I love self-actualized Richie!
Richie is totally taking Jess to his ex-wife’s wedding, isn’t he? Good for them both. And good for Richie and his ex being civil to each other for their daughter’s sake. I loved their scene where they are having a normal, adult conversation then occasionally scream at their daughter not to eat something she finds on the playground.
Interesting to read theories about the Chicago Tribune review. I’m not totally convinced Carmen read it, but instead wonder if those words that flashed on the screen were another product of the mess in his head.
However, some TV critics think he did read it. One thought it was a bad review. One thought it was mixed, praising The Beef side of the business while dinging The Bear side. And another thought it was actually a positive one that pointed out that, like so many other new places, it needed some time to work out the kinks and find its focus.
I’m not sure any of it matters. Even if the review was positive, does that end up reinforcing in Carmen that he’s on the right path and he doesn’t need to make concessions that will bring The Bear at least to a break-even point? And, thus, Cicero pulls the plug? Might Syd be so far gone that she will take Shapiro’s offer no matter what the future of The Bear is? Is season four all about Carmy and Syd going two different directions because that was inevitable?
At the Ever funeral dinner, we see all these famous chefs, many of whom have worked together but eventually scattered out on their own. Great chefs rarely stay together for long. Even if Carmen cleans up his act and The Bear begins making money, Sydney is destined to take her own journey at some point.
One review of season three I read drew some parallels between the arc of The Bear and Ted Lasso. That writer suggested season four will follow the Lasso lead of putting everyone in a good place before it wraps up. I think we all want that to happen. But on The Bear, I’m wondering if a happy ending means the crew we’ve come to love so much end up going off on their own rather than conquering the world together.
There were plenty of high points in season three. Overall, though, it was frustrating because of its lack of focus. Or, perhaps, it was more focused on what’s ahead than what was in the present. I hope the writers know what they are doing, get their groove back for season four, and return the show to where it was in seasons one and two.
My goal for May was to adjust away from so much YouTube back towards more traditional shows and movies. I didn’t do a great job of that. I have started a summer viewing project, so while the hours may adjust in June, I don’t know if the number of entries in each section will change much for awhile.
Movies, Shows, etc
The Gentlemen
Highly entertaining. You can’t go wrong with a collection of fun British accents. Throw in some normal Guy Ritchie stuff and you got yourself a super watchable TV series.
A
John Mullaney Presents Everybody’s In LA
I got through four of these and that was enough. Funny, but also just weird and uneven enough for me to skip the last two. Which means they were probably the best.
B-
Pearl Jam: The ‘Dark Matter’ Interview
An incredible hour with PJ. Remember when Eddie hated to do interviews? Now, if he’s in the right setting, you can’t get him to shut up. This goes beyond the usual new album PR push as it feels like there are some genuine moments of emotion in their conversation, especially near the end. And seeing their rehearsal/storage building is super cool.
A
Hustle
Predictable, formulaic, and manipulative. Yet it was fun, entertaining as hell, and surprisingly well acted. Every time I saw Anthony Edwards in the playoffs, I kept thinking of the grin on his face when he baits Bo Cruz into shoving him. Not sure why it took me so long to watch.
B+
NBA Playoffs
A lot of great games last month. And some great performances in games that weren’t super competitive. Could have used a couple more Pacers wins, though.
Can’t Get a X100 VI – Still Worth Waiting For? Here’s 11 Alternatives!
Back when I was really into cameras, I watched a ton of these guys’ vids. Their combination of accents always made me laugh, plus there was good camera content. If I was still into cool cameras, I had the budget, and I could find one, I would 100% get an X100 VI. Although the perfect camera would be 10–20% smaller so you could actually get it into a pocket while getting much better results than from an iPhone.
TRYING KANSAS CITY’S MOST ICONIC FOODS! 🇺🇸 WORTH THE HYPE?? BBQ, Z-MAN, MOCHI DONUTS & MORE!
Once you get past the title, which could not be more Millennial YouTuber, this was a fun vid. I agree with the person in the comments who said they’ve lived in KC for 70 years and never heard of a cheese slipper. Wondered if something new had been invented in the 21 years since I moved away.
Bound for Nowhere
I think I’ve watched some of this couple’s videos before. They are starting a new series of international travel and kicked it off with three videos about their new truck. Not sure why I’ve never found a bunch of sponsors to finance me custom building my own vehicle.
A visit to Sears with Mom in 1977
“These are on sale, so that’s what we’re going to get, ok. You like these.” What kid in the Seventies didn’t hear that phrase when it was time to buy new shoes? I think I’m going to give this channel more attention.
