Chris Brooks Newsletter 022
Greetings from the magical town of Ronda, Spain. AKA the town in which Hemingway describes Spanish republicans tossing fascists into the gorge that divides that town. How's that for a political metaphor?
1. 🚘 Where I've been traveling
Two continents, 6 cities. Here's the recap:
- Wrapping up Madrid
- Córdoba
- Granada
- Cooking in Spain
- In and around Málaga
- Morocco
- Gran Canaria (Canary Islands)
We are back to wandering Andalucía. Ronda, Cadíz, and Sevilla up next. Very excited for Carnaval in Cadíz!
2. 📖 What I've been reading
Articles:
- Lifting and conserving a mosaic floor: Julie and I have seen so many of these preserved and displayed that we wondered how.
- Dan Wang's 2023 letter: I read his letter each year and found this one fascinating because of his description of the diaspora of Chinese young ex-pats. Also consider listening to his interview by Ezra Klein.
- The Perfection of the Human Soul: The Cast of Groundhog Day Celebrates Harold Ramis: I love Groundhog Day and I love Harold Ramis so of course I loved this article. Did you know there's a book: How to Write "Groundhog Day"?
- Questions the Media Isn't Asking About 3 Troops Killed in Middle East: I love Ken's investigative journalism, going back to when my sons brought up his questioning around the famous West Point pillow fight.
- Vesuvius Challenge 2023 Grand Prize awarded: we can read the scrolls! | Vesuvius Challenge: what an amazing feat, and I love this platform for innovation. Reminds me of the Scientific American helping fuel Glenn Curtiss's innovation in aviation.
Books:
- As a Spain companion to For Whom the Bell Tolls, I read Hemingway's first big hit The Sun Also Rises. Halfway through Rises I felt that Tolls was far and away the better book, but it redeemed itself in the final third. For me, the sparse dialog and (even though written in the first person) lack of introspection made it hard to relate to or care for anyone in this "lost generation." But as the action pivoted to Pamplona and the Fiesta, everything turned around. After finishing I went back and re-read several chapters. So... both are very good. Rises is a quick enough read that it is probably worth reading twice in succession.
3. 🍿 What I've been watching
YouTube:
- Green Day buskers: still need to listen to the new album.
- Elasticity of supply, why housing is unaffordable: if you wish you could remember some of your university microeconomics, this is a great video series.
TV Shows:
- You Are What You Eat - A Twin Experiment: decent pop science, though the product placement and self promotion was offputting.
- Black Mirror, Season 6: still good stuff from this series. We loved "Joan is Awful."
Movies :
- Killers of the Flower Moon: very good, and whoa the Americana music star cast (Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Pete Yorn). Lily Gladstone was amazing.
- Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret: meh. Good, but not as amazing as I've heard folks say.
- Blackberry: not sure why this was so highly reviewed. Scattered, with shallow characters.
- Past Lives: we loved it! Greta Lee is killing it lately.
- Anatomy of a Fall: very good.
- Big Star - Nothing Can Hurt Me: been on my list for a decade, finally on HBO (er, MAX) so finally got to see it. I loved it for the music, but it lacked a well developed story arc which is very sad. Long live Alex Chilton (eponymous song by the Replacements) and Chris Bell. Think you don't know Big Star? Maybe you've seen That 70s Show, or heard this Bangles song. And of course, their most covered song "Thirteen".
4. 🎶 What I've been listening to
I probably listen to one in five Tim Ferriss podcasts these days. His signal to noise ratio is very high in general, and by filtering down to some of his best-of (which I listen to at the end of the year) the signal gets even stronger. His latest podcast with Dr. Peter Attia is excellent. I'm currently reading Attia's book Outlive and will have more to say on that in a future newsletter. This podcast is a pretty good intro to the book. And, if you want to skip ahead to Peter's tips on alcohol, start here.
5. 🎮 What I've been playing
- Mostly, Baldur's Gate 3. Maybe halfway through, already planning what character I want to play in my second playthrough.
- Julie and I played a game of Alhambra while in Granada.
6. 🧑💻 Working while traveling
Julie and are both still working part-time. Time zone shifts can be a boon and a curse. I had a 1am faculty meeting this week (hey, I signed up for this so stop bitching!). Julie's had some late night work calls. Still, my early morning wake schedule aligns with the late-night work schedule of many of my students back in Oregon, so I'm able to be of help in Discord in real time.
About every third day Julie and I take about a half-day for concentrated work. I usually need a half day on Saturday or Sunday to review content for the coming school week, get out weekly emails to students, etc.
Our Spain adventure will be over when you get our next newsletter. Madrid feels like ages ago, but we are excited to return to Barcelona and Madrid with my sister before flying back home.
-Chris