Category: Sam’s Essays

Posted on

Quarantine Cuisine #1

One thing I’ve been focusing on in this time of quarantine is cooking. I ordered two dutch ovens (a piece of cooking equipment I’ve long wanted but never pulled the trigger on) and they luckily arrived within two days. With these I was able to try out two new to me recipes that turned out great.

Boy was I late on the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen, but I am in love now just like everyone else. I didn’t know at the time but this egg fried rice dish I’ve been making since last year actually came from their sister site, Basically. I cook dinner almost every night and have been cooking for a while now but these videos (along with Kenny Shopsin’s cookbook and the Chef Show on Netflix) really got me to start experimenting again with new dishes and flavors. I’ve made Shopsin’s simplified, quick and easy bolognese and variations (which really was easy and good) so I was a little circumspect on how long this recipe takes. Would it really be worth it? The answer is god damn hell yeah it was worth it. I never cook with wine and reducing that down I think made a huge difference. The bolognese was so rich and wonderful. This blew my mind and the next time I make it I’ll probably double it. Highly, highly recommend.

Ivan Orkin, of Ivan Ramen, is an immediately likable, no bullshit guy who has such an amazing, tragic, heartwarming story. I learned about him in the excellent episode of Chef’s Table that covers his story. His personality shines through in just this short video. This was my first time really making a curry and I did use the exact boxed curry he uses in this video. I only used half a block because I was worried it would be overpowering, but I actually think it was a little lacking with just half, and next time I’ll definitely use the whole thing. I would have probably reduced it a bit more to make it a bit thicker, but my first try still came out really well and I’ll definitely make this again, and continue to tweak and experiment with the plentiful leftovers I have.

Written recipes are linked in the videos if you want finer details and measurements. I’ll post more recipes and successes and failures on here in the weeks to come because what the hell else have I got to do?

Posted on

Train to Busan + The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil

I’ve been getting into more South Korean films lately after loving Parasite (and the OG Oldboy back in the day) and these two movies were amazing. Train to Busan follows a group of people trying to get to, well, Busan, as a zombie outbreak hits. The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil is about a gang leader and a cop teaming up to catch a serial killer on the loose. While both films are dark and violent, they both manage to be so exciting and fun, with moments of humor and humanity throughout. I was on the edge of my seat during both movies, the pace is so sharp and quick, there’s really no dull moments in either movie. I’d highly recommend them both. Train to Busan is on Netflix right now.

Both movies feature one of the most effortlessly charismatic actors I’ve seen in awhile, Don Lee (Ma Dong-seok). He’s a big bruiser who can somehow switch his vibe from deeply menacing to wholesomely compassionate at the drop of a hat while barely changing the look on his face. He’s got a role in the stacked cast of Marvel’s Eternals (with a ton of my other favorites) coming out at the end of the year and I can’t wait to follow this guy’s career. He’s got some other movies I want to check out, like the Good, the Bad and the Weird, along with more South Korean films that I’ve seen get a ton of love, including the Handmaiden and Burning. Really grateful for Parasite and Bong Joon Ho nudging me to check out more international and out there films.

Posted on

My Favorite Books of 2019

I read a lot this year, much more fiction than I usually do, specifically a lot of detective and crime novels. And I loved it. I just focused on reading what I wanted to, and if I wasn’t enjoying a book I dropped it. Since I was only reading what I enjoyed, I read at a quicker pace and which led to more books overall than usual. I’m continuing this approach in 2020.  Here are my favorite books I read in 2019.

11/22/63 by Stephen King
This was my favorite book I read this year. It hit a lot of targets I’m really interested in: Historical fiction set in the 1960’s. Conspiracy theories. Elements of crime and spy stories with a scifi bent.

The main story has an outsider (to both time and place) time traveling back to first prove without a doubt that Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK, and then decide whether or not to prevent the assassination by murdering the assassin. There are plenty of detours from this ‘main story’, which I actually loved, that explore all the realistic side adventures of a time travel story. He tries to save others along the way, sometimes with causing even more dire consequences. He bets on a long shot to win big and then has to avoid retaliation from the bookie that got duped. There’s a lot going on and I enjoyed it all. It also sneaks in a love story, which grew to be one of the most powerful parts of the book. We’re thrown in with the character adjusting to this new time and new place and how he forms relationships and ultimately becomes a part of the community he’s in. In these ways it reminded me of Winesburg, Ohio, which is one of the highest compliments I can give a book. King is amazing at making the setting almost literally become a character, an evil character here, with Dallas. It’s linked to his greater universe he’s created and we even get a glimpse at Derry (another evil city) and the monster that’s living there in 1958 (but more on IT later).

