Yellowstone, Debussy, and the Love Boat
Plus: depressing cinema, theatre, and a delicious sandwich.
Bi-weekly looked like the play for this newsletter, but after compiling a good list in just a week, here we are again. Next week’s is already started.
Reading
Russell Banks (1940-2023)
This is sort of a read/watch suggestion. The Sweet Hereafter is a movie that has haunted me since the nineties. It tells the story of a snowy Northern town that faces a tragedy of unimaginable proportions involving their children. It’s gorgeous, powerful, and very of its time. While the film bounced around in a non-linear timeline, the book it’s based on is experimental in its own way, told through a series of conflicting viewpoints of the various characters.
The book’s author, Russell Banks, passed away this week. I had the chance to see him give a talk at the local state university back in 2011. He signed my copy of the book because what else do you do when you mean a famous author? His collection of short stories, The Angel on the Roof, is also highly recommended.
Writing
All Is Calm - Trinity Street Playhouse
Maybe not writing, but something creative at least. For several years now, I’ve had the good fortune to capture stills for the Trinity Street Playhouse. Their most recent work, All Is Calm, was wonderful and allowed me to capture some amazing images, too. Check out the full gallery here.
Watching
Yellowstone & 1883
Finally got around to watching the Yellowstone prequel, and it’s as good as reported. The plot is essentially Lonesome Dove, but as an plot device to get the Duttons north. Whereas its originator romanticizes everything it touches, 1883 lays bare the harsh realities of pioneer life. As my buddy the Grizz says, you don’t want to live in a history book. Or this show. (The narrator and main character Elsa Dutton, played by Isabel May is an especially bright spot.)
The latest season of Yellowstone is pretty much more of the same, which is either amazing or horrible depending on. The newest “outsider here to cause trouble" is intriguing. Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri1) plays it much less vicious, but maybe more effectively than her predecessors. While season five was once again nuts, season six looks to be banana crackers. Can’t wait!
Listening
“La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin” - Claude Debussy
One of the coolest things about having kids that play an instrument is when they are able to play something you love. Enter, my oldest: She’s learning “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair,” which just might surpass “Mia & Sebastian's Theme” from La La Land as my absolute favorite.
I’ve loved Debussy since college, especially the Images and Preludes, of which this is a part, but it wasn’t until I heard Paul Crossley’s version on a compilation album that it clicked. And when it hit, it hit hard. He slows the piece down just enough to make magic. Give it a listen.
Moving
Protein (and limits of what we’ll accept)
Early on in my onboarding to the world of fitness, it became clear that I needed to be concerned about my protein intake. I was starting to think about macros (more on that in the future), and getting more protein was being recommended roundly. The idea of buying one of those huge containers of protein power, though, was anathema.
Slowly, I came around. First I went with pre-made protein shakes–Premier Protein in Strawberry from Costco is my jam–but eventually, I bought power, too. I mean, it’s all whey protein, so what does it matter? I mix it with high-protein milk (another biggie for me), and it gets me where I need to be. We’ll talk protein requirements another time, but it’s probably more than the average person is getting, especially if you’re doing any resistance training.
That’s not to say everything is negotiable. You’ve probably heard of creatine. This supplement not only purports to increase muscle size, but it actually works, one of the only things in GNC that does. Still, I’ll never take it because it only works as long as you continue to. Is there going to be a time when I decide it’s okay if my muscles shrink? No. So I won’t start.
Miscellany
Love Boat Episode of the Week: “Hyde and Seek”
Season six, episode five is a doozy.2 Kim Richards plays a nerdy girl who falls in love with an oblivious Gopher. Dummy. Skip Stephenson3 charms Morgan Brittany who somehow has trouble finding companionship. Truly fiction. The downer storyline has Eve Plumb meeting her elderly father who abandoned the family, including mother Marion Ross. Fast forward.
Living (in Austin)
The Otherside Deli: This corned beef sandwich was on par with everything Otherside makes. In other words, excellent.
The Contemporary Austin: The Jones Center downtown is currently exhibiting IN A DREAM YOU SAW A WAY TO SURVIVE AND YOU WERE FULL OF JOY, a multi-artist affair, exploring a variety of ideas from it’s slate of female creators. Open through January 29th.
What’s Next
The Alamo Drafthouse is showing all of The Lord of the Rings movies this month, and we went as a family to the first one. It was long! But great. We’ll subject our children to others soon.
Magazines aren’t dead, and new ones keep coming into my orbit. Semi-retro goodness!
Olivieri was actually in 1883, too, but was the prudish scold, a 180 from Atwood.
To join the Love Boat party, download the Pluto app and be transported back in time with free classic tv all day long. There’s an entire Love Boat channel! Along with Three’s Company, Family Ties, Happy Days, and more. You’ll never leave the house.
Found out Skip died in 1992 at just 52, eight years after Real People went off the air. RIP.