Five Things This Week: 2021, Week 17


Reply All
Podcast
I swear I’ve written about the podcast Reply All before. I perused the page of Five Things and couldn’t find anything all the while cursing myself for not making a searchable index…
First, Reply All has been a first-rate, wonderfully enjoyable and informative show since its inception in 2014. On their website they have a quote from a review by The Guardian calling the show “‘A podcast about the internet’ that is actually an unfailingly original exploration of modern life and how to survive it.” That’s a perfect description.
Right now it’s at a major crossroads as it works its way out of a crisis. In short, a show started by two white guys on a new podcast platform founded by two other white guys has a serious problem in how addresses diversity. Doing exactly that to another company (Bon Apetit) held up a really unflattering mirror that’s caused one of the aforementioned show-founding white guys as well as a long-time reporter to resign and caused an existential crisis for the show.
The New York Times did a great piece on the controversy, and I encourage you to read that. After that, there’s a new episode (yay!) that talks about what’s happened and what’s happening. (That’s a Spotify link)
This has been one of my drop-everything-and-listen podcasts and it never let me down. What I find most fascinating about this controversy is that it happened at all – I think they could have swept it under the carpet and pushed on. But they didn’t. And as a result of the reckoning they have to rebuild from the foundation. That’s hard. That’s admirable. Change is one hell of a force and I’m really looking forward to what’s going to come next for them.

Like a Stone
Remember Sports
Their 2018 album, “Slow Buzz,” was my favorite album of that year and one I still go to if I want to turn the stereo up to eleven and sing along for 36 joyous minutes of power-pop. “Like a Stone” is the newest album from the Philadelphia-based band and it hits very differently. It’s not as rambunctious. It takes its time, but they still have great jangly melodies and slightly warbly vocals. The more I listen the more I’m enjoying it.

Nobody
The trailer had me hooked. Last Friday, Akilah and I were looking for a movie to watch and I wanted something with action that I didn’t want to think hard about. “Nobody” blew my expectations away. Let’s be clear: this is a violent action movie. Comparisons to the John Wick franchise are absolutely fair, and I’m not sure which has more violence. Bob Odenkirk is the titular “nobody” with a past. But it’s also got Christopher Lloyd as his dad! And RZA makes an appearance! It’s in theaters now (remember those? They’re still around and want you to come in — safely!) and rental at video on demand sites.

For Centuries, Big Sur Residents Have Seen ‘Dark Watchers’ In The Mountains
SF Gate
The title pretty much says it all. Dark watchers! In the Santa Lucia mountains! References to poet Robert Jeffers and patron saint of the area, John Steinbeck! What more do you want?! 
A few years back I followed the serpentine Nacimiento-Fergusson Road from King City to Big Sur through those mountains. At the time I remember there were some side roads that looked like they might be interesting. I might have to go back and keep my eyes out for those Watchers…

Bring a Trailer
Website
When I go to Target I bring a list, but I shop the whole store. I only buy what’s on my list, but I love looking at fun stuff I would never actually buy. Like this:

Or this:

Similarly, I’m not in the market for a car but my daily email from Bring A Trailer (BAT) is something I look forward to perusing every morning. The sheer variety of cars listed boggle the mind. Want some dream-worthy listings? How about a 27-Mile 2005 Ford GT? I’ve been drooling over this 1957 Porsche 356A Speedster myself. But they’ve also got things only a few people would pay attention to. This 1974 Honda CB360G motorcycle brought me back to my second motorcycle (also a 1974 Honda CB360, but the “T” model) and the walk-around video and start up… man I was 18 again for a moment.Nothing wrong with window shopping…

Selfie: 2021, Week 17 – Planting

I met up with an old friend in the parking lot of the Guerneville Safeway on Saturday. Under the steel gray sky, we headed west, meandering on the back roads out to Bodega Bay for fish and chips. As we were taking our helmets off in the parking lot of the Boat House restaurant, volunteers across the street in front of the Bodega Bay Grange Hall called “Free vaccines! Do you guys need to get vaccinated?”

My friend had his second shot a few weeks back. I had my second Covid vaccine shot last Wednesday – it was in the building that serves as the ticketing office for the Napa Wine Train – it’s been closed through this whole pandemic. Standing in a serpentine line with dozens of others waiting to get needles jabbed in our arms surrounded by brochures for various wineries was fairly surreal during this whole surreal moment.

No mentionable side effects, by the way. I’m quite grateful for that. Though I was kind of excited for that third arm the nanobots in the vaccine would build. Or the killer 5G reception I was supposed to get…

Seriously, though, one of my coworkers is just now recovering from Covid and told me about how he really feels lucky to have made it through — it’s still out there. It’s still laying people low. It’s still killing people. We’re not done yet.

When the company I work for bought the land for the building they also bought the lot next door so they would be prepared if/when they decided to expand. Twenty-plus years on, they haven’t expanded, but about five years ago they set aside a portion of that empty lot for community garden plots for interested employees. It’s a really generous benefit that I’ve tried to take full advantage of (another time I’ll tell you about the Scorpion Pepper I grew that I was all ready to film Akilah eating. Oh, she ate it. But let’s just say it was anticlimactic…)

Last year most of the building was working remotely and what with social distancing and the still evolving nature of the virus we didn’t do the garden. I’d swing by the building every week or so and I watched the volunteer plants and weeds grow and grow over the course of the summer and fall… About a month ago I saw that they’d mowed the five-foot tall green mass that occupied the entire garden area. A week later they tilled the plots. And then the email came: we’re doing the garden again this year!