Driving the stunning new Aston Martin Vantage
As much as I enjoy the silent power and speed of my Tesla, I freaking love the way Aston Martins sound. If only they made one that cost under $50K…
Podcasts
The Bill Simmons Podcast
I’ve been back into Simmons’ pod since last September. It’s usually pretty good, especially the NBA stuff. Last month he had Eddie Vedder and Jeff Ament on to talk about Pearl Jam’s career, the episode the above video was a companion to. But I LOVED this episode, or at least the final segment, when his daughter Zoe was on to review her freshman year of college. I made note of her big observations and ran them by M, who agreed with most of them but very much disagreed with her assertion that boys and girls can’t be friends. But Zoe seems like a serial dater when M is the opposite, so makes sense they would have different perspectives.
Bandsplain
Yasi Salek was a regular guest on 60 Songs That Explain the 90s. I’ve dabbled with her pod, but it often seems too long to really dive into. But a three-part breakdown of Pearl Jam’s career that lasts over 10 hours? Yes, I worked through every minute of that over the course of several weeks.
Back in February I vowed to get my YouTube algorithm re-calibrated so it was sending me more good videos. Jumping into the car-buying process kick-started that process. It might be time to swing back the other way, as I only watched a few “normal” shows in April and my YT feed is overrun with car vids.
Curb Your Enthusiasm, season 12
LD pretty much stuck the landing. I wasn’t sure where the season was going early on, but it slipped into gear in the middle and finished up pretty strong.
I did not like how the finale began. We’re supposed to believe that someone who has harped on societal niceties for 35 years isn’t going to turn his phone off or fasten his seatbelt when a plane takes off? That fit into the broader point of the finale, though: Larry is a terrible person. It was great bringing Jerry Seinfeld back. Any time I see David and Seinfeld interact I think of what it would have been like to see these two bounce ideas off each other back in their writing primes. The final image was just about perfect.
A-
Conan O’Brien Must Go
As you’ll see below, a lot of Conan content this month, mostly because of this new travel show. Every episode is great, but the segment where he learns about common Irish phrases is one of the best moments of the series.
A
Duran Duran: There’s Something You Should Know
My brother-in-music E$ recommended this. It was indeed pretty good. In fact, it might be the perfect, modern rock doc. It was brisk, checking in at exactly an hour. It ripped through the band’s history. Four of the five original members participated. There wasn’t too much attention to the band’s most recent albums. I would have liked to have seen more details of their prime years, when I’m guessing these dudes lived AMAZING lives. I’d rather a flick like this leave me wanting more than dragging on too long, though.
B+
NBA Playoffs
I only watched the Pacers closely, but had them on almost every night there was a game.
How the UN is Holding Back the Sahara Desert
This is both awesome and, likely, a relatively cheap project. So I’m sure there are a lot of folks in the political world who want to stop funding projects like it.
Is the iPhone “Illegal?”
I’m no attorney, but I find the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Apple to be quite weird. There are some parts that make sense, while others seem completely illogical. MKBHD’s views largely mirror mine.
How Chinese EV Giant BYD Is Taking On Tesla
There are some advantages to the Chinese market the US can’t compete with. But a decade of roughly half of our nation running away from EVs, in terms of political/economic policy and buying choice, has put us woefully behind and now we’re resorting to threatening to ban Chinese cars. Ain’t that America?
How To Ruin Your Electric Car’s Battery – 3 Common Mistakes
A typical YouTube title that overstates things, but some good guidelines for EV owners. I won’t follow these as strictly since I am leasing and am not trying to get the battery to last 10 years.
Podcasts
The Vergecast: The TikTok ban and the iPhone monopoly
This is in my normal podcast rotation, although I don’t always get to it. This episode was terrific for explaining what’s going on with Apple and the Department of Justice, and TikTok and the US government as a whole.
What Kind of a Superpower Is India Becoming?
We think of Russia, China, and the mess in the Middle East as the most important geo-political challenges of the moment. India is fixin’ to buck its head, though, and I found this look at where they are and where they are headed super informative.
How One Small Company Saves Retro Tech
I loved this look at Retrospekt, a company that refurbs and resells old technology products. What a great journey for the owners. Also I listened to this in podcast form, but this link is to the YouTube video.
I said last month that I needed to reset my YouTube algorithm so I was getting better recommendations. I think I’ve accomplished that, spending way too much time on the platform over the last six weeks. Now it is skewed to like 90% car stuff. Which I’m fine with, at the moment. That has caused me to add a new category for at least this month.
Otherwise, not a lot of long form programming in March. Blame basketball and spring break, but the real reason was watching those 8000 hours of car vids.
