Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

This really is a full service blog.

Fear and negativity are contagious, but so is courage!

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Stay strong, because they are weak.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Weird. Rome has an American Pope and America has a Russian President.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

No one could have predicted…

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

You are here: Home / Medium Cool / Medium Cool – What Puts Your Mind at Ease?

Medium Cool – What Puts Your Mind at Ease?

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Medium Cool is a weekly series related to popular culture, mostly film, TV, and books, with some music and games thrown in.  We hope it’s a welcome break from the anger, hate, and idiocy we see almost daily from the other side in the political sphere.

Arguments welcomed, opinions respected, fools un-suffered.  We’re here every Sunday at 7 pm.

Who knew when we created Medium Cool that our tag would be just as true today as it was 5 years ago when the first Medium Cool post went up?

Culture as a Hedge Against This Soul-Sucking Political Miasma We’re Living In

And not just as true as it was, but quite likely more true.  Nah, better make that most definitely more true.

Some might say that we have no time for happy talk about books and music and TV and culture because the world is on fire.  Some might say that we need those things more now than ever, as a balance to keep us sane, stable, and functional.  I’m on Team More Now Than Ever.

For tonight, let’s talk about culture-related things that help put your mind at ease, that give you a break from the stress of this new world we find ourselves in, or things that allow you to fall asleep at night.

Medium Cool – Your "Go To" Comfort Movies

Political podcasts were my staple for listening when to as I fell asleep.  Now I can’t listen to any of them.  Wednesday night in desperation I searched for Hallmark or Christmas in Netflix just so I could have something that stopped my brain from chattering.  Truly “break glass in case of emergency” choices for me.

The first one featured the teacher from Glee (who has a soothing and familiar voice) and a silly story about dancing and (of course) falling in love in Paris.  I can’t really recommend that one, but I did fall asleep, so there’s that.

The next night Netflix suggested the The Noel Diary, which had nothing to do with Christmas, really, but it’s a lovely story starring the brother from This Is Us and one of my favorite female characters from Station 19, both of whom have lovely voices, and an actor I loved from the TV show Black Panther.

Decades ago, after my Dad died and my relationship ended, I would put my VCR tape of Murphy’s Romance in the VCR and would fall asleep on the couch before James Garner could reply to Sally Field: “Only if I can stay for breakfast.”

If you list shows or movies, please tells us where they are streaming, if you know.  I wasn’t able to read Betty’s post about Mission Impossible because I had out-of-town company, but maybe shows where the good guys prevail would be good.

Or  maybe books on tape?  Great readers are essential for books on tape.  Voices matter!

Or maybe it’s music that soothes you?  Something else altogether?

Boy was I ever sorry on Wednesday that I had made my way through all the “unattempted” Waffle puzzles on Tuesday while waiting for election returns.

P.S.  I could use some ideas for Medium Cool topics because right now I am running on empty.  Speaking of books on tape, I asked Grover Gardner if he would be interested in doing a guest post for Medium Cool; that was quite some time ago, but I thought he would have an interesting perspective, and maybe that can still happen.

Note: for those new to Medium Cool, these are not open threads.

Reader Interactions

208Comments

  3. 3.

    Splitting Image

    A combination of old favourites and new things. I never listened to much jazz growing up, but this week I’ve been listening to my collection of John Coltrane albums in chronological order. Never too late to find a new source of pleasure.

    When I was younger, Douglas Adams and Monty Python were my most consistent go-tos. These days I think Jane Austen has surpassed them, but I’m still very fond of them.

    Baroque music is a never-fail. Bach, Handel, Telemann, Rameau and Couperin are particular favourites.

    Speaking of James Garner, I’ve been watching a lot of The Rockford Files lately. It reaches me like an old friend I haven’t spoken to in awhile. Columbo, too, has aged like fine wine.

    And Muppets. Muppets never fail me.

  9. 9.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    I find myself rereading light novels, especially ones where the hero saves the day for the good guys. More current authors are Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books, and Robert Parker’s Spenser series. Older version is John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee series.

    Mysteries are good too. Agatha Christie is a classic for setting the world right.

    On TV, I get soothed by “Secrets of the Zoo” in many flavors, and by watching Survivor, Matlock, Elsbeth, etc. The Amazing Race, when it is on, is a good escapist series also.

  10. 10.

    Sonora

    I have the same issue—political podcasts to put me to sleep.  I can’t stomach them right now.  My go to is any of the Harry Potter or Outlander audio books.  I know the stories by heart so it doesn’t matter where I drop into them.  And the narrators on both series are fantastic, creating proper cultural voices for every character.  Sweet dreams Jackels.