I got the same plot I’ve had and the soil was a little tired the last harvest, so I added some soil and manure, tilling it in until you sink with every step into the soft soil. Akilah and I planted five tomato plants, six hot and sweet peppers, a row of beets, some beans, and a single zucchini plant that – if history is any guide – will produce way more zucchini than we can eat. I mean, seriously, we might have gone overboard… but despite the ever-present virus, we’re ready to let things grow.

I thought about that this evening as I let the water rain down on the little tomato starts: Sasha’s Altai, then Early Girl, and Gobstopper, next to Lucid Gem, and finally Isis Candy. Daring to start something normal. I write this even though we don’t have a date for when we’ll return to the office – not that I’m anxious to return to in-person work; I’ve got a puppy that’s going to have some serious separation anxiety. But at least visiting to water is a baby step.

It’s the duality of life right now – the bright shine of hope and optimism held against ever present darkness of ongoing dangers.

Overall, I feel really good about the direction things are going, but I’m still daily managing the knot in my stomach watching my bank accounts get tighter and tighter – the darkness…

…And the light: The weekend before last I was ecstatic to have the first bartending gig since October. A cool sunny afternoon at a ranch between Petaluma and Valley Ford hosted a full hundred-plus person wedding. It would have been just like the Before Times™ if I wasn’t wearing a mask the whole time. I’m not complaining, though. I was genuinely excited to be there watching the smiles around me. I have another gig this coming Saturday up in Hopland. These are two of my favorite venues, too. Reason to hope for a better summer than last year.

If you haven’t gotten vaccinated yet, please do. As my coworker reminded me, it’s still out there. And, no, a vaccine isn’t a guarantee you won’t get Covid. But if you’re vaccinated and you get the virus it almost certainly won’t land you in the hospital or worse.

Let’s do this so we can meet old friends for motorcycle rides and fish and chips. Let’s do this so we can grow gardens. Plant the seeds now and we’ll have a great harvest soon enough.

PS. Akilah has banned me from writing about Covid at all for the next three weeks. Minimum. That’s fair…

Five Things This Week: 2021, week 16

Falcon and The Winter Soldier
Disney+
The finale just dropped today and, yes, I’m writing this after watching it. No spoilers, but I thought it ended the first season quite well (well, there’s one exception, but I said no spoilers…). This is the second Marvel series on Disney+ and, wow, this and WandaVision have both been great in very different ways. Really looking forward to Loki… too bad we have to wait another month!!

Ska Dream
Jeff Rosenstock
I admit not knowing who Jeff Rosenstock was before this week, but I really like the cut of his jib. Last year he released the album “No Dream.” It’s a really enjoyable punk album with great riffs, tight instrumentation — everything you’d want if you came up on punk in the late 20th century. This week, though, he dropped a ska version of the album. Yes, a ska version. Why? He wrote, “As with most things ska in my life, what started out as a fun goof with friends eventually morphed into “Hey, what if we tried to make it good though?” All of us have a pretty deep history playing and touring the country in punk/ska bands.” And you know what? It’s awesome! (Above links are Spotify links)

James Hoffmann
YouTube
I watch a lot of YouTube. Probably more than just about any media because I feel there’s a more direct link between creator and viewer. With a low barrier to entry anyone with a niche can find an audience. Those who do it well and consistently (and who know how to work the algorithms) will find like-minded people. James Hoffmann can come off as a ridiculously pedantic espresso guy. And, on some levels, he is. I mean, if you’re going to review multiple burr grinders that cost well in excess of $1000 each head to head you’re going to have to get into the fine details and know your unimodal flat burs, if you know what I mean — and he does. That said, he’s got a wonderfully dry sense of humor and doesn’t take himself too seriously — as evidence I give you his review of the Bripe, a brew pipe. I don’t have an espresso maker (well, I have a Mokka Pot), though I hope to, but watching James Hoffmann’s videos are still soothing.

Osprey Talon 22
Backpack
Early in the pandemic I realized two things: one, Armstrong Woods is only five minutes from where I live; two, hiking and walking are great exercise and you don’t need anything more than a good pair of shoes. Over the last few months, my hikes have gotten longer and steeper and more off the beaten path and I realized that it doesn’t take a lot for things to go bad really fast. A lot of circumstances can be ameliorated if you have the right things – a way to call for help, a way to bring and get water, a way to treat injuries, etc. And you have to carry that stuff. I have a lot of friends who’ve beat the ever-living crap out of Osprey packs and have had nothing but glowing reviews of them. So I did some research, and when REI had them deeply on sale, I picked up this 22 liter version. No, you don’t need it to hike, and if I’m going less than five miles I usually don’t bother. But when I venture out a bit, I’m really glad I have the capabilities at hand.

Fleabag
Amazon
Why am I putting something on this list whose second and final season debuted back in 2019? Can’t you find anything new? Whoa, there. First, my list, my rules. Second, when I talk about Fleabag with someone like, of course they know what I’m talking about I inevitably get “Wait, flea what?” So, it’s not nearly as ubiquitous as it should be. But I’m putting it here because you should watch it for the brilliance of its creator and star, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who is in the news for two significant reasons. One, she is a writer on the forthcoming James Bond movie, “No Time To Die.” Okay, as for why she would be considered for a Bond film (I mean there isn’t a lot of action (nor spies) in Fleabag) you might need to also watch the amazing “Killing Eve” where she was the writer and showrunner for the first season. But even more recently, she’s been tagged to be the female lead opposite Harrison Ford in the forthcoming Indiana Jones 5!!! Squee!! So, consider this a primer on who she is and why she’s imminently qualified to be in *waves hands* everything.