Movies, Shows, etc
The Tourist, season one
This was one of the strangest shows I’ve watched recently. Equal parts hilarious, bizarre, confusing, confounding, compelling, and off-beat, while always being super Australian. I think I liked it, but there were moments when I almost wanted to turn it off. I guess I’ll give season two a shot at some point.
B+
Griselda
This was promoted as an expansion of the Narcos world, another look at the Colombian-centered drug trade of the 1980s. That’s true to a certain extent, but Griselda suffers from that comparison.
It began well, but in the middle began to take a very strange path. By the final episode I was hoping it would be over. Shows like this, about drug lords, need something compelling about the bad guys to keep you interested. Griselda Blanco comes across as a pure psycho and gives the viewer no real reason to hope she somehow survives. So many of the characters, from Sofia Vergara in the title role to the police who chased her, seemed one-dimensional or cartoonish. That every Narcos season was so good made Griselda’s flaws even more disappointing.
C+
Renovation Aloha
Our home reno show of the month. This couple does amazing things with truly shitty homes in Hawaii. We couldn’t get over the cost of real estate out there. S and I also laughed at the height difference between the couple that hosts. Then we realized that’s kind of what we look like.
A-
Gold
Our first spring break movie, our housemates randomly picked this one night. Interesting story but not a great movie. Afterward I read the true events it was based on and decided that they adjusted the timeframe back a decade just so Matthew McConaughey could play a 1980s oilman.
B
Larry and Marge Go Large
Our second break movie. Our housemates had seen this before and insisted we watch it. Wonderfully charming and fun.
Mountain Coaster Oeschinensee Kandersteg Switzerland
Finally – HOLY SHIT! – there’s this one, which basically looks like you’re going down a luge course without ice. This one has to crash occasionally, right?
Glide with Josie Prendergast
Surfing videos are cool. Surfing videos featuring surfers who look like supermodels are even cooler. Don’t tell my wife or daughters.
Full Tour: Electrify America Flagship Indoor Charging Hub! The Nicest Public EV Station In America
A big issue with EV adoption is that many of the people who are most interested in them live/work in congested urban areas where there isn’t room for chargers, and apartments/condos often don’t allow Level 2 home chargers. This solution seems best suited for tech-savvy cities like San Fransisco.
Do We Regret Buying a Rivian R1S? 7 Months Later…
I hate how videos like this are titled to generate controversy. This is actually a very fair, honest, mostly positive accounting. The estimate they got for repairing some minor damage was indeed insane, though.
This $40,000 Tesla Solar & Powerwall Setup Is The Ultimate Home Power Station
Not strictly about cars, but another step on where we should be headed as a society. If we ever build a house – something that seems pretty unlikely – I would 100% roll the cost of adding solar into the project. As it stands, though, we don’t have a spare 40K sitting around to add it to our current home. Unless C or L get full rides to college.
Lucid Air: How to One-up Tesla!
I’ve ridden in a Lucid, and they are indeed awesome. I disagree with his critique of the Air’s looks.
The Vinfast VF8 is…. trying
One of the crazy things about the EV space is that there are some cars out there that are kind of crappy, yet still start in the $50K range. Boggles the mind.
A final reminder that the magnificent 60 Songs That Explain The ‘90s pod came to an end in March. If you’ve never listened to it and love music, I can’t recommend it enough.
The Greatest Night In Pop
The funny way to sum up this look at how “We Are The World” was recorded would be to say it was outrageous. Some of you will get that joke.
I’ve read about that night several times, but there were still some terrific little tidbits in this film. I’m on record as not being a fan of the song, but I liked how Bruce Springsteen described his experience: no matter what you think of the song, it was a tool for helping people. That’s probably the best way to remember it. (Chuck Klosterman was on Bill Simmons’ podcast last week and said something along the lines of, “Bruce said the song sucked in the nicest way possible.”)
We still don’t know why Dan Aykroyd was involved. And it kind of ignores Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder singing back and forth to each other near the song’s end. Otherwise very much worth your time.
A
Ed, season two
Year one was better, but I didn’t complain about re-watching 22 more episodes featuring my old pals from Stuckeyville. A few observations. The season premiere was in early October, so a matter of weeks after 9/11. The persistent NBC peacock logo in the corner of the screen included a waving flag graphic for the first half of the season. America! A punch line for many jokes continued to be the word “homosexual” or “gay.” I don’t think the writers were anti-gay, but 20 years ago that kind of stuff was considered normal. I wish these VHS transfers weren’t so grainy because there were some fetching guest stars. Whoever posted these videos also corrected the biggest error of season two. The creators dropped Foo Fighter’s “Next Year” as the theme song. This person put it back in, which is kind of brilliant. On to season three at some point.
