Barbecue, X-Men, & The Beths
Plus: art, protest, and the war in Ukraine.
Welcome to the first edition of Hangman Chronicles, my place to drop interesting books, movies, shows, or anything else worth sharing. This is kind of a “last part of 2022” edition, but here’s some of what I took in.1
Reading
The Uncanny X-Men
Back in my day, two comics ruled the roost: The New Teen Titans from DC (my jam) and X-Men from Marvel. I decided with all media now at our fingertips, I should read the original series from when Chris Claremont took over.
Issue 94 kicks things off, and I got through #150 using digital trade paperbacks from Hoopla, courtesy of the Austin Public Library. Truth be told, I was nonplussed. Maybe I’ve just gotten away from this type of writing in favor of literary fiction and the like, but this widely admired series was just fine. I kind of hate this, but maybe my reading needs less color.
Putin's War - New York Times
This is one of those multimedia stories the Times does so well. Broken into six parts, it took me a few days to get through this litany of mistakes Russia has made in this war, not counting the mistake of invading in the first place.
Writing
The Best Nontraditional BBQ Sides to Enjoy in Austin
The last couple of years have given me the opportunity to contribute to the Chronicle’s year end issue, and once again I went with barbecue, this time unusual sides.
Unfortunately, my top choice is already being lost to history. Smoking Beauty will be transitioning to another concept on North Lamar, so goodbye creamed spinach. We hardly stuffed ourselves with you.
Austin's Top 10 Barbacoa Joints
This one I co-wrote with Clara Wang, who came up with the idea. Real suffering for my art going on here, as I ate a lot of tacos with this delicious braised meat over the course of a week. Well worth it.
Watching
Avatar: The Way of Water
When the original came out, I was non-plussed, but with a little perspective, I can see these movies for what they are. The sea battle scene itself is worth the cost of admission, both in time and treasure. I'm sure I'll look forward to the third one just as much. And even though my film friends hate it, I'm going to see it at a theater with the High Frame Rate just see what what all the fuss is about.
Lost Daughter
After seeing Empire of Light recently, I’m on an Oliva Colman kick. It’s amazing to think of first seeing her in the brilliant British sketch series That Mitchell and Webb Look, and now she has to be one of the best working actors of our day. 2021’s Lost Daughter absolutely should be paired with this year’s Aftersun, a possible award winner when those roll around. It is a Mediterranean beach vacation fraught with personal dramas. Gorgeous and tense, yet somehow soothing.
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Could every artist hanging in a museum have a bio-pic of such power and insight? Probably too much to ask. Having seen Nan Goldin’s work over the years, it was a pleasure to learn her backstory, as well as her fight against the infamous Sackler family of opioid fame. Both parts work well together, with Nan’s lovable curmudgeon easy to root for.
Listening
I've got an absolute earworm going on. As recommended by Jack Rabid in his magazine The Big Takeover, New Zealand band The Beths have been bouncing around in my skull for days. One listen to title track "Expert In A Dying Field," and I was hooked. Dig it!
Big Bonus: The Beths are coming to Austin! It’s not till March, but iron-lock guarantee that me and the family will be there. I’ve got them hooked, too.
Moving
In December of 2019 at the age of 45, I started being intentional about moving more and knowing what and how much I eat. Slow, slow progress, but over the course of that mainly COVID year, I lost about a pound a week and have gotten much stronger and fitter since. Now, I have a home gym, can actually play a full tennis match without dying, and even ran a 5K. I’ve spent the last three years learning a masters degree worth of health and fitness information, and reading and listening to podcasts in this area still eats up a lot of my time.
Easy Strength
Started a new programme* this week. It's based around Dan John's Easy Strength protocol. Limited number of movements with a rep scheme like 2x5, and it's supposed to be easy. I'm probably making it more Doable Strength to push myself a bit, but still. Pairing this with a 40-minute walk–on a treadmill during colder temps–and keeping my heart rate around 130. This is how I work out when I'm doing a cut, which I am, for a few more weeks at least.
The biggest revelation was doing kettlebell swings for the first time in a long time. My hamstrings are sore! And that's with deadlifting consistently over the last several months. Gah!
*British spelling makes it sound fancy.
Miscellany
Maybe next time.
What’s Next
I’m back on my bullshit with Yellowstone, catching up not just on the main series but the year-entitled prequels, too. Can’t wait to see how manly this makes me.
Tennis has returned! Adelaide and Auckland kick things off in anticipation of the Australian open later this month.
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