It’s just an amazing combination of genre, drama, and romance with plenty of tense, eerie suspense. On top of it all, it’s a time travel story, presented in maybe the best way I’ve seen it done. It’s laid out in fascinating, easy to follow detail right at the start, but then moves on with the rest of the story, returning to it when it needs to, without ever being bogged down by the ‘rules’. It’s a long book but I never felt bored. It was an exciting, interesting story the whole way through.  

The Spenser Private Detective Novels by Robert Parker
While 11/22/63 was probably my favorite book this year, the Spenser novels are my favorite discovery. Robert Parker was a very local writer, living in Cambridge and teaching at BU, and though I hadn’t known of him previously, any time I brought him up to someone a bit older, they knew exactly who I was talking about. He’s a legend, considered the dean of American crime fiction, and wrote and released a book nearly every god damn year of his life once he got going. Almost all of the Spenser novels are set around Boston (with a few excursions, to London and Los Angeles, for example). It’s set when and where it was written, 1970’s and 80’s around Boston, but it also feels like it could be set any time, with many of the big landmarks and streets mentioned still here today. I read and enjoyed a lot of the detective novels I read this year, but this hit exactly what I was looking for. Spenser is the detective, and he’s a smart ass who likes to cook and read and work out at the YMCA. My guy!

While Spenser is recognized by all he encounters as one of the toughest, most reliable guys around, it’s much more realistic than a Jack Reacher Lee Child novel. He’s not unstoppable. He gets it as good as he gives at times, but his experience as a boxer and policeman make him a crafty, intelligent P.I.

Reading more about the author Robert Parker only made me like him more. Here’s some gold from his Wikipedia:
“Parker and his wife, Joan, separated at one point but then came to an unusual arrangement. They lived in a three-story Victorian house just outside of Harvard Square; she lived on one floor and he on another, and they shared the middle floor. This living arrangement is mirrored in Spenser’s private life: his girlfriend, Susan, had an aversion to marriage and living together full-time. Living separately suited them both, although they were fully committed to each other. Explaining the arrangement in an interview on CBS Sunday Morning, Parker said, “I want to make love to my wife for the rest of my life, but I never want to sleep with her again.”
And, “when asked how his books would be viewed in 50 years, replied: ‘Don’t know, don’t care.'”

I’ve read 10 of these books upon discovering it, in just the last four months of the year. They’re incredibly fun, easy reads that you can move right through. My favorites so far are The Goldwulf Manuscript, Mortal Stakes, The Promised Land, & The Judas Goat. I look forward to reading even more in 2020.

A few more favorite detective novels this year: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, Slow Horses by Mick Herron, Gun Machine by Warren Ellis, Red Dragon by Thomas Harris, Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling)

IT by Stephen King
I ripped through this book at a pretty insane pace, because of how well-written it is, but by the time I got to the end I was ready for it. Maybe I read it a little too fast. King really is a master, but at the same time, he could’ve easily cut 10-20% of the book and it’d probably be even better. That being said, it only really started to feel like it was dragging for a moment towards the end, but then the shIT hits the fan and it’s an exciting, terrifying ride straight to the end. 

As gruesome as it all is, the friendships between the Losers, the escape from misery they get among friends, and the joy and light-hearted humor they’re able to have with each other is really heart-warming and somehow plays well within the fact that a MURDEROUS ALIEN CLOWN IS MASS MURDERING CHILDREN IN THEIR TOWN. Great book, and another entry for me into the world Stephen King has built.

