Happy Wednesday. Seems like a good day for some cat pictures. Enjoy!
Sir Wobbles mugging for the camera
Lose the laugh tracks, forever
Two original shows I really enjoyed recently retooled or rebooted, not sure what the proper term is. That ’70s Show and Night Court are back as That ’90s Show and Night Court (again). I get the appeal and motivation of retooling old favorites, and bringing back original cast members with new folks in the hope of re-creating popular franchises. I do not understand why they’ve decided to bring the laugh track with them. Continue reading “Lose the laugh tracks, forever”
Loving “The Last of Us”
I have a healthy amount of skepticism about movies and shows adapted from games. Clue was a rare exception, but it’s hard to go wrong with a cast that includes Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, and the amazing Madeline Kahn. The list of bad or aggressively mediocre media spun off from games is too long to list. The Last of Us isn’t on it.
The first two episodes of The Last of Us were good. Good enough that I wanted to watch more. A little predictable, but Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey improve the material enormously.
But, without any spoilers, episode three was incredible. I knew Nick Offerman was going to be in the episode, but I expected a comic turn with his role. Not… not so much.
There were a few moments in the episode where I thought I had everything figured out. Bad habit, but I like to try to guess where the plot is going to go before it gets there. Whether the writers are leaning too hard into predictable plots and tropes, or if they can set up a story that surprises and entertains me without being predictable.
“Long, Long Time” displayed some really confident writing. Only three episodes in and they step (mostly) away from the primary characters to Offerman’s story. It does weave in, when the time is right, and it serves the plot well.
I’m happy as hell that Bella Ramsey has a good role after her turn in Game of Thrones. She was quite possibly my favorite character in the entire series, excepting Arya. (And Tyrion but it’s not really fair to judge others against the standards set by Peter Dinklage. Dude could read an IKEA catalog at the camera for 30 minutes and make it fun.)
Usually I’ll plow through episodes as soon as they’re available for a show I enjoy this much, but I’m savoring it. No more than one episode a day, when I have time to really enjoy it.
Here’s hoping that all the shenanigans over at HBO Max don’t muck it up. They’ve got a pretty good thing going with this show, hope it continues.
Reconnecting with art
Art museums are a holy place for me, like good book stores and record stores. Little bubbles where we curate our attempts to communicate, to make others feel something. Or, simply, to create.
Art museums are where yesterday and today meet, and the dead tongues and hands of our past selves live again for a moment. Stand here, look. Gaze into someone else’s heart and mind for a time. If humans have a purpose, surely art is a crucial part of it.
I’m thinking about this today because we spent some our afternoon at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Can’t remember the last time I set foot in an art museum, but it must be more than three years. That must be the longest stretch between museum visits since the 80s. It was something I desperately needed, even though I didn’t know it until I was standing in front of the exhibits.
Coincidentally, I spotted this post by Allen Pike on the orange site when I got home, “Humans Need Play.” It’s a good reminder that we’re not merely here to fill our bank accounts (or others’). We need art and play to really exist in a meaningful way. At least, I do, even if I’d forgotten that for a while.
Friday Fancycat
Today was vet visit day. As is custom, I gave Lilah a few doses of Gabapentin ahead of the vet visit so she’d be manageable and not try to use her chainsaw paws on them.
She was feeling very, very chill this morning. No vets were harmed during the exam. We’ll see if I pay a price later when the drugs have worn off…
Can we get AIs to work the DMV?
While startups are busy trying to put (more) people out of work writing or doing artwork, how about turning some attention towards the DMV? Continue reading “Can we get AIs to work the DMV?”
Quick links: Middle Ages cat names, Turkish Funk, Java price increases…
A couple of quick links today for your enjoyment:
- I’ve written about my cats and their many nicknames. But have you ever wondered what people named their cats in the middle ages? Apparently Open Culture has given this some thought. My question is… what have my cats named me?
- A little Bandcamp recommendation magic from Khruangbin led me on a little exploration to find some Turkish psychedelic funk by Beynelmilan. Check out Anatolian Funk if you dare. It’s damn good.
- Really interesting piece on Ars about Jimmy Carter and the Space Shuttle program. We’ve been watching For All Mankind recently, so I found the Ars post (which is not about a divergent timeline) really interesting.
- Price hikes for Oracle Java. Good coverage from SMK, but I do wish there was a breakdown of how much of a price hike and whether there’s any new goodness to justify the price increase.
That’s it for today, we now return you to your regularly scheduled Internet.
“Con Todo El Mundo” – Khruangbin
Took a little detour on revisiting my top 100 albums but we’re back with Con Todo El Mundo by Khruangbin. It’s easy to see why this album didn’t make the cut in 2016: It wasn’t released until 2018.
I think I stumbled on Khruangbin via an NPR Tiny Desk concert. It was an instant click, love at first sound.
The band’s sound is a fusion of influences from around the world. Largely instrumental, you’ll be able to pick out a lot of pop, funk, surf guitar, psychedelic and other influences that all come together to form something really special.
Con Todo El Mundo is still my favorite Khruangbin album, though they’ve been quite prolific since its release with Mordechai, Mordechai Remixes, Texas Moon, and last year’s Ali. (Plus a few singles thrown in and contributing to Paul McCartney’s McCartney III Imagined with a remix of his “Pretty Boys.”
But this album just has that extra something that puts it over the top. Listen to “Lady and Man” for example. It’s got a monster funk groove, some vintage 70s guitar work, with a background chorus that you’ll be singing to yourself long after the album ends.
“Maria Tambien,” is a slinky number that always has me dancing or tapping my feet. Such solid percussion and bass work, it’s deceptively simple and draws you right in.
My favorite track, though, has to be “Evan Finds the Third Room.” Yes, this is the Third Room. Yes. Mark Speer’s guitar is nimble and perfect, Laura Lee’s bass and DJ’s drumming plus a little spoken word chorus make for an instant classic.
They’ve had quite a bit of attention since 2018, but if you haven’t caught up with Khruangbin yet, start with this album. I had the good fortune to snag tickets to see them at The Lincoln in Raleigh at the tail end of 2018 before they really took off and started doing much bigger shows. They’re just as good live as they are on record, which is to say amazing.
[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=906393946 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]
Celebrating Bubby’s gotcha day
Four years and one day ago, Meg forwarded me an email she received as a volunteer cat foster. It was titled “last chance for Bubby” and it included a picture of a big-eyed black cat looking over someone’s shoulder. Continue reading “Celebrating Bubby’s gotcha day”
Macroblank: plundered vaporwave instrumentals to work or relax to
Music tip for your Saturday, if you’re looking for something that will slide into the background and give you a bit of a groove, check out Macroblank on Bandcamp. Continue reading “Macroblank: plundered vaporwave instrumentals to work or relax to”