    PS:  Big thumbs up for all the BBS seasons.  Just nice folks making delicious goodies.  

  11. 11.

    Chris

    For tonight, let’s talk about culture-related things that help put your mind at ease, that give you a break from the stress of this new world we find ourselves in, or things that allow you to fall asleep at night.

    Kids’ movies.

    First discovered this when I was a teenager who hadn’t looked at things like The Lion King in a decade (which is an eternity at that age), happened to put it on at what was a fairly shitty time of my teenagehood, and was like, oh, I actually still enjoy this, despite not being a kid.  Find it very relaxing.

    Currently on Star Trek: Prodigy, the Nickelodeon show.  It seems to be the show for introducing the new generation to Star Trek, but honestly so far it’s shockingly good even as an adult.  Amusingly, despite being Star Trek For Generation Alpha, there are still ways it reminds me of my childhood; the kid with the mohawk feels like exactly the kind of character look that nineties sci-fi might have used to code “kid rebel,” which given Prodigy‘s ties to Voyager, is probably not accidental.

  13. 13.

    Phylllis

    I love the how-to programs on PBS, like Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting. I’m not going to take up quilting, but I enjoy watching them demonstrate their expertise. Add This Old House and Ask This Old House to the list.

    As for Medium Cool topics, how about movies/tv shows that are straight up trash but you can’t help watching? Wild Things comes to mind.

  15. 15.

    scav

    First I’m going after all the Plantagenets (including the Beauforts) and all the Wars of the Roses.  Then, I might just have a bit of a go at some history of the Ottomans, specifically the women in the palace.  In short, history has joined the mythology binge as I’m going for a bit of shunning à la Amish the current state of the world.  Also, breadmaking and gardening (which never abandons one).  If anyone needs silly, I can suggest Junior Taskmaster Ep 1.

  19. 19.

    Starfish

    I just listened to a Tech Won’t Save Us podcast about the drama in WordPress land. And I knew there was drama in WordPress land, I just didn’t understand the nature of the drama.

    I am watching Only Murders in the Building. The whole thing is silly and involves so many great comedic actors, and I love it so much.

  20. 20.

    dc

    I got through last Tuesday night/Wednesday morning by watching all episodes of La Máquina with Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna.

  21. 21.

    Sheila in nc

    @Phylllis: Is that how you would describe my fascination about 25 years ago with the film “Adventures in Babysitting”? I still love the way Elizabeth Shue told the bad guys, “Don’t FUCK with the babysitter!”

  22. 22.

    citizen dave

    Probably not the best week to ask this question–but would any question have worked this week?

    But, John Coltrane, yes, certainly one of my very very favorites.  Add Miles Davis.   I turn to the “Autumn Jazz” playlist on amazon music (or really whatever the season is).  Been listening a lot to Paul Giamatti’s Chinwag podcast the last couple months.  Fun content.

    I watched Barbarella for the first time last night, that was calming.  (Except for my wife intermittenly asking why I was watching such a bad movie).

  24. 24.

    tam1MI

    This very blog turned me on to the show ELSBETH, which is a joy.  If you loved COLUMBO, check out ELSBETH, it is a truly loving homage to that series.

    I am also quite enjoying the new MATLOCK show.

    And of course I just can’t quit LAW & ORDER.

  25. 25.

    Kristine

    Rewatching sweet movies. WALL-E. The Nightmare Before Christmas. Free Guy.

    I may rewatch Glass Onion tonight. Not so sweet, but satisfying.

  26. 26.

    xephyr

    Good physical activity usually works for me, or talking with my siblings, or hanging with my cats, or playing guitar. Don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t love to read. Currently reading The Overstory by Richard Powers. Wonderful book…

  27. 27.

    piratedan

    if you are talking about music that is soothing, I can offer some suggestions….

    there’s a fair bit of nifty ethereal/Shoegaze artists that might suit… in the fashion of the Coctaeu Twins…

    Enya
    Alvvays
    Slowdive
    The Sundays
    The Stone Roses
    The Rosebuds

    Check out their stuff on You Tube and see if any of it is found to be soothing.

  29. 29.

    Splitting Image

    @Phylllis:

    As for Medium Cool topics, how about movies/tv shows that are straight up trash but you can’t help watching? Wild Things comes to mind.