Leadership In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin
This is a great format to learn history through. It wasn’t a straightforward biography of one individual. Those can always be rough starting out; I don’t care about Lincoln’s uncle’s cousin, I want to hear about how he learned in his environment and built on those lessons to become one of the greatest leaders in American history . And this book provided exactly that. It looked at four President’s formation into the leaders they become, their style and methods, and the change they navigated and brought about through their leadership. The four Presidents were Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and Lyndon Johson, all incredibly interesting, different type of people and leaders. You get to learn about each leader in depth without treading repetitive ground or insignificant details. Kearns focused on their process and strategy, but also the things that happened to them in their lives that formed their pursuits, widened their empathy, and drove them in the direction they would go. Each portrait was very interesting, and I learned more than I previously knew about each man. FDR’s chapters were particularly illuminating because he’s the one I knew the least about before reading. Teddy Roosevelt navigating and balancing on the tight rope for the coal miner’s strike was was very interesting too, and could be a whole book in itself (I’m sure it is), yet is perfectly encapsulated by Kearns in a chapter. I look forward to reading more of her work and about these different leaders.

Spider-Man: Life Story by Chip Zdarsky & Mark Bagley
Far and away the best comic I read this year. While I enjoyed X-Men: Grand Design, this is what I hoped it would be. Chip Zdarsky reimagines the life of Spider-Man chronologically in real-time, each issue covering a different decade, from the 60’s to the 10’s, with Peter Parker and the world around him aging as it goes on. By pulling from over 50 years of comics, distilling the greatest moments in each decade, Zdarsky was able to not only cover the highlights, but imbue each issue and the story as a whole with a tremendous amount of emotion and thoughtfulness. In comics, characters almost never actually age, or if so, extremely slowly. Having Peter Parker go through life, love, loss, and more, grounds the character and makes the emotional beats of the story that much stronger. While Grand Design whipped through story plots, giving a summarization of decades of storytelling, Life Story somehow accomplished a more powerful story in a much shorter page count. I loved this book and would love to see Zdarsky explore more of his planned world, where Captain America, Iron Man, Reed Richards and more age and suffer and live complete lives.

Station Eleven by Emily St. Mandel
I really this twisty post-apocalyptic tale. It’s grim, as you’d expect the apocalypse to be, but it also has a lot of heart, showcasing the importance of community, story-telling, and hope even in the darkest conditions. The structure of the book is great and it wraps around itself and connects all of the characters across time in a really interesting way.

Keep Going by Austin Kleon
I’m a big fan of Austin Kleon’s blog and previous books, and this is another winner. It will instant boost to be more creative, but it’s equally motivating for life in general. The world can seem pretty depressing and this is a book that challenges us to continue to cultivate our own gardens, inside our homes, our relationships, our daily practices, and to keep going in the pursuits and passions that make us feel more alive.

Awareness by Anthony De Mello
This is a kick in the pants book. I don’t know if I’d agree with everything De Mello says in this book, but his blunt, no bullshit talks on how life really is, how people really are, certainly attunes you to the way you’re living. It’s a good palate cleanser to wake you up and think about how much time your wasting on the inconsequential, and to get back in touch with who you really are.

Eat Me: the Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin by Kenny Shopsin
Another no bullshit taker, Kenny Shopsin, wrote this wonderful cookbook/musings on life and creativity. This book reinvigorated my passion for cooking and is packed with glorious comfort food recipes. But the real value in this book is Shopsin’s view on life and creativity, allowing no compromises in how he runs his restaurant, how he cooks his food, and how he lives his life. Everyone is different, and Kenny Shopsin is certainly unique, but his drive to live on his own terms is truly inspiring.

A Few More Favorites:
Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
All That You Leave Behind by Erin Lee Carr
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh
The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene
The Black Monday Murders by Jonathan Hickman
House of X/Powers of X by Jonathan Hickman
X-Men Grand Design by Ed Piskor


Posted on

My Favorite Movies of 2019

  1. Parasite
  2. Uncut Gems
  3. Midsommar
  4. Marriage Story
  5. The Irishman
  6. Avengers: Endgame
  7. Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
  8. Knives Out
  9. Booksmart
  10. ???