B+
Perry Mason, season two
Season one was very good. Everything about season two was better. Despite terrific reviews and decent ratings, it is another victim of mis-management at HBO and there will be no season three. Idiots.
A
Goodfellas
This aired on Super Bowl Sunday afternoon, and I watched the whole (edited) thing. Still the best.
A+
Lethal Weapon/Lethal Weapon 2
One night I came across these and watched a decent chunk of each. Say the last 90 minutes of the first and the first hour of the second. These were high rotation flicks for me back in the early 90s. Parts hold up. Parts are kind of fucking stupid. No grades since I didn’t see the entire movies.
Incomplete
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
I thought this had some terrific high points, some slow points that dragged a bit, and then some bits that were just odd/confusing and distracted. Much like The Americans, it is a spy show that is far more about being in a marriage than being a spy. Unlike Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings, who we met nearly two decades into their relationship, we see John and Jane Smith come together and try to navigate a new, forced relationship as they kill people. And, like The Americans, Mr. & Mrs. Smith does a great job at demonstrating that marriage is a tough task to begin with. Throw a bunch of super stressful stuff on top of it, and it gets even harder.
I think the strength of this show became more obvious after completing it, when I had time to contemplate and connect those broader observations about marriage together. I wish it had maintained the trajectory of my favorite episodes, but the less successful ones did not cancel them out.
B
True Detective: Night Country
Most disappointing show I’ve watched in some time. It arrived with the promise of calling back to season one, one of the best years in recent TV history. And there were some connections, but they often felt forced. The bigger problem was the story fell apart as the season progressed. Through much of the final three episodes it felt like the writers were meandering, looking for ways to make the story compelling but always falling short. Much of the dialogue seemed lazy and couldn’t be saved by the fine actors asked to speak it. And then the resolutions to the various mysteries? Some of them seemed flat-out dumb. From what I’ve read this was a highly polarizing season, for a variety of reasons. I’m in the camp that was not convinced.
B-
Help! I Wrecked My House
We got sucked into this one Sunday and watched it for approximately 153 consecutive hours. I like that the host isn’t all over-the-top about things. California chill works for me.
I haven’t been using the YouTubes as much lately. Last month I had a goal of watching a little more so I could get my algorithm back to recommending cool, random stuff.
The ONE thing keeping this iconic vintage laptop from working…
I love the concept of videos like this, tinkering with old tech tools and getting them to work again. I always question the utility of them, though. How much can you really accomplish with a vintage computer. I guess, like so many hobbies, it’s all about spending time doing something you enjoy.
NA1SS Voice Contact Astronaut
The radio geek in me thinks this is pretty cool, contacting the international space station from your backyard with a handheld radio and antenna.
Finally, my EV content, which took over my life the last two weeks of the month. Rather than share every video – which would probably make you worry about my mental health – I’ll ID the feeds I spent the most time in.
Fargo, season five
I loved this season, it is right up there with season two as my favorites in Fargo’s TV run. There were a couple small moments that bugged me which kept it from being a straight A, although after listening to an interview with creator Noah Hawley they made a little more sense.
As always, almost every performance was spectacular, but Juno Temple and Jon Hamm were the clear stars. Temple’s Dorothy was filled with an uncontainable energy for survival. Hamm was brilliant as the evil “America’s Sheriff” Roy Tillman. He radiated pure rage. It’s also amazing how an accent done properly can elevate an actor’s work.
A-
Love Notes to Newton
A quirky film about one of the quirkiest products Apple ever made. I didn’t love some of the production choices but it was still a fun look at the life, death, and semi-resurrection of the Newton.
B
Emily the Criminal
I’ve been thinking about ways to spend my free time. Light credit card fraud was one idea. I’m moving it to the top of the list after seeing how well it worked out for Audrey Plaza in this movie. It was fun to see her play a different kind of psychopath.
B+
Barbie
Family movie night. Delightful, hilarious, both overtly and subverted political, skewers modern society yet is a strikingly positive movie, and is surprisingly touching at times. Plus almost every scene has Margot Robbie in it. Not many complaints.
A-
The Falcon and The Snowman
An 80s spy movie about the 70s. I remember this being released to a lot of hype then kind of being a dud. Turns out ticket buyers didn’t like it but critics did. It was one of the first times Sean Penn played a truly unhinged character. Timothy Hutton is a little over the top, but his performance fits the kind of old-timey vibe of the film. Lori Singer is stunning in her brief moments on screen. It’s an interesting story, based on a true tale of two friends who sold US intelligence to the Soviets. It feels very dated, though, mostly because of the technology of the actual film. The sound and lighting seem primitive compared to today. The colors are muted, and not because of artistic choices. Times have really changed.
