Summer’s Here, and the Time Is … Right Out
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The title sort of betrays it since we’re in a completely different season now, but I started this edition quite some time ago. There were a few hitches getting this one finished, technical and…less technical? I applied for a job with the tech department of my current company, interviewed a few times, and got the offer for it. Winding down the old position and beginning again with a brand new team was both exciting and exhausting.
[UPDATE, 1 month later: Additionally, I was blocked from sending for a time by a bounced email due to my overly aggressive mail server, which led to a lot of trial and error changing settings and finally putting addresses of any consequence on a whitelist.]
I also finally regained my driver’s license, after the California one had expired during the pandemic. To get an Oregon license, I was told, I’d be required to take both written and driving tests. Even when Portland DMVs reopened after lockdown, the appointments stretched to months away and I finally gave up trying to renew. After all, I’d managed getting around the city by bike and public transit perfectly well, so it didn’t seem urgent.
But recently we started adding up rideshare costs, and it was clear we would save money overall, even with modest insurance and car payments. We took a trip to Los Angeles to buy an EV: to the den of iniquity and sprawl we left behind 5 years ago to come to Portland. Why L.A.? Oregon EV prices are much higher, possibly because generous state rebates are compensated for up front by dealers. Not to mention, the sheer volume of supply is far greater in Southern California. So, southerly we flew. Out of pure necessity—since we needed to get the car back home—I started driving while there for the first time in 5 years. I’m amazed, maybe even a little shocked at how quickly it seemed familiar again. Cue the inevitable riding-a-bike comparison! It seems appropriate that getting back behind the wheel again took place in the City That Always Drives.
SITUATION: Cautiously Optimistic
Consumption and Digestion
VIDEO
Billy Idol talks about making “Eyes Without a Face,” both the song and the video. His cocksure attitude has long hidden the fact (to me, anyway) that he was closely involved in all creative aspects of his work, including the evocative imagery and production.
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This Samurai Jack video was made on a Nintendo DSi, not the most obvious platform for animation, but it’s cleverly constructed and super charming.
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Robin Waldun’s video on how to read literary fiction was an encapsulation that resonates for me: literature should be a transformational experience. This is why we put books into that category. I didn’t understand the promise of literature when I was a kid, browsing my mom’s bookshelves. I didn’t when I started taking my first English classes, and I still didn’t I when I was enrolled as a creative writing major at the University of Arizona (by coincidence, this was the same time David Foster Wallace was finishing his MFA there). Over time, and through a couple of wonderful lit professors, it clicked. Literature can be difficult. Some books are a puzzle, and it takes time and effort to fit the pieces together. Solving puzzles is deeply satisfying in most instances, but for literature it’s not the only reward we can gain.
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The MST3K YouTube channel is still marathoning merrily along. I haven’t seen all the episodes, but for the stuff I have seen, I regularly find jokes I missed the first time around, as well as plenty that are still hilarious. [The link below changes from time to time, so if you find it’s giving 404, check the channel home page.]
https://www.youtube.com/live/ueWu4AnjfdM
MUSIC
I’ve been thinking I should write up a post about going through Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland (it’s tempting to just call it “Star Wars Land”), because it was my first time during this trip and it’s such an impressive feat of environmental design. But for now, one of the many delights of the place was hanging out in Oga’s Cantina. It captures much of the flavor of the Mos Eisley bar where Luke and Ben meet Han & Chewbacca in the original film. A central feature of the place is an animatronic droid DJ named R-3X (pronounced “Rex”). Disney uploaded quite a few songs commissioned for the venue, and I was delighted to find every track certifiably bangs. It’s searchable on Apple Music and Spotify (and maybe others) as
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Oga’s Cantina: R3X’s Playlist #1
(There’s also a #2 playlist which isn’t quite as good, but still has plenty of excellence.)
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Four Tet’s newest album, Three, continues his streak of terrific releases. This one feels a bit millennium-retro: a little Orbital, more than a little Aphex Twin, and perhaps a smidge of breakbeat, although more laid back than, say, late-90s Chemical Brothers.
ARTICLES
Maria Farrell and Robin Berjon propose using forestry revitalization principles to bring greater ecodiversity to the web:
https://www.noemamag.com/we-need-to-rewild-the-internet/
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This one’s been too long debated without action. An shot of 70s centerfold “Lena” was chosen as a test image for converting analog photos to digital. Beyond arguments of digital permanence and personal dignity, it’s a corollary to the debate over DEI and welcoming approaches in general. By choosing more inclusive images and encouraging opportunity for minority engagement, everyone benefits and groups are strengthened.
BOOKS
I finished Lois McMaster Bujold’s Shards of Honor. I didn’t know it was her debut, but I was impressed to learn that. I doubt I’ll continue with the series, but I quite enjoyed her facility with dialogue: conversations have a natural flow. The slow burn romance between the two leads was my favorite aspect, even though it had a fated destiny about it (although, the cliché of being enemies first doesn’t have the same feel these days).
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There Will Be Swinging, Swaying, and Records Playing
Thanks for continuing to read my musings. Summer has faded away; here’s to the onrushing juggernaut—the most wonderful time of the year, you know what I’m talkin’ about! That’s right: FALL.
Pax Exeunt!
This was a draft issue of But This Is Wondrous Strange. You can subscribe, unsubscribe, or view this email online.