Honorable Mentions: Always Be My Maybe, Shazam!, The King, Deadwood: The Movie, The Report

Still need to see: Joker, Jojo Rabbit, The Lighthouse, Little Women, Honey Boy, The Last Black Man In San Francisco and plenty more I’m sure I missed

It was a pretty fantastic year for movies and there’s still a good amount I need to see. I watched a lot of these towards the end of the year, so some recency bias might be at play, but I really, really loved the top 6 movies, as wildly different as they are from each other. The rest were great too, but no other movies blew me away like those first 6. Each one felt like a powerhouse in it’s own way. Parasite is weird and funny, yet feels classic in it’s themes and cinematography. Every shot was perfect. It seamlessly blends straight up drama with off-kilter satire and moments of horror with slapstick comedy. Somehow it felt Shakespearean with the conflict between two families from very different circumstances. Uncut Gems is an uncomfortable thrill ride in the best possible way. There’s so much to unpack because so many great moments are jammed in at a breakneck pace. One highlight and example of the deep world the Safdie’s created: While Howard is being pursued for his hundred thousand dollar debt by serious, leg breaking collectors, another shrimpy, weaker bookie constantly pops up looking for the 32 grand Howard owes him, only to be told to fuck off, swatted away like a fly because Howard is too worried about the greater, scarier consequences closing in on him. It’s hilarious, as many parts of the movie somehow are, as we watch this guy dig his hole deeper and deeper. Also, I absolutely loved Julia Fox (and KG!). Midsommar just blew me away. Very disturbing, eerily beautiful, batshit crazy. I loved it and I’ve been thinking about it a lot since I saw it. Florence Pugh rightfully stole the show but Jack Reynor and Will Poulter play their roles perfectly as well. A friend said it’s a tough movie to recommend to someone, and I agree, but if you like fucked up disturbing movies, you’ll love it. Marriage Story is another brutal movie in it’s own way, but not being married probably helped me enjoy it. I loved how real it was, shifting from blame and anger to moments of tenderness trying to survive the soul crushing process of a divorce. Each scene had something interesting or unique going on it and connected to something deeper as the movie went on.

I love when movies perfectly execute their specific tone, while still managing to weave in moments of humor, compassion, wrath, and reality. All of these movies somehow managed to do that.

The next two could be interchangeable for me, weirdly considering the ‘beef’ between Scorsese and Marvel. First of all, Scorsese is probably my favorite director of all time, and I am a die heard Marvel fanboy, loving the MCU from the beginning. Both of these films are grand caps to momentous movie making. The Irishman is the coda to Scorsese’s meticulous mafia studies, somber and epic. It’s beautiful because it’s a Scorsese movie, but it’s also morbid and depressing. In this world you either die prematurely, murdered by a knife or a gun, or you simply continue living, enduring the unending march towards death that we all face. It’s a very long movie, which matches this march, and one I’ll definitely revisit in the future. A very different type of ending (though still with plenty of deaths) happened in Avengers: Endgame, the culmination of over a decade of movies, creating for the first time an entire cinematic universe across them all. As I said, I love the MCU movies and this was a bittersweet, cathartic end. With some time, I do think Infinity War may be the better movie, but Cap wielding Mjlonir to bitch slap Thanos around, plus the ensuing reunion/battle, was probably my favorite theater experience this year.

The next two movies were somewhat perplexing, in mostly great, surprising ways because both constantly subvert audience expectations. I laughed as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ended and the credits started rolling at the audacity of this weird, strange movie. I liked it, but it felt like nothing really happened. And upon reflection, not much did. It was a hang out movie, and we got to hang out with two fucked up men of Tarantino, played by two of the best actors we have. The whole movie felt anti-Tarantino in a way. When Pitt goes to check on the old man at the ranch, it’s nothing but suspense and tension building. We think for sure we’re going to find a corpse with flies hovering above it but instead…he’s fine. He was just napping. It was anti-climatic. So was the whole movie in a way. The hype and worry over a movie featuring Charles Manson, Sharon Tate, and Roman Polanski barely featured them at all. We got to watch DiCaprio go apeshit, agonizing over his career, and Pitt play basically himself, a cool, devastatingly good looking dude (who could also beat Bruce Lee in a fight and might have killed his wife). While Hollywood was nearly plotless, Knives Out was almost overstuffed with plot. Rian Johnson crafts a great murder mystery that also subverts typical mystery tropes throughout the whole movie. I was so thrown at one reveal in the middle of it, I thought they gave the whole movie away. Then the final twist came and it made sense. And god damn was the cast fantastic, top to bottom, but Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas shine the brightest. Original work from Tarantino and Rian Johnson is always more than welcome. Both movies have their small flaws, and could be viewed as “tied” in my rankings, but I want more movies like both of these! I’m looking forward to rewatching both, to hang out in Tarantino’s 1969 Hollywood, and to further grasp the mechanics and intricacies of Johnson’s unique murder mystery.

