10E2666: Lupin | Gentleman Burglar

 

 

 

Follow this French gentleman thief Assane Diop (Omar Sy of Intouchables fame) and his deep layered wardrobe of vintage mod tops in LUPIN - taking inspiration from the French gentleman thief of early 1900s Arsene Lupin.  He is a one man Oceans11 with a LockStock underground clubhouse.  5 episodes, no gore. Got teens taking French at school? Easy win.   

 

The original author LeBlanc was obv a next level troll, calling one book VS Herlock Sholmes which is not a typo but result of some friction with Arthur Conan Doyle...

10E2665: Media Snack

The great site KOTTKE (written mainly by Jason Kottke) does a rundown of his media consumption during the year - 2020 list here but bookmark the site generally as it brings a mix of arts and geopolitics each day from around the world. 

I have not fanatically recorded everything I saw, read, and cooked BUT a few nuggets to view online below - a short list. Note, Hoopla and Kanopy are 2 services available through many libraries that stream movies (and for Hoopla books and music too you can download) with simple interfaces. Huge fan.

 

AlphaGo;  On March 9, 2016, the worlds of Go and artificial intelligence collided in South Korea for an extraordinary best-of-five-game competition, coined The DeepMind Challenge Match. 

Butlins, The WORST PART of British Culture  Comedian Nigel Ng on Britain's best kept secret (and lets keep it that way...), Butlins.  "Walk past a Wetherspoon's at 2 in the afternoon. Imagine all those people - at a resort."   Some funny sh*t. 10 mins.

Hunt for the Wildepeople; I am on the Taika Waititi train. Wildepeople is a quirky and really accessible father/son (isn't really a father/son but you'll get it) escape film.  If you like this watch Waititi's earlier and much more regional New Zealand 80s flavored BOY.   Some of the same themes cropped back up in Jojo Rabbit.  Reminder Waititi humor revitalized Thor: Ragnorok and he uses favorite cast members throughout - good fun.

Knives Out. Last thing I saw at cinema before the lockdown in May. Want to watch a second time. the game GO features early on.

Last Black Man in San Fransciso; Jimmie Fails dreams of reclaiming the Victorian home his grandfather built in the heart of San Francisco... A wistful odyssey populated by skaters, squatters, street preachers, playwrights, and the other locals on the margins.

Samurai Gourmet; old boy Sebiro (contraction of the English Savile Row meaning businessman) enjoys retirement and long lunches.  Desktop vacation.

Still Game; 8 seasons of a kitchen sink comedy(?) of Glasgow pensioners and various goings on. Start with that episode and if you get into the tone (some harsh words always between friends) you can go back and start at episode 1. 

Tenet: saw in a 100% empty cinema at a matinee a few months ago. Def enjoyed the experience. Brain hurt a bit afterwards (inversion-time-travel-theme). Worth a look.

10E2664: 'Dry' can be ok at Thanksgiving

Dry turkey is not ok.  That is why gravy was invented.

Drinking 'dry' IS ok. 

This year's distanced Thanksgiving dinners will allow less social pressure for some, and this goes out to the sober-curious readers.  I am with you here - 4 years no beers.  You want to talk about it - drop me a line.  IMHO ginger is a key ingredient for catch'yer'throat acidity, and these 3 options all deliver w/o the sweetness.

TÖST: sparkling non-alcoholic white tea, white cranberry, and ginger. Drink out of a coup and tickle your nose. V v tasty. Might as well get the big bottles.

Vermont Village: apple cider vinegar/honey/ginger (it is not 'sweet' - it kicks - try a shot of it...) and any sparkling water (young at heart will enjoy the Liquid Death experience). Add ice in a big glass - bingo.

Swizzle: (carbonated switchel; organic 100% Grade A maple syrup, organic raw apple cider vinegar, fresh ginger root and water), from Up Mountain Switchel.

10E2663: An hour with Pépin and Bourdain

5 years ago almost to the day... Anthony Bourdain interviews Jaques Pépin for the cultural juggernaut 92ndStY.  I never saw this till now ... give yourself an hour.  Pépin's memoir The Apprentice is all the rustic, old world hotel kitchen you can ask for - then the coming to America story at the birth (creating it even) of the tv/celebrity chef.  'Tony and Jacques talk about all that and more.

10E2662: Space Whiskey | Max Fist

 Archenemy looks (to paraphrase one of the characters) insane...

Introducing the supertramp Max Fist [name-of-the-year -ed.], this is the latest film from the producers of (pretty disturbing tbh) Mandy and The Color of Space (both available through Hoopla right now through your local library so have yourself a v twisted Nic Cage mini-festival) - those 2 not for the faint of heart...

But back to Max Fist... watch

 

Going to tie this in with something else later, but Max Fist played by Joe Manganiello who along with being a huge D&D proponent is brand ambassador for something called Liquid Death... that is water, in a can...

Using all the tricks of energy drinks and heavy metal advertising they can think of...  (ok the owners of Liquid Death have also made a few unreconstructed comments about it being the antithesis of Whole Foods yoga mom water (Fiji)...)  but at the very least one can say an aluminum delivery system (cans) beats single use plastic any day of the week. #deathtoplastic  And unless you are absolutely poe-faced their site amuses as it follows the PR to the conclusion... murdered out merch etc.

Does is taste like - water - you say??  The sparkling is smaller bubbled than Polar and others - and softer and a little minerally on the tongue (I am not kidding...).  Highly recommend.  If you are even considering a No-alcy-November, or something to make the kids feel tough (drinks for a movie night etc...) this is a great tool to have.

 

10E2661: Archive - overused term?

 

 

With the explosion of digital-born materials has come the use/overuse of 'archive' as a verb and a noun. 

With it also an increase in opportunity in the field of information management (including image management). That is great news for library students if they have been reading the writing on the wall.  

 

That's it... that's the whole post...