Kingsman: The Secret Service
I pulled up a list of movies to watch if you are into James Bond and this rated pretty highly. I didn’t know until about an hour into it that the movie’s roots are in a comic book series. That might have eased some confusion I had in that first hour. I ended up enjoying the bawdy, sarcastic, satire-ish, escapism but it took me awhile to get there.
B
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
I’d been meaning to re-watch this since last summer, when I read Tarantino’s novelization of it. I finally did, and in maybe the worst way possible: I stumbled across it on FX one night, recorded it, and watched it in bits and pieces over the next three weeks. FX doesn’t edit much, by the way.
Like my first time, B+ for the movie, A+ for Margot Robbie.
The Super Mario Brothers Movie
We watched our four-year-old nephew one night and chose this to keep him occupied. He loved it, but he also told us about his day at daycare and all about his basketball team during the show, so I wasn’t super focused.
B-ish?
Skyfall
Last month was Casino Royale. This month the other contender for best Daniel Craig Bond movie. I feel like I’ve gone back and forth a couple times, but I’m sticking with CR as #1 for now, with this close behind.
A
Only Murders In The Building, season one
A slow, wacky build to a delightful ending. Since our family was in the midst of its Disney Channel days when Selena Gomez first became a star there, it’s really hard for me to view her as an adult. And would she really hang out with Steve Martin and Martin Short? I dig those beautiful New York apartments, though.
B+
The Outpost
When the last roughly 45 minutes depict a single firefight with the Taliban, I think it’s safe to call a movie “intense.”
B+
Shorts, YouTubes, etc
Sears 1982 Christmas Holiday Season
A bunch of B-roll and a bit of an ABC news report about shopping during the 1982 holidays. I love the shots of the kid playing Intellivision in the department store. In the early ‘80s us video game degenerates always knew where the Ataris, etc were hidden in the Jones Store, Dillard’s, etc and you could sneak a few games while your mom shopped. On the good days no one else was around and you might knock out half an hour of play before you had to leave.
Atari Home Computers – Kiosk Presentation
Coincidentally I came across this via another source. It is a truly amazing look at the world of 40-some years ago. As a fellow computer enthusiast said, this feels more like it’s 200 years old.
Building the ultimate Tudor BB54 Big Crown
I’m pretty sure I’ve talked a little about how I’ve gotten into watches in recent years. A feed I follow suggested this vid, where for some reason they take a roughly $4000 watch and make a few changes so it resembles a different watch.
“Real Doll Time” – VR SEX
I’m not sure exactly how to describe this song. It harkens back to the earliest days of punk with its aggression and hint of nastiness, but sounds thoroughly modern at the same time. No matter how it ends up getting categorized, it 100% rips.
“Lagunita” – Lizzie No
Lizzie No is primarily a folk artist, but when she decides to plug in and rock out, I dig the results. Not sure if this is a true Country or Not song, but it certainly has some CoN-esque vibes.
“Alibi” – Hurray For The Riff Raff
This, on the other hand, is a definite Country or Not entry. If you have a moaning peddle steel guitar in the mix you will always get that label. This seems like a big departure from HFTRR’s previous catalog, or at least from their songs that I’m familiar with.
“Vanishing Point” – Tanlines
I was trying to narrow down who/what this track reminded me of. There’s a lot of New Romanticism in there, so Spandau Ballet, Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music type pop. Certainly Bowie. A hint of late era Police? Most of all I hear coked-up, pasty white people trying to slow dance sexily.
“newrules” – Sjowgren
I can find almost no info about either this band or song. So I guess just listen and enjoy.
“That’s the Joint” – Funky 4+1
Props to Brother in Music E$ for sharing this with a few of us this week. It is one of the most sampled songs in the history of hip hop. If you’ve never heard it in full before, I have no doubt there are dozens of little moments within that you’ve heard in dozens of other songs.
“Girls Just Want To Have Fun” – Cyndi Lauper
This week’s 1984 track is one of the most memorable of that year, and of the entire decade for that matter. Cyndi Lauper’s first solo single had been bubbling under the Top 40 for nearly two months before debuting at #31 the last week of January. The first week of February it was up to #21. By mid-March it would reach its peak of #2 for two weeks. Why did it struggle and then suddenly race up the chart? The video, of course! The stunning visuals combined with Lauper’s catchy-as-hell track grabbed America’s attention and launched one of the most remarkable years in pop music history.