Then there’s Booksmart, which could easily be brushed off as an inverted Superbad remake, but instead it leaps forward with heart and empathy as it’s themes. And it’s funny as fuck.

Finally, I leave my #10 spot open. I’m fairly certain one of the movies I missed will become at least #10, over the Honorable Mentions I listed. I just need to see them first. having said that, I did really like the Honorable Mention movies a lot too. Shazam! was the last movie I watched that came out in 2019, and it was a goofy, funny, kind-hearted throwback. If I had to fill the #10 spot right now, it’d be that or The King, which is another fairly formulaic story enlivened by zigging where you least expect it. It had one of the best endings to a movie I’ve seen in awhile.

Favorite non-2019 movies I saw for the first time: A Star is Born, All That Jazz, Paterson, Wonder Boys, While We’re Young

I watched 5 Adam Driver movies this year (Star Wars was not one of them) and he may be my current favorite actor now. His acting made what could have been a few “boring” movies really exciting and interesting. Paterson is a movie where almost nothing happens, as Adam Driver’s bus driver/poet character just goes about his daily routine for a week, and yet it’s soothing in a way that illustrates a peaceful, zen approach to life. The Report, a pretty standard investigative political drama, is energized by his relentless, manic pursuit of the truth and justice as his character uncovers step by step how the U.S. came to use torture following 9/11. He also played a sort of scummy but likable aspiring filmmaker in While We’re Young, which, along with Marriage Story and the Meyerowitz Stories last year, cemented me as a Noah Baumbach fan.

Finally, I absolutely loved two very different (or are they?) musical movies, A Star Is Born and All That Jazz. Both featured drug addicted stars doing what they loved: doing drugs, chasing women, and singing and dancing. What’s not to love? For real though, these were right up there with the best movies I watched this year. I’m excited to catch up on all that I missed, and maybe tweak this list in the future. I hope next year brings as much diverse and powerful movies as this year did.

Posted on

My Year in Music 2018

This has been a ridiculous year for music. I paid close attention to new music coming out this year and was overwhelmed in the best possible way. Nearly every week there were new albums out by musicians I love. Without even listing them all, this included artists such as (deep breath):
 
Pusha T, Nas, Kanye, Kanye & Cudi, Eminem, Nine Inch Nails, A$AP Rocky, J. Cole, Jay Rock, Black Thought, Travis Scott, Logic, Lil Wayne, Action Bronson, Royce Da 5’9, The Internet, Blood Orange, Noname, Janelle Monae, Jorja Smith, Freddie Gibbs, Freddie Gibbs & Curren$y, Drake, Paul McCartney, John Mayer, Gorillaz, BROCKHAMPTON, 6LACK, Ghostface, Method Man, Mick Jenkins, Khalid, JID, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Parquet Courts, Beach House, Courtney Barnett, Tyler the Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, Anderson .Paak, Kurt Vile, Chance the Rapper, Joey Purp, Meek Mill, Big K.R.IT., Vince Staples…
 
…and many more. This is too much god damn music to try to summarize or write about. Rather than go over all of my favorites and risk repeating a lot of year end lists, I’d like to instead pass along a couple of playlists and highlight a few projects that might have flown under the radar in such a packed year. 
 
First, I kept a running playlist of all my favorite songs released in 2018 that you can check out here:
 
 
Only 100 songs show up there, but if you go to it on Spotify there’s over 250. 
 
I’ll also include the playlist Spotify created of my most listened to songs of the year:
 
 
While I don’t know that it’s totally accurate, it’s close enough, and is a good look at all the music I loved this year, regardless of whether it was released in 2018 or not. These two playlists give the best view of what I really liked this year, but here are a few albums I wanted to highlight: 
 
Mac Miller – Swimming
 
 
I only gave Mac Miller a shot after he passed away and I regret that. He came onto the scene when I was in college and I basically assumed he was strictly a frat rapper and I never gave him another chance until he died. The outpouring of love and respect from peers like Schoolboy Q, Kendrick, Earl Sweatshirt, Vince Staples, and many, many more blew me away. After reading more about him in articles reacting to his death and reflecting on his work, I learned he had quietly blossomed into a workaholic, musical genius. Everyone loved him for his humor, his hunger, and his passion and respect for the craft of making music.
 
