My Favorite Things This Week #92
The Friday High 5: Betrayed by my body, snack-sized shows, and Harrison Ford, cowboy
Every Friday I share 5 things I enjoyed this week. Also, high fives are inherently cool, and I think we can all agree Friday is the bestest day. Hence the Friday High 5. 🙏🏻Here’s the latest sign that I’m old, actually: Wednesday I elected to get my overdue tetanus shot. I was prepared for the muscle soreness, and assured myself that I’d just have to refrain from flexing in front of mirrors for a couple days. A sacrifice, but a survivable one.
I don’t know what was in that shot, but it laid me out. Headache and fatigue, to the point that I started to wonder if I was getting sick. I’m still not 100% back to normal.
This isn’t a PSA against vaccines, which work. It’s more a suggestion to avoid getting old if you can help it. Most days I feel like I’m still in my 20s, but then my body laughs when I do something inane like sleeping wrong or turning my head too suddenly.
At least my mind is still sharp. Ish.
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The Curious George Questionnaire
To quote my friend
, “The Curious George Questionnaire came out of a series of conversations between and me about creativity, wonder, curiosity, filling the well on all those things, and so much more.”Sheila invited me to participate, I assume because she wondered how one person could have so much of their identity tied up in movies about wizard swordsmen and still manage to get dressed every day. (Answer: I don’t!)
The questionnaire was a lot of fun, but also raised the kinds of questions best considered in the dark reaches of the night. It’s a really clever way of getting to know your favorite creators.
’s edition was a personal fav.My edition published today! If you want even more of a peek into my head, here you go!
(BTW, Sheila and Michael: Are you guys going to fill out this survey yourselves? Or is this some kind of psychological experiment, like Dr. Venkman’s ESP test?)
Nobody Wants This
This Netflix series has been all the talk lately. And for good reason: It’s so very watchable. I also love that the episodes are only 20 minutes. Paired with the drama-lite stakes, it’s the perfect show to watch when you need to soak in some feel-good vibes.
In case you’ve been living under a rock: Nobody Wants This is about an unconventional romance between a rabbi and a sex podcaster. It’s a heartwarming comedy, an actual rom-com, which also has something to say about faith and family.
My wife and I are treating it like snack-sized Snickers: We can have 1 or 2 before bed. If ever there was a bingeable show, this is it, but we’re practicing restraint just to draw out the experience. Is tantric TV a thing? That’s what we’re doing.
recently participated in a panel at ’s TV & Film publication. I’ve been holding off on reading the posts until we finish the series, but dropping a link to help tide you over till season 2.1923
My wife and I were several-years late to the Yellowstone bandwagon. I think we hopped on somewhere between seasons 4 and 5. Like almost everyone else, we were quickly absorbed by the story. Who knew running cattle in Montana was so dramatic and yet strangely romantic? I’m a city boy to my core but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I (briefly) considered pulling stakes and moving out West so I could build a different kind of Pierce dynasty other than this flimsy one stacked together with words.
We eagerly continued to 1883, the next entry in the Sheridan-verse of Duttons and the horses they love. It was very good but also unrelentingly bleak. That’s partly why we put off starting 1923, the other Yellowstone prequel, even though it stars my long-time guy Harrison Ford. But the main reason we delayed is I was tired of the Taylor Sheridan experience. He lost the plot:1
Sheridan is not the same writer who penned Sicario or even those first seasons of Yellowstone. Whatever artistic sensibilities he started with have been eroded by success. As Obi-Wan once told Anakin: he has become the very thing he swore to destroy.
We’re two episodes in and I’m happy to report Harrison is a born cowboy. I’ve always known this, because Han Solo, but it’s good to see one’s faith affirmed. I’m not yet convinced 1923 will be good, actually. Like 1883, it includes unnecessary monologues by unseen—and now long-dead—characters, and narratively feels muddled. But I got to see Harrison pistol-whip Bronn several times, so that’s something.
Bridesmaids
It’s always kinda weird revisiting a comedy. You still laugh at all the jokes, but they’re never quite as funny when you already know they’re coming. Surprise is at least 90% of comedy. I just made that up but it feels accurate, especially in light of my recent experience.
Bridesmaids is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. I can’t breathe and I’m crying and my face hurts, funny. That’s the good stuff. Very few movies ascend to such heights.
This was only my second time seeing Bridesmaids. I laughed at the right spots—Kristen Wiig’s penis impressions, Melissa McCarthy in the bathroom, Melissa McCarthy on the airplane, Melissa McCarthy—but it sadly didn’t hit quite the same. I had 911 on speed dial but sadly, no guts were busted.
It’s probably bad form to quote yourself twice in the span of two minutes, but this is on-topic. Watching Bridesmaids is witnessing the birth of a comedic genius, one which sadly never arrived due to a strange case of nepotism:
Melissa McCarthy’s performance in 2011's Bridesmaids was a scene-stealing whirlwind of unbridled sexual energy and frenetic Farley-ian physicality, one saturated with a maniacal willingness to do anything in service of a laugh — the more perverse the better. It was clear then that we were witnessing the birth of a comedic legend, the sort of talent that comes along once a generation and changes everything.
So what the hell happened?
The Penguin
In the interest of novelty, I try not to talk about the same thing every week. It gets tough though when I’m watching a TV show that releases new episodes weekly. And especially when that show is bonkers amazing.
I was 2 episodes behind but got caught-up this week. Incredibly, I think the last 2 episodes might be the best 2? Is that even possible?
I don’t want to say too much because spoilers, but holy Sofia Falcone, Batman.
One other quick tease—Oswald Cobb really is the selfish asshole he often appears to be. The brilliance of this show is not that it got us on his side in the first place, but that we feel conflicted about our affection even after seeing what he’s capable of.
Episode 4 flips the whole thing on its head. There’s still half a season to go!
That has got to be the most uselessly pretentious title I’ve ever used for an article.
I had the same problem with Yellowstone as I had with Succession. It's a well made show, but I just didn't care about any of the characters and from everything I read, Yellowstone really went off the rails as the seasons progressed. I wanted to like Yellowstone if for no other reason than Sheridan is a huge fan of Red Dirt music. He's got Ryan Bingham in the show. Both Whiskey Meyers and Shane Smith & The Saints (one of my favorite Texas artists) got huge bumps from having their music on the show. It just wasn't for me though.
Thanks for the kind words! Being the guinea pig, er "first guest" of the questionnaire was an honor.
As for shots--and getting old-- 100% yes to all of that. And a co-sign for good measure. Last year, I thought I'd be smart and get caught up on a few vaccinations all at once. This was an incredibly dumb move, even by my normal standards. 0/10. Do not recommend.