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Podcasts of the moment
It’s been over two years since my last podcast lineup check-in, and as usual some things have changed while some things remain. Changes: Many of the shows in my last update have either stopped publishing or lost my interest, and I’ve stepped away from the political ones. I’m also thrilled I was finally able to…
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Cut the intro
Robin Rendle preaching the truth: Here’s one way to improve the thing you’re writing: cut the intro. Writing about the symbiosis between trees and mushrooms? Don’t start talking about how humanity has depended on trees since the blah blah blah. Just jump right in! Talking about new features in your app? Don’t start with the…
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Write thank-you notes to your favorite authors
Literally: find a favorite (not dead) author’s website and use their contact form to send them a message with specifics about why you like them. I’ve done this several times. The nice thing is they’re usually very accessible and responsive, maybe because they tend not to get the same kind of public praise as actors,…
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No more encores
Just getting this on the record: concert encores are dumb and bad. They’re a terrible collective fiction that need to die. Audiences should stop cheering for them and artists should stop planning for them. Just play all the songs you want to play, then end the show and get gone.
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Recent Views
More photography here and on my Instagram. When you go into an elevator and look up to see this face of doom: The skyward view outside my workplace: Caught this partially melted ice cube on a countertop: Why save your Halloween costume for a few hours on one day when you can wear it all…
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Media of the moment
An ongoing series The Arcadian Wild. Heard about this folk/bluegrass trio recently and got immediately obsessed with “Big Sky, MT”. Scream. Somehow I’d never seen this, though I was familiar enough with it based on its cultural ubiquity. Kinda wish the conclusion was a little tighter so it could be a perfect 90 minutes, but…
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How you spend your days
Rachel Ringenberg on homeschooling and raising children: This brings me to wonder how I reflect on the person who in 2019 homeschooled a 2nd grader and a kindergartener, and had a three year old, and a baby. Was that easier? It was definitely not easier; but time was different to her. More expansive when it…
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17 years
Today marks the 17th anniversary of my very first blog post. Thanks to everyone who has read and shared my scribbles in that time. I’m very proud of the body of work I’ve made and hope you’ll continue following along. Wanna browse the archives? Check out my film and books pages, along with the various…
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Opposite views
From Mari Andrew’s 100 Things I Know: I know how easy it is to get disoriented. When you don’t want to get lost on your way back, look backwards frequently. Everything looks completely different from the opposite view. From the Okee Dokee Brothers’ “Possum’s Point of View”: Hangin’ upside down I learned The thing I…
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Why the Nicole Kidman AMC ad matters
If you’ve been to a movie at AMC in the last two years, you’ve seen their now-legendary in-house commercial starring Nicole Kidman where she walks into a theater extolling the magic of movies, moviegoing, and AMC: It’s sincere, borderline saccharine, and immediately after its debut in September 2021 became a lightning rod for hot takes…