His passing is tragic and sad. He was younger than me. He had just released an album, Swimming, that continued to push his sound and subject matter in a new, deeper direction. Discovering him in the wake of his death, listening to these emotional, beautiful, brilliant songs on Swimming shook me, for many reasons. Death. Addiction. Love. Regret. The lyrics are vulnerable, melancholy, and at times fun. It made me think about life.  It also made me question the preconceived notions I’d held onto that shut out this musician without a second thought . I began giving nearly every new music release a chance and ended up finding new favorites among artists I’d previously dismissed. This reminded me of how quickly you can get old, even when you’re young, if you shut yourself off to new things. It stretched beyond music. How many more of these beliefs am I holding onto despite never even giving it a proper chance? You have to be vigilant to watch out for your own biases. And finally, it reminded me to enjoy this life and the people in it while we’re still here.
 
Besides all of that, Swimming is just amazing fucking music, sonically and lyrically. There are no features but the album has plenty of stealthy help from his numerous friends and collaborators. Thundercat plays bass on What’s the Use. John Mayer plays guitar on Small Worlds. Both Syd and Steve Lacy from the Internet contribute with vocals and production respectively. Mac brought in Jon Brion to put the finishing touches on the album. Brion’s done dozens of amazing movie scores and has worked with Kanye, Frank Ocean and Fiona Apple just to name a few. Snoop Dogg even provides a few echoes of the chorus on What’s the Use. But this album is all Mac, airing out his troubles, his joys, and his strongest love: music. 
 
Kali Uchis – Isolation
 
 
This album dropped the same day as Cardi B, so understandably got overlooked. It’s a fantastic album though, with features by some of my favorite people in music right now. Favorite songs include In My Dreams (produced by Gorillaz), Feel Like a Fool, After the Storm (featuring Tyler the Creator), Just a Stranger (featuring Steve Lacy of the Internet), and stand out track Tyrant (featuring Jorja Smith, who’s own 2018 release, Lost and Found, is excellent as well). It’d be sacrilege to compare her to Amy Winehouse, but a few songs off this album reminded me of her. 
 
Young Thug – On the Rvn
 
 
Holy shit I could not stop playing this EP. Never really been a Thugger fan, but this dropped on a Monday in late September and I probably played it for 2 weeks straight. Climax is a perfect pairing with 6LACK (who’s own album, East Atlanta Love Letter, is worth checking out), Sin has BARS from Jaden Smith, Real In My Veins bangs, and High samples Elton John’s Rocket Man, so it’s almost automatically good.
 
Black Thought – Streams of Thought Vol. 2
 
 
One of the greatest rappers of all time is also one of the most slept on. Black Thought of the Roots released two EPs this year, the first produced by 9th Wonder (legend), the second by Salaam Remi (who’s worked on some of the best Nas and Amy Winehouse songs). While both are great I ended up liking Vol. 2 more. It’s just fast-paced, unadulterated bars throughout. “I’m a Pulitzer Prize Fighter how I vaporize writers…”
 
Saba – Care For Me
 
 
While I can’t say I return to this one as much as the others on this list, I can recognize the pure greatness of it. It’s one of the most densely layered, lyrically strong narrative hip hop albums I’ve heard in a long time. It’s a bleak album dealing with the trauma of growing up and having to grieve loved ones lost too early. This kid is the real deal, and his previous album, Bucket List Project is absolutely listening to too. 
 
Oliver Tree – Alien Boy EP
 
 
This guy’s music is as catchy as his look is goofy. Which is extremely catchy and extremely goofy. But it doesn’t really matter when you can’t stop playing his music. His music is a strange fusion of pop, dance, and hip hop with an abrasive voice that just works over it all. The EP is only 16 minutes, but he just released another great song at the end of the year called Hurt. Check this weirdo out. 
 