    One of my favourite bad movies is the 1960s Casino Royale. There’s no way to make a movie good when your star quits in a huff half-way through and you have to work around that, but it has nearly a dozen of my favourite actors from the era hamming it up and terrific set design. It’s a glorious mess.

    Yellowbeard is another movie that is a lot less than the sum of its parts, to put it mildly. But it has so many comic actors in it that I will watch in anything that I still get a great deal of pleasure out of watching it.

  31. 31.

    colleeniem

    @SuzieC: I second that! Its lovely.

    Also, I problematically* love the Nigel Planer readings of the Disc World books, particularly “Small Gods”.  I use it to fall asleep.

    *I wish I liked the newly released Andy Serkis version(s), but they don’t sound the same to me. Steven Briggs is a perfectly fine substitute as well, but Nigel is my favorite despite the fact that I know about his rampant woman-hating. Gah!

  32. 32.

    dww44

    For the last few months I’ve been reading the Anne Perry mysteries available at  my library.  Read a bit each night and am transported to Victorian England where the politics and people are surprisingly similar to today. The issues too.  Women fighting for some parity and rights. I’ve learned a lot.

  33. 33.

    Whimsical Pickles

    I’m currently bingeing Reservation Dogs again. Highly recommended. Sometimes sad, but also funny and warm. Streaming on Hulu.

  34. 34.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Splitting Image:

    Speaking of James Garner, I’ve been watching a lot of The Rockford Files lately.

    We have it on DVD and are slowly making our way thru it.

    Some of the plotting doesn’t hold up well but the dialogue remains smart.  And while you’re watching it, you don’t care because it’s about the characters.

  35. 35.

    KateP

    I am a reader, always been my preferred activity. I keep lists of National Book Award and Booker Prize winners. This year I have deserted all of my literary fiction and totally enchanted by fantasy, a genre I rarely read before. It is so comforting to immerse myself in these other worlds and forget my own. If Kamala won I think I would have been ready to come back to reality but now? I just add one fantasy book after another on my Libby list.

  36. 36.

    Chris

    I wasn’t able to read Betty’s post about Mission Impossible because I had out-of-town company, but maybe shows where the good guys prevail would be good.

    It’s a very sixties liberal kind of show, which is interesting to see from today’s POV.

    The most recurring bad guys are the communists in the early seasons and the mob in the late seasons, but that’s not all they fight.  Former Nazis pop up multiple times, as do African white settler regimes, slave traders, non-communist dictators, and various other villains.  In Season One, you spend most of the season watching them outwitting every secret police force in the Soviet Bloc… and then towards the end, completely out of left field, you’ve got the episode where they’re suddenly forced to bring down a couple of American far-right political figures (who are dead ringers for William F. Buckley and Barry Goldwater) that are trying to force East and West into World War Three.

    In a lot of ways, it feels like Leverage – not just the team of con artists, but the fact that the people they target are basically “every single bad guy that’s currently or recently been in the headlines” – but it’s Leverage if all the heroes were government agents (the opposite of what they are), with all these missions coming down from Washington.  It’s an interesting window into a time when large numbers of Americans even on our side trusted the government and specifically the intelligence/security state to be that way.

  37. 37.

    Joy in FL

    @laura: Thanks for this one. I clicked the link. Not only is the music great, but his voice is so strong and soothing. Perfect tonight.

  38. 38.

    lowtechcyclist

    Topic suggestion: SF futures left behind (or that soon will be).

    Many older SF books, movies, etc. were set in calendar years that were then way off in the future, but now they’re in the rearview mirror. 2001: A Space Odyssey, obviously, or Back to the Future II, where Marty & Co. jump forward from 1985 to 2015.

    Growing up in the 1960s, the year 2000 was The Future, with flying cars and all that, so there should be plenty of material.

  39. 39.

    pika

    @Chris: Jason Mantzoukas is a voice on Prodigy! One of the best improvisers ever in addition to being dude who pops up in voiceovers and a great character actor

  40. 40.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    What puts my mind at ease?  Doing a road trip to watch live shows.  Showing my age, Alan Parsons.

    Flying back to NJ on Wed to go to 5 shows over the next 7 days.  Haven’t done that many in one fell swoop since the mid-to-late Aughts.

    He’ll turn 76 this December, has really gotten frail in the last 2 years so a morbid as it sounds, go to shows as if they’re you’re last.  Or his.

  41. 41.

    WaterGirl

    @tam1MI: Steeplejack LOVED Elsbeth.  He was so taken with that show from the very first episode.  So much so that when he finished streaming the season, he turned right around and watched it again.  He loved how quirky she was – he had never seen her on The Good Wife, so the character was new to him.

