My Favorite Things
Trees
We decorated for Christmas this weekend, and that has me thinking about trees.
Tree-lighting celebration in Glendale Heights, Illinois. PC: David Gentry (shared by Tom Skilling).
Last night, my family and I visited The Morton Arboretum’s two-mile driving tour of their annual Christmas “Illumination,” and it was stunning.
Finally, if you haven’t yet visited Alan Jacobs’ site, The Gospel of the Trees, you should (click the little leaf in the upper right-hand corner of the page). As Alan writes, “The Bible is a story about trees. It begins, or nearly enough, with two trees in a garden: the Tree of Life, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The pivotal event in the book comes when a man named Jesus is hanged on a tree. And the last chapter of the last book features a remade Jerusalem: ‘In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.’ If you understand the trees, you understand the story.”
My Favorite Things
I realize this newsletter, though it has had headings with “links” and “recommendations,” amounts mostly to linked recommendations sprinkled with photos and quotes. Almost all of the links are things to read, watch, listen to, or cook, but the balance changes every week. So I’m going to experiment with a list of links that are just my favorite things for the week.
- Speaking of my favorite things, listen to this playlist featuring eight versions of “My Favorite Things:” Julie Andrews, John Coltrane, Tony Bennett, Brian Setzer, Leslie Odom, Jr., Brad Mehldau, Outkast, and DJ Tokai. Listen to the end.
- Interested in local governance? Or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Or the specific experience of Palestinian Christians? Or religious pluralism? Or Christmas (with tree-lighting) and Easter in Ramallah? Look no further than the film Mayor. What an interesting movie. Well worth the time and the $12 to rent and watch at home (as many time as you want for 48 hours). See reviews here, here, and here, along with this conversation with director David Osit.
- This episode of The Daily chronicled a day at the food pantry.
- Don’t miss this New York Times photo-essay on “the ghosts of segregation,” the architecture and infrastructure that tell the story of our past.
- Finally, read this piece on the retirement of Tim Samuelson, Chicago’s first official cultural historian.
Off to make eggplant Parmesan for dinner. If that sounds familiar, it’s because I made it and mentioned it a couple months ago. Sam Sifton’s recipe is terrific. Find it somewhere at the bottom of this archived newsletter issue.
