Things I Learned This Week
La Chimera, Secret Shelves, Chicken Tagine, and Bob Marley
For those following along, I did get a new car for my birthday and a mild concussion. Thankfully, the headache is (sort of) letting up, and insurance was able to cover enough to buy a new, used car, which is still two years newer than my old one. Swapped a green for a blue Subaru, so I guess I am in my blue era, in more ways than one. I learned a lot of things this week, including to beware of big trucks barreling down Texas highways. People suck sometimes. Here are some other key highlights.
I am kind of obsessed with the mini museum I created. Buying it vacation knickknacks as if we’ve only been dating two months and I still want to impress it. I love things that hold other things, so…
There is a woman (Tess Kress) I have followed online for a while who makes ceramic curio cabinets that were out of my price point, but thankfully, she started making them in cement from a mold, so they are more affordable for those who like the handmade aesthetic but don’t have the coin for custom pieces. I want to try and hand build one for myself, but add that to the long list of shit I don’t have time to do.
My son has been wanting to watch this movie with us for a while, and we finally got to it this week. I swear, Josh O’Connor has to be the sweetest actor working today. If you didn’t already love him, you will after watching La Chimera. Josh himself is a fan of ceramics, sculpture, and pottery, as it runs in his blood, so it was apt that he won the role of Arthur, a former British archaeologist who returns to Italy after being released from prison for stealing artifacts from tombs. It’s a gorgeous film that creeps up on you, full of innocence and actual heartbreak and love. It once again reminded me of Michael Chabon’s essay on Wes Anderson, still one of my favorite things I’ve ever read about art and the creative process. “Everyone, sooner or later, gets a thorough schooling in brokenness. The question becomes: What to do with the pieces? Some people hunker down atop the local pile of ruins and make do, Bedouin tending their goats in the shade of shattered giants. Others set about breaking what remains of the world into bits ever smaller and more jagged, kicking through the rubble like kids running through piles of leaves. And some people, passing among the scattered pieces of that great overturned jigsaw puzzle, start to pick up a piece here, a piece there, with a vague yet irresistible notion that perhaps something might be done about putting the thing back together again.” Alice Rohrwacher is one of those writer-directors who is a master at putting the pieces back together again, helping us understand human nature in a way that is grand and beautiful, yet small and secret at the same time—ten thumbs up.
A friend asked me what I am doing for my birthday. Well, that will probably involve going to see Eddington, eating this Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Olives recipe made by my husband in his new tagine, trying out the only indie bagel spot in San Marcos, setting up my new office, and nursing my lingering headache. Hopefully, there will be a dip in the San Marcos River at some point, but I’m not counting on it.
My husband and I decided somewhere along our journey this summer that Bob Marley is our true north. Every time we were at our wits' end, searching for respite, and burned out on touristing, without fail, the place we stumbled into that offered comfort and ample air conditioning was playing Bob Marley. He is always there when you need him most. That said, here on the eve of my 53rd birthday, I will leave you with this little ditty. “High Tide or Low Tide” to serenade you into the weekend.
Quote of the week?
“Age is a high price to pay for maturity.” — Tom Stoppard
‘Til Tuesday kids.
Burgin
(I finished college at 50+ and am headed to grad school… follow along and read my story here.)