Columns, Deep Cover and 80 Days
My last letter ended up in The New York Daily News. I haven’t done a great job keeping track of that stuff.
This week, I’m going to send out my column about America’s history of fighting fascism. If you’d like to submit your own writing, feel free to use these newspaper email lists: https://slaughterfreeamerica.substack.com/p/how-to-write-letters-to-newspapers-6e
Anyway, it’s time for (Cell) Culture Talk. Here’s what I’ve been reading, watching, playing and listening to lately.
Book — The Risen Christ by Caryll Houselander. The short work is a beautifully-written meditation on the biblical story of Jesus’ resurrection. Houselander is at her best when she talks about the goal of seeing God in all humans. I wish she extended this concept to animals.
Book — The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian by Phil Szostak. It’s a great, behind-the-scenes look at the making of the first season of the landmark series set in a galaxy far, far away. The glossy pages are packed with designs of various creatures, vehicles and planets.
Movie — Deep Cover. Bryce Dallas Howard stars as an improv teacher who is hired by the police to infiltrate the London underworld, with the help of two of her students, played Orlando Bloom and Nick Mohammed. The fun action comedy was directed by Tom Kingsley.
Game — 80 Days. I really enjoyed this text-based title, which takes place in a steampunk version of 1872. It’s loosely based on Jules Vernes’ novel Around the World in Eighty Days. The replay value seemed pretty good. It was developed by the same company that made Overboard!
Music — Francis Trouble by Albert Hammond Jr. It’s been a while since I listened to all of the Strokes’ different solo projects. However, the last time I did, this was far and away the best. Honestly, I like the album better than a number of the main group’s records.