Books
I’ve hinted around here that I am flirting with a seriously ambitious multi year reading project. It started with a couple books about the prehistory of humanity, then touched a bit on early civilizations in the Mediterranean and now we’re in Greece and taking another dive into the first great masterpiece of the western cannon, the Iliad. Lots more of Homer content to come, but this month started with me reading Robin Lane Fox’s Homer and His Iliad, a surprisingly personal and idiosyncratic book about Homer. Fox is one of the biggest names in popular classics, and this book is a joy. Full of insights into Homer, oral poetry traditions more generally, and Fox’s own deep relationship with the poem. More fun than I was expecting, and recommended for the enthusiast.
With travel and other commitments this month, I couldn’t quite face going deeper into Homer right away so I did some palate cleansing. I started with the wonderfully fun thriller Going Zero, a sure to be optioned techno thriller about the evils of big tech. This one is definitely recommended for the enthusiast.
Then I read 2034 and 2054 by Eliot Ackerman and Adm. James Stavridis. 2034 envisions a war between the US and China and echoes the earlier (and frankly better and more interesting) Ghost Fleet by Singer and Cole. It’s fine as far as it goes, recommended for the enthusiast, but just barely. The second book 2054 which is about a post nuclear war America and transformative AI is downright terrible and should be avoided. Not recommended.
I also devoured the last book in the main story of the Lazarus graphic novel series. There are other sequels and prequels and sources books and whatever and maybe I’ve even read those. This was a totally satisfying comic book experience and I’d recommended it for the enthusiast.
I also read the first book in the two book collected The Massive about environmentalists cruising the oceans in a post world after ecological collapse. Entertaining if forgettable. I’ll read the second volume for what that’s worth and say this is recommended for the enthusiast.
I promise I’ll read more of substance in May.
Films and Theatre
This is the year I become somewhat film literate again. Before law school and kids I was the kind of guy who scoured the Voice’s movie reviews for what to go see, and I had enough time to see a lot of movies. Then life got busy. But the kids are slightly older now, and we’re slightly less sleep deprived and I’m gonna watch some movies this year.
I’ll probably write more about these films, and movie bro culture, but for now…
The Florida Project (Sean Baker) is both heartwarming and gut wrenching portrayal of childhood, poverty, and dreams. I knew nothing about this movie when I came into it and buddy was it a wonderful ride. Highly recommended.
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (Kier-La Janisse) A nearly THREE HOUR deep dive into the world of Folk Horror starting with the ones we all know (Witchfinder General, Wicker Man) and then going deep, deep, deep into other more obscure entries into the genre from around the world. This is a total tour de force of obsessive cinephilia and I absolutely loved it. Your milage may vary depending on how into extremely long and detailed documentaries about horror subgenres you are. Recommended for the enthusiast.
I’m fascinated by the way some movies seem to have outsized resonance in the corners of the online world in which I find myself and to that end I also finally saw Heat (Michael Mann) which is unarguably brilliant. I’m ashamed I didn’t see this sooner. Obviously, recommended. Also watched The Town (Ben Affleck) which is a lesser heist movie, still fun, but as the kids say “mid”. That one I’d recommend for the enthusiast.
Finally, like every other Jewish guy of my socio-economic class, I saw the Ally (Itamar Moses) at Joe’s Pub. Written before the attacks on October 7 and all that came over it, this is a gut-wrenching examination is what it means to be Jewish and progressive. I feel like I knew every character that appeared on stage. I laughed, I (almost) cried, it was good. This production has closed, but if you can see it next time it plays, you should. Recommended.
Never get attached to anything you can't walk away from in 30 seconds. That's the discipline. I am alone. I am not lonely.