Chris Brooks Newsletter 029
Almost fall season, so we are partly prepared to close down our Keuka Lake cottages and begin our winter adventures. Monday evening we fly from Newark to Johannesburg to begin a five week African adventure. Stay tuned on the blog for updates as I hope to post frequently as we transition through stages of our (wildly varying) safari and camping styles. I've gotta stay connected as I'm teaching for about the last half of the journey.
We had some big storms here in the Finger Lakes in August!
1. 🚘 Where I've been traveling
I flew out to Napa via SFO to take possession of our new home there. My first in-person look at the house and I love it! So much family help moving in and getting some bare furnishings in place. So excited to move in this coming November.
2. 📖 What I've been reading
Articles:
- You've probably seen studies about the ill effects, and maybe benefits, of social media. This is an interesting revisit of a meta study on the topic, with a very different take on the findings. Important to read the preface and understand what they are and aren't claiming.
Books:
- I read the next book in the Slough House series: Spook Street. This is also the basis for the next season of Slow Horses which is starting right about...now.
- The novella The Grass Harp by Truman Capote was a real treat: thank you uncle Dan!
3. 🍿 What I've been watching
TV Shows:
- Julie and I are back into The Bear and will at least finish season 1 before journeying abroad. High tension but rewarding.
Movies :
- I watched STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces while traveling. Pretty decent, especially the first part as it took me back to my elementary school days and hearing all the adult chat on Let's Get Small.
- The Big Chill was a nice bookend to last month's Singles viewing.
- Musician friend Mike pointed me to Peter Case - A Million Miles Away which I jumped on right away. If you think you don't know Peter Case, watch this video and see if you remember. Fun documentary if you are of an age (i.e., about my age).
- On Jacob and Kaitlin's recommendation, I watched Challengers while flying back from the west coast. It was so good! Great music, great direction.
YouTube:
- Rick Beato interviews Alan Parsons . You may know him from such songs as the Chicago Bulls intro song and engineering such minor hit albums as Abbey Road and Dark Side of the Moon.
4. 🎶 What I've been listening to
Podcasts:
- This recent Fried Egg podcast on golfing in the Nebraska sand hills gave me some ideas for our late October drive through that area. I've played Wild Horse twice but would love to try out some of the other public options out there.
Music:
Friend Jim and I formed an exclusive, two-person album club. We are FaceTiming every week to discuss one album, each of us picking a new album on alternate weeks. So far we've covered:
- Rubber Soul by The Beatles
- Astral Weeks by Van Morrison
- No Name by Jack White
Next album up is Dr. Dre's The Chronic, so currently in heavy listen mode.
5. 🎮 What I've been playing
Some of the usual light and social games (So Clover!, Kingdomino, etc.) plus:
6. Am I Retired?
For the last month I've been deep into retirement financial planning mode, both for Julie and me and also sister Jennifer (who retires in about a week!). I wrote a short piece about that experience that might be of interest to you if you hope to retire in the future or are very recently retired. If you want some help with the tools I mention in the article, please just reply and let me know.
My next newsletter will likely come from the Okavango Delta in Botswana. By that stage we'll be self-guiding in Land Cruisers with tent toppers.
-Chris