Columns, Grim Fandango and more
I’m sending out that column about Senator John Fetterman to my national and Pennsylvania email lists. If you’d like to send out your own columns or letters, take a look at this: https://slaughterfreeamerica.substack.com/p/how-to-write-letters-to-newspapers-6eb
Anyway, let’s do (Cell) Culture Talk. Here’s what I’ve reading, playing, listening to and watching.
Book — The Gospel of Church by Janine Giordano Drake. This is an interesting text that argues the Social Gospel movement undercut the Christian Socialist movement. I recall a Jacobin review which suggested Drake’s telling was a little one-dimensional. I don’t know enough about the subject to have an opinion.
Game — Grim Fandango Remastered. I’ve been meaning to play this LucasArts classic for a while. Like a lot of point-and-click adventures from the 1990s, the atmosphere, story and dialogue are great, however the puzzles can be infuriating. I had a lot of fun with the title. Admittedly, I made frequent use of a walkthrough.
Music — Only by the Night by Kings of Leon. I liked the 2008 album upon release, but I think I would have loved the record had it come out a few years earlier, when I was more invested in rock. There are a number of great songs here, like Use Somebody and others. I’ve heard the band referred to as “the southern Strokes.”
Sports — Knicks beat 76ers, 97-92. That game really did a number on my nerves! Jalen Brunson was incredible. He scored 47 points, the most by a New York player in the postseason ever. Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. Kudos to OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa for holding him to 1 point during that time.
Sports — Knicks lose to 76ers, 112-106. News came before tipoff that Bojan Bogdanovic will be out for the remainder of the season. The game itself ended in a frustrating overtime loss. New York had a number of opportunities to win, but self-inflicted errors got in the way. Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey stole the show with 46 points.
Sports — Knicks beat 76ers, 118-115. It was another nail biter, which was fitting. The series was extremely competitive and evenly matched. I think the bad calls balanced out in the end. Of course, it’s easy for me to say that as a New York fan. Jalen Brunson had 41 points. The Knicks will move on to play the Pacers in the second round.