More “Overlooked” Hip Hop Albums of 2018
The Internet – Hive Mind
JID – DiCaprio 2
Flatbush Zombies – Vacation in Hell
Curren$y, Freddie Gibbs & the Alchemist – FETTI
Swizz Beats – POISON
 
Favorite Non-Hip Hop Albums of 2018
Parquet Courts – Wide Awake!
Paul McCartney – Egypt Station
Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel
Nao – Saturn
Vulfpeck – Hill Climber
Shopping – The Original Body
Robyn – Honey
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Sex & Food
Kamasi Washington – Heaven and Earth
Ryan Beatty – Boy in Jeans
Car Seat Headrest – Twin Fantasy
Young Fathers – Cocoa Sugar
 
Favorite Non-2018 Albums I Discovered This Year
Big Thief – Capacity
Mavis Staples – You Are Not Alone
Mac Miller – The Divine Feminine & Watching Movies Without the Sound Off
Freddie Gibbs – Piñata
KAYTRANADA – 99.9%
The xx – I See You
BROCKHAMPTON – Saturation I, II, & III
 

Posted on

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

I got to see an advanced screening of Into the Spider-Verse last night in IMAX. What an amazing movie. It’s the best Spider-Man movie made in my book. The story is so strong and weaves so many webs (sorry) while still honing in on an emotional hero’s journey. The animation style is unlike anything I’ve seen before, but so is the camera movement and the action choreography. The action is frenetic, whipping all over the place in the best possible way. It’s gorgeous, insanely colorful and has some of the most creative visuals I’ve seen in an animated film. And it’s absolutely hilarious. My boy Jake Johnson killed it but the entire voice cast is phenomenal, especially Miles (Shameik Moore) and his father (Brian Tyree Henry aka Paperboy). There’s so many great character moments and surprises throughout, but I don’t want to spoil any of them. Go see this movie if you’re at all a fan of Spidey or animated movies. 

Posted on

Mobility Routine with Peter Attia & Jesse Schwartzman

Peter Attia is an interesting person. A doctor specializing in longevity, he is a wealth of information on health, exercise, sleep, nutrition, and much more. After a great appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, and the recent start of his own brand new podcast, I was reminded of the video series he had done with Jesse Schwartzman that focused on a mobility routine that allows you to move and feel better, whether it’s before a workout or just for life in general.

I learned about these videos last year and have worked in a lot of the movements into my own daily stretching routine, but fell off practicing the whole regimen. I recently recommended the videos to a few friends who also listened to the podcasts and got great feedback. It made them more comfortable going into a workout, freer, looser, with a better range of motion.  I always feel good after doing it, whether I’m going into a workout or not.  I’m jumping back into the full practice myself now, and thought I’d share it here if anyone was interested. I recommend trying it out, seeing what you like, and at least building those ones into some sort of routine. I definitely recommend learning more about Peter too; he’s a fascinating individual with a lot of valuable information on health and life.

Posted on

Anthony Bourdain, Positive Affirmations, Empathy, and Going Forward

This was first posted in November of 2016

The night of the election, I watched an episode of this season’s Parts Unknown. Anthony Bourdain visits Houston to take a look at how diverse it has become from the immigrant tradition of America. It was a beautiful episode, and a nice respite before the crushing election that was to come. But I want to focus on one part of the episode and hopefully come back in a way that can provide some hope, and maybe a practical action you can integrate into your life.

During his trip, Bourdain visits an ESL class at a school where 80% of the student body’s first language is not English. The class begins with positive affirmations repeated by the class.

Today is a beautiful day. 

I will work hard. 

I am important. 

I will succeed. 

Watching it I felt profoundly moved hearing all of those kids say these things loudly and proudly. How rare it is for a kid, or an adult, to express such things to others, let alone to themselves. And how much more empowering for kids in a completely new country, in a completely different language, to express this and feel it inside themselves.

It also rang true to me. I’ve been experimenting with positive affirmations in the morning each day for about 5 months now. I simply say each morning, while I make my bed, maybe with some light stretching: I am kind. I am patient. I am curious. I am happy. I am compassionate. I am forgiving. I am open. I am here. Happy. Healthy. Strong. Love. 

Saying that this has radically changed my life sounds false to me at first, until I think about it. I am still naturally impatient and selfish. But saying this every morning at least puts me in the right mindset, on the right path, to come back to it throughout my day. Sometimes it feels like I’m just going through the motions, but surprisingly often, I truly feel it, and it does radically change my day. It gives me the same feeling I felt when I watched those kids repeat their own affirmations.

