Things I Learned This Week

Consume, consume, consume!

I wasn’t planning on writing this list and didn’t yesterday, but I woke up this morning feeling like I had a few things to say about this consumptive holiday week. Onward.

It felt like all we did was watch movies, eat, and read a few things here and there, but that’s fine by me. Let’s start with Nosferatu. I didn’t see Robert Eggers's first films, The Witch and The Lighthouse, which everyone still talks about. I did see The Northman after hearing an interview where the filmmaker talked about his history professor stepfather and how he so influenced his love of anthropology and folklore that when he makes his films, he often recreates everything to detailed historical accuracy, from the set designs to hand tools. Even though I love Vikings and Alexander Skarsgård, I thought The Northman was kind of a snooze. And while I’m not a huge vampire fan, my sister is, so we went mainly to humor her. However, it was beautifully filmed, well-acted, and hugely entertaining. I don’t know that you can call a dark retelling of a remake of a 1922 German silent film, which was itself an adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, a romp, but that’s exactly what it felt like—two thumbs up and then some. (How is Willem Dafoe almost 70 and still in EVERYTHING? That man is an inspiration.)

The other big screen fieldtrip we took was Timothée Chalamet playing Bob Dylan. After taking a college class on the Vietnam War and writing a paper about protest music and little Bobby D, my son has fallen in love with his songwriting and music. We’ve always been fans, but the boy bringing it home has ramped up the playing over the last year. We wrangled most of the holiday gang to see A Complete Unknown the day after Christmas, and while it followed all the tropes of a traditional music bio-pic, the performances were outstanding. Timothée gave a masterclass, singing all the music and doing a spot-on vocal impression, but my heart was stolen by Ed Norton playing an earnest and heartfelt Pete Seeger. Would recommend for any fans of the bard.

I haven’t read much of all the books I promised, but if you’ve ever looked down your nose at cruise ships like I have (apologies to any friends who love cruises!), the best piece of investigative journalism I’ve read in the past few weeks is Bridget Read’s “The Late Eight” in New York magazine. It’s about a group of cruise passengers who were late to return to the ship and left stranded on a remote island off the coast of West Africa. From my point of view, I don’t see much appealing about cruise ships, but after reading this unbelievable account of a monumental figure-it-out-on-your-own fuck you, I will never set foot on one. The money pit horrors, damn-your-health-issues fears, and a cruise company that only allows you to reach them in an emergency through emails they never answer are worse than a horror movie. The international waters loopholes and lobbying scams from which these companies profit are mind-blowing. This article is a great read that you’ll feel guilty enjoying as much as you do.

And if you’ve made it this far, I will toot my own horn and say that I aced the semester with a 4.0. I’m not bragging, just taking in the joy that a few good grades can bring to a middle-aged heart like mine. Made for the best Christmas present ever.

Hope everyone else had a great holiday. :)

Quote of the week?

“The world seems full of good men–even if there are monsters in it.”

—Bram Stoker, from Dracula

‘Til Tuesday kids.

Burgin

(I’m finishing college at 50+, follow along and read my story here.)