Episode 80 - Life is Good

Being sunburnt, feeling sad when the weather gets warm as well as cold, catching a second wave of sickness after round two of the vaccine, accomplishing the Marksman level of the NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program, navigating firearms culture in the wake of two mass shootings, the targeting of AAPI people, immigrants anglicizing their names, reflecting on Frank Oz directing "In & Of Itself," remembering when I went to summer camp with his son, brushing shoulders with greatness throughout my life, being self-limited by my self-esteem, searching for a father figure in the arts, youth being wasted on the young, wisdom being wasted on the aged, and the crazy hairpiece of director Ken Burns.

Music by Disasterpeace.

Episode 69 - The Cathedral

A return to form episode. Failing miserably at work this week, the attempted siege of the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, Trump inciting his base, questioning what the rioters hoped to accomplish, why there wasn't a stronger military opposition, the dubious body-cam footage of a cop shooting in California, taking a pistol shooting class yesterday, performing exceptionally well on the range, the cartoon characters populating and working the range, the adversarial relationship between gun owners and lawmakers in California, Dostoevsky's disappointing novel "The Adolescent," and a wrap-up of movies from last week including "Sexy Beast," "Capturing the Friedmans," "Mad Max: Fury Road," "Wild Strawberries" (plus a reading of Bergman's introduction to the script for "The Seventh Seal"), "2001: A Space Odyssey," "The 400 Blows," "8 1/2," as well the exceptional films "Safe" starring Julianne Moore and "Bad Education" with Hugh Jackman.

Music by Disasterpeace.