Chris Brooks Newsletter 027
Wherever you are, I hope you are finding a way to escape the summer heat and enjoy a cool space. For me that usually means a dive into Keuka Lake.
In case you were worried about my golf game 😂 – I'm OK, and my scores have started to drop again. I appreciate your concern.
1. 🚘 Where I've been traveling
Julie and I did a long weekend drive down to Richmond VA for a friend's wedding. We saw so many familiar faces from Sherwood Oregon. The old folks seemed mostly the same, but some of the young men I hadn't seen in 7 or 8 years. So much change.
Julie did a weekend jaunt back to Napa to take a look at the house we are (hopefully) buying. And of course for a Rory visit. I'm jealous. We'll see Rory and family here at Keuka Lake in mid August.
2. 📖 What I've been reading
Articles:
- Tyler Cowen gives his thoughts on how we should update our views on immigration. Read the comments at your own risk!
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Tim Grierson wrote a thoughtful piece on the Forrest Gump soundtrack in the Spotify era. He tries but it is hard to contextualize what the release felt like 30 years ago, given we've been living with this soundtrack for so long. > Same goes for any number of gems on this compilation—by shoehorning so many agreeable, overly familiar hits onto one album, the soundtrack simplifies a slew of vital artists.
I disagree! The point of Forrest Gump was to exaggerate his wandering through cliches and major events, and the soundtrack is part of that cliche experience. I also assert that the movie created many of those cliches. Maybe not "Fortunate Son", but certainly "Running on Empty". Every time we drive through Monument Valley I'm compelled to queue up some Jackson Browne.
- I loved this "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" style (e.g., a “write-around”) take on Rory's collapse in the US Open.
Books:
- I finished the third book in the Slough House / Slow Horses series, Real Tigers. Best one yet, though I'm switching gears to read a one-off novel and will return to Slough House later this month.
3. 🍿 What I've been watching
TV Shows:
- Julie and I finished The Sopranos, spoiler free. The final few episodes were very hard to watch but oh so good.
- We've finally started The Bear. Not much TV watching in the summer, but we are committed to this one.
Movies :
- On the heels of finishing The Sopranos we had to watch the prequel, The Many Saints of Newark. It suffers from lack of character development, something to expect when you try to do a full back story in a movie format. Still worth it.
- Julie and I did a nostalgia rewatch of Singles. Singles is to Gen X what The Big Chill is to boomers. It holds up perfectly as a time capsule of barely pre-ubiquitous internet and cell phone American culture.
- I'm headed to Chile for some backpacking in Patagonia this winter and had the Wild Life documentary on my must watch list. Just OK treatment of a fascinating story.
- I finally watched The Velvet Underground documentary. I probably know more than the average person about the back story of the band, and even I had a hard time following along in the first 15 minutes. It improved rapidly and I think the production and direction were the right sort of homage to this landmark band. Here's the classic Brian Eno quote:
I was talking to Lou Reed the other day, and he said that the first Velvet Underground record sold only 30,000 copies in its first five years. Yet, that was an enormously important record for so many people. I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band! So I console myself in thinking that some things generate their rewards in second-hand ways.
- I think Cocaine Bear was overrated. Funny at times, but only warranted maybe a 20 minute skit.
- With Julie's brothers I rewatched James Bond #2 From Russia with Love, one of my all-time favs.
4. 🎶 What I've been listening to
Podcasts:
- A Song Exploder on Crowded House, "Don't Dream It's Over". A lot of 80s music doesn't hold up well, but this sure does.
- Peter Attia did an in-depth podcast and video on exercise for aging people: where to begin, and how to minimize risk while maximizing potential. If you are feeling resistance to getting fully active with exercise, there are some good tips here.
- If you are in the "Joe's gotta go" camp (I am), or even if you're not, the latest podcasts from Ezra Klein have been very good.
5. 🎮 What I've been playing
- Still enjoying Balatro, working on one final achievement before I pack it up and move on. Maybe Fallout 4 is next.
- Jim and I played the fun and replayable Rosenberg two player game Oranienburger Kanal.
- Got in some Res Arcana with Julie, playing all the expansions.
- Jim and I played 1861: The Railways of the Russian Empire, not ideal as a two player game but still fun.
- Mike, Dave and I played Pax Renaissance: 2nd Edition back-to-back. So good, but so hard to teach. I've probably taught it 6 or 7 times now and have learned that a quick playthrough where you don't explain all the stuff you can do until the cards show up in the marketplace works best.
- Dave and I snuck in the tiny wargame White Eagle Defiant: Poland 1939 while waiting for folks to return from a Rochester airport run. The Poles did not fare well.
6. Napa Update
We should close on a house in downtown Napa around the end of this month. We are so excited! Sadly we won't be able to move in properly until November. We will travel from Newark to South Africa and Botswana for 5 weeks starting September 9, returning about October 15. We will close things up here in NY for the winter, then start our long and slow drive to Oregon to see folks and do our annual medical chores. Then to Napa for a week of gaming with friends, plus of course moving into our new home.
Julie and I are excited to share some Rory childcare duties over the winter with the other grandparents. If you'll be in the area this winter, please let me know!
-Chris