I went to Austin, Texas right after the election and I had a wonderful, beautiful time. I interacted with a lot of different people. In the back of my mind I was trying to formulate some way to write about this election, this time we live in now, based on this experience. But I don’t want to write about the election. I also don’t want to preach to the choir. I’m sure if you’re reading this you may have similar beliefs, and you’re a good person who just wants what’s best for yourself, your family and friends, and the world. But in light of this episode, and in light of the hate filled speech that guy used throughout his campaign, and won the election with, I wanted to share one story from my trip that rings home with this segment of Parts Unknown.

I was getting a ride home at the end of the night from Gabriel. Gabriel ended up sharing that he was a Rwandan genocide survivor. He wasn’t much older than me, so he must’ve been really young when he escaped. After he escaped, he lived in a refugee camp for 10 years. No electricity, no running water, no toilets. 10 years. Finally he was allowed to relocate, and he narrowed the options given to him down to America, down to Texas, and finally to Austin, where he’s made a living and enjoyed life ever since. Just as powerful as his story was the genuineness he gave off in just a 15 minute car ride. He seemed like a sweet man, a happy man. And he’d gone through hell to get to this point.

As a country and as people we’re going to have to go through a lot of shit moving forward. It’s easy to focus solely on ourselves and our families, and shut everyone else out, especially if they seem very different from us. It’s easy to take what we have for granted. And it’s incredibly hard to imagine how we can make a difference in our country and community, if we’re even lucky enough to have the time and resources to do so. But one thing we can all try to do is to be kinder to each other. To be open and to listen.  To recognize that everyone has their our own struggles we cannot see.

In order to be kind to one another we first have to be kind to ourselves. Positive affirmations can be one way to practice being kind to yourself. Even though it might seem silly, corny, or a waste of time, it’s one of the easiest, simplest, yet most powerful ways to be kinder to ourselves each day and to remind us how we want to live while we’re here. And it’s able to be done by every one of us.

I hope you have a great Thanksgiving and can remain sane through the wonderful political talk you’ll all endure. You’ll survive.

Posted on

RIP Anthony Bourdain

I am so saddened by this news.

Sitting down to write this, I’m struck by how much Anthony Bourdain influenced my life, without me even realizing it. Anthony Bourdain is one of the reasons I started traveling after college, and fell in love with it. One of my favorite things in the world to do now is go somewhere new, eat some delicious food, and get to know the people that live there. See amazing things I’ve never experienced before. To just be in a new place, where somehow it’s easier to be yourself. I’ve been to restaurants he’s been to, seen his picture on the wall as I enjoyed, quite likely, the same meal he had eaten. He was a guide for exploration, and an inspiration to get off your ass and go do something new. 

Reading his book Kitchen Confidential awoken an even greater interest in cooking and food. Seeing that he was writing novels while working the kitchen all night inspired me, showed me that I could find the time too. That book also allowed me to recognize the struggles of addiction, of self-loathing, and most importantly, to see that we can overcome those things, and come out the other side stronger, a total bad-ass world traveler with clearer eyes and a more open heart.

His show impacted me deeply. It showed me how to be curious about others, empathetic, to recognize that someone who might be from somewhere different is actually probably pretty damn similar to me. A couple years ago I wrote about an episode he did that inspired me, which I’ve reposted above. In that piece I talk about meeting and talking with a Rwandan refugee driving an Uber in Austin, about the struggle of life in a refugee camp and making it here after many years. I had the courage to talk to him and ask questions, and gain a greater empathy and perspective, and a friend in that moment, in part, because of Anthony Bourdain.

I am so saddened for this loss, for the loss his daughter now has to experience, and everyone who loved him. He seemed happy, and that’s the saddest, most dangerous part of this all, I guess. It’s easy to hide pain or struggle. Talk openly and honestly with your loved ones, and get them help if they need it. Ask the uncomfortable question. Tell the uncomfortable truth about your own self. Get help for yourself if you need it. Too many good people are dying, and we need all of them we can get in this world today.

Posted on

New Screenplay: LSD/88

LSD/88

Logline: At the beginning of the 1960’s, a washed up CIA agent must revisit his past for a chance at redemption, returning to the underworld he left behind to prevent a catastrophic experimental drug from spreading on the streets and altering human history forever.

I’ve been working on this script off and on for a long time and I’m very happy with how it’s turned out. I just entered it into some screenwriting competitions and will find out how it did towards the end of the year.

You can find more of my screenplays here.