the week in consumption

what i'm up to

It’s sort of like the week in joy, but it’s all about the media and food I consumed this week. Everything below comes highly recommended, so I hope you find something to watch/read/listen to today.

WATCHING:

I woke up in a particularly funky mood one day at 3am and didn’t know what to do with myself. It’s no fun feeling bad at 3am. Then lo and behold, I was flipping through channels when I discovered one that was playing all Charlie Brown movies. A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Boy Named Charlie Brown, Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown and, the icing on the cake, Snoopy, Come Home.

Who among us does not reflexively say NO DOGS ALLOWED upon hearing the title of this movie? As with all things Charlie Brown, the movie is fucked up in ways that night have an impact on little children, who are probably like WHY IS THAT GIRL DRAGGING SNOOPY AROUND BY A ROPE? Anyhow, I had a completely joyous time watching all these movies and singing the Snoopy, Come Home theme to the cats. Foul mood averted.

Another thing I like to watch is ambience videos on YouTube. I leave them running on the tv all day and they provide warmth and comfort and sometimes a fireplace. My favorite is the Mr. Pumpkin channel, where I get delights such as this:

LISTENING:

As usual, I did a lot of music listening this week, and a big part of it was Christmas music. Once I put Bert Kaempfert’s Christmas Wonderland on the turntable, it’s officially holiday season. I’ve had the tree and the decorations up for weeks, and there’s been seasonal movies on the television, but once I put this album on, it’s real. The joy of hearing these tunes performed with such love really puts me in the spirit.

Last week, I picked up a bunch of vinyl from a guy shedding his collection, and this Bowie best of album was included. I had been on a big early Bowie kick lately, so it was just meant for me to have this. I spent some time with it, then listened to Young Americans and wondered not for the first time how much cocaine he did while recording that record. Still on the Bowie kick, at 4am this morning I finally, after waiting eight years, listened to Blackstar, his last record. I’m glad I waited. The distance between now and Bowie’s death makes listening to it feel more like reverence than mourning.

My 2024 in music in a nutshell: I’ve only had Apple Music since July, so the minutes are off, but I just wanted to note that my favorite band is my favorite band.

READING:

I have become an audiobook person. I resisted for so long, but my not being able to get through reading a book has gone on too long and I’m missing out on some great titles so I thought hey, what if someone read the books to me?? I am a genius. I invented audiobooks.

This Jason Kirk book is the first one I’m trying. It’s gotten rave reviews from so many people and I’m about an hour in - and delighted that Jason reads it himself - and it’s riveting.

I’m not expecting miracles. I will take it one hour at a time and see how my attention span does but from the start of this, I know I will not have a hard time getting through.

And that is the week in consumption. Not pictured: a case of Sugar Free Red Bull and two giant bags of pistachios.

I have one programming note before I let you go: The I Have That on Vinyl website I wrote about last week will launch on December 17th instead of December 10th,