Author: Chad
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Mad Max on the Feminism Road
Really enjoyed this post from Freddie de Boer about his frustration with the common misinterpretation of Mad Max: Fury Road as “Furiosa replaces Max in a Mad Max movie”—a take that’s entirely false: It’s important to understand that Furiosa doesn’t replace Max because the entire movie demonstrates the failure of dictatorship and the superiority of…
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Stargazing with WALL-E
Spent the holiday weekend at my wife’s family’s beach community, where they do a fireworks show every year on the beach. (Read my 2017 reflection about this experience.) Though it was fun to watch Little Man experience fireworks for the first time, my personal highlight was being able to see the clear night sky without…
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On Paper Trails and Typewriting Females
I just finished reading Cameron Blevins’ new book Paper Trails: The US Post and the Making of the American West, which I learned a lot from (see my full notes and quotes from the book below). One thing that popped out to me was the role of women in the Post Office’s workforce. Women made…
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Two favorite ‘Ted Lasso’ scenes
We rewatched season 1 of Ted Lasso in advance of season 2 coming out next month. Among the many wonderful scenes in this marvel of a show, two scenes stuck out this time around. One is from episode 7 (“Make Rebecca Great Again”), when the shy groundskeeper Nate gives a (NSFW) pregame speech/roast with Ted’s…
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The Ghost Map
When I learned Steven Johnson (my favorite author) has a new book out, it prompted me to finally read one of his previous books that’s been on my list for a while. The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World was a timely read,…
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Recent Views
More photography here and on my Instagram. Nice and clean newly painted line in a corner of my library’s under-renovation lower level: We had some trees removed and the guy in the bucket truck looked like he was chillin’ on the roof despite actually floating through the air: From our first time in Half Price…
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Media of the moment
An ongoing series of what I’ve read, seen, and heard recently The Good Lord Bird. The limited series really captures the book’s madcap and dramatic spirit. Ethan Hawke is so delightfully committed to the dead-serious absurdity of John Brown. The Underground Railroad. Two of my main takeaways while watching this 10-episode limited series: 1. I…
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Mulch ado about gardening
We’re finally, finally, doing stuff in our yard and garden areas. Some of it is remedial caretaking—fertilizing and weeding the lawn, removing dead bushes and trees—but a lot of it has focused on beautification and planting vegetables we’re not totally sure will thrive but are giving a try anyway. I gotta say: I’ve really loved…
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Marveling at masks amidst the plague experience
In his latest column “Are Face Masks the New Condoms?” (paywalled), Andrew Sullivan reflects on how difficult it is to change pandemic-induced behaviors: With HIV, as with Covid, a transformation of the facts did not necessarily mean a transformation of psychology. Human psyches take time to adjust to new realities; fear and trauma have a…
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Recent Views
More photography here and on my Instagram. This picture barely captures how cool the evening light was through these clouds at my local strip mall: Remnants of winter: Black Play-Doh + white Play-Doh = accidentally awesome marbled design: “Aphyllous trees beneath cirrocumulus clouds” sounds like a line from “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” but…
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What music is that noise?
We were driving with Mr. 2 Year Old and he heard some noise outside and said: “What music is that noise?” And I’ve thought a lot about it since.
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My son’s media of the moment
Based on the ongoing series, here are the books, movies, and music my two year old is into recently. So. Many. Books. We have shelves stuffed with board and picture books in four different rooms of our house, plus a stash of library books, so he’s never lacking literature. Some current favorites: Sandra Boynton’s Pookie…
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Media of the moment
An ongoing series of books, movies, and music I’ve encountered recently. (Haven’t done this since before the end-of-year list-o-mania, so check out my favorite books and films of 2020 for a fuller “Media of the Moment” experience.) Ted Lasso. Throughout the whole 10-episode first season I kept thinking, “How is this show real?” Can’t wait…
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Boomtown, the one-season wonder
At least once a week something makes me think of Boomtown, one of my favorite TV shows of all time. Not to be confused with the excellent book Boom Town (my favorite of 2018), Boomtown was a one-season wonder that aired on NBC from 2002-2003 when I was a freshman in high school. (To be…
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Laboratories of theology
Here’s two quotes I re-encountered while going through my reading notes. From Lab Girl by Hope Jahren: My laboratory is like a church because it is where I figure out what I believe. The machines drone a gathering hymn as I enter. I know whom I’ll probably see, and I know how they’ll probably act.…
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Quotes of the moment
Thought it’d be fun to start another occasional series, akin to media of the moment and recent views, that will spotlight quotes I’ve gathered in my readings and viewings that struck me for some reason. (See also my quotes tag for posts with longer quotes.) “You gotta be brave before you can be good.” –…