Columns, Casablanca and 60 Seconds!
I’m going to send out that column about President Joe Biden’s final days in office this week. If you’d like to submit your own writing, feel free to use the newspaper email lists I’ve compiled: https://slaughterfreeamerica.substack.com/p/how-to-write-letters-to-newspapers-6eb
Anyway, let’s do (Cell) Culture Talk. Here’s what I’ve been reading, watching, playing and wearing lately.
Book — The History of the Adventure Video Game by Christopher Carton. Printed on glossy paper, the title provides a solid overview of the genre with game descriptions and lots of screenshots. I’ve mentioned before I have particular affection for LucasArts adventures from the 1990s.
Book — The Perennial Philosophy Reloaded by Dana Sawyer. This seems like a good introduction to a spiritual perspective which I’ve learned about mostly through the writings of Eknath Easwaran. Sawyer, a professor of religion, helpfully summarizes various debates within the broad tradition.
Book — The Grey King by Susan Cooper. I thought I’d read the whole Dark Is Rising Sequence, but I’m not so sure now. I have zero recollection of the events here. Will Stanton travels to a Welsh farm, where he recovers from an illness and continues to fight against the forces of evil.
Movie — Casablanca. I wanted to revisit the classic film after reading Maurice Isserman’s Reds. The author makes a convincing case Humphrey Bogart’s character was intended to be an ex-Communist or some type of fellow traveler, based on his Spanish Civil War service and other things.
Movie — Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. It’s another fun entry in the stop-motion franchise. The titular duo face off against a villainous penguin who escapes from the zoo, where he’d been sentenced to prison. I only wish the institution was presented as more unambiguously bad.
TV — Switched at Birth. My wife and I couldn’t decide what to watch next. It can be tough to find good shows that are kid friendly. Ultimately, we chose to return to this series about two families joined together by a hospital mix-up. The exploration of deaf culture is particularly interesting.
Game — 60 Seconds! It’s a dark comedy in which you control a family trying to survive a nuclear attack. The majority of the gameplay is text based. I’m enjoying the iOS title, which reminds me a little bit of the Oregon Trail franchise, despite the very different setting. It’s pretty hard, though.
Clothing — Etnies Vegan Fader. I can’t always find the type of puffy, skate shoe I like. I’m not a skater, but that was the style when I was younger. These are really great. They’re white, which isn’t ideal. However, they’re super comfy. It feels like I’m walking around in giant slippers.
Sports — Knicks beat Jazz, 119-103. Jalen Brunson and Deuce McBride were out, so Cam Payne was the starting point guard. Tyler Kolek, who had already played a game that day with the team’s G-League affiliate, was the backup. Karl-Anthony Towns recorded 31 points and 21 rebounds.
Sports — Knicks lose to Thunder, 117-107. Ugh, I really wanted this. New York was on a nine-game winning streak. However, most of those victories came against bad opponents. Oklahoma City is one of the best squads in the league. So it was a significant test for a Knicks team with high expectations.
Sports — Knicks lose to Bulls, 139-126. That was rough. Chicago is one of the aforementioned bad opponents. The Bulls took the lead in the third quarter and never let it go. Towns scored 44 points. The Eastern Conference Player of the Month left the game in the final minutes due to injury.
Sports — Knicks beat Magic, 103-94. Ooph, that makes three losses in a row. Towns didn’t play due to knee soreness. Others were missing as well. Still, New York should have had more than enough to defeat an injured Orlando. Jalen Brunson struggled with his shot and ultimately fouled out.