    I teased him for watching it again as soon as it was over, but Steep died shortly after that, and if he had waited to watch it again right before the second season started, he never would have watched it again.

  42. 42.

    UncleEbeneezer

    My wife loves warm and cuddly approach in times like these.  GBBO, Pottery Throwdown, Sewing Bee, Poirot/Miss Marple, Wes Anderson movies, Pride & Prejudice, etc.

    I tend to want to re-watch stuff that is beautiful but also really intense like: The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, The Americans etc.  We are currently re-watching Godless.  It is up there with Deadwood, imo, as the best “western” series I have ever seen.  The cinematography and score are amazing, the performances are absolutely top notch with Jeff Daniels delivering as one of the best bad guy roles ever.  And there are several kick-ass women characters.  By the same team that did the Queen’s Gambit, it has a lot of similar themes of female empowerment.

    Musically I also lean more towards dark, dreary, melancholy and angry stuff.  Deftones, Tool, Rage Against The Machine, Smashing Pumpkins etc., and jazz.

  43. 43.

    pika

    I’ve been watching Resident Alien, which I describe as Schitt’s Creek x Search Party. Alan Tudyk as Harry is amazing, and where have I been that I’d never seen Sara Tomko (who plays Asta) before? She’s amazing

  44. 44.

    Phylllis

    @Splitting Image: Another for me is Showgirls. It’s just so damn overwrought that it almost circles back to genius. There’s a great documentary about it called You Don’t Nomi streaming on AMC+. And Elizabeth Berkley is totally sending up that role in The First Wives Club.

  45. 45.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    @scav: I am currently (slowly) making my way through The Brothers York by Thomas Penn. Originally got hooked on the Plantagenets way back in Junior High after reading The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey.

  47. 47.

    Splitting Image

    @lowtechcyclist:

    Growing up in the 1960s, the year 2000 was The Future, with flying cars and all that, so there should be plenty of material.

    One thing that I’ve been playing with for the past couple of months is an AI story generator at perchance.org.
    It does a passable job of getting cultural references right if you set a story in the 1920s or 1970s or whatnot, but if you set a story in the present day, it makes a big difference whether you set the story “in the present day” or “in 2024”.
    If you set the story in 2024, they will have flying cars.

  48. 48.

    Trivia Man

    The Vor Kosigan Saga by Bujold on audiobook. Many volumes, wonderful reader. It is Sci Fi but more than that it is character driven. Space Opera might be closer but even that isn’t quite right. Epic sweep across galaxies but always characters first. And Miles Vor Kosigan is an awesome human being and example of TONIC masculinity.

  49. 49.

    KatKapCC

    Pretty music and old movies.

    As to the first: Basia Bulat, Agnes Obel, Joni Mitchell, Caroline Polachek, Laura Mvula, many others.

    As to the latter: Some Like It Hot, It Happened One Night, The Shop Around the Corner, Meet Me In St Louis, etc.

  51. 51.

    Rachel Bakes

    Again recommending Van Reid’s Moosepath League books. They are in a niche of their own as picaresque romps through 1898 Maine with nice people being kind and curious. Return to them every year and especially during 2016-2020 + pandemic.

    gbbo. Our library has, or used to have, some earlier seasons with Mel and Sue. Might have to go back to those. Now is better but still tends to grate on our nerves.
    Probably will pull out my Jane Austens as well as Terry Pratchett for comfort as I’m failing to like most of what I try to read lately.

  52. 52.

    Gretchen

    @Starfish: I also love Only Murders in the Building. I want to get my husband to watch it with me but we keep completely different hours so he’s ready to go to bed when I’m ready to start watching. It’s on Hulu.
    i stayed up all night and watched all 10 episodes of Nobody Wants This on Netflix. I was feeling very low and it made me laugh, which I didn’t think was possible these days. The next day I was sorry I’d watched them all because I needed more. It’s about a rabbi and a sex and relationships podcaster who fall in love. Nice families, disapproving friends, witty dialogue.
    i also enjoyed Lincoln Lawyer, also on Netflix. Another I was sorry to be finished with.

  53. 53.

    Trivia Man

    Twain – Innocents Abroad is a fun travel story. I haven’t listened on audio book but i bet there is an excellent version.

  55. 55.

    Starfish

    For some reason, I have fallen into ex-Mormon YouTube, and today I found this gem from a man discussing a TLC show about these gay Mormons and their wives. These men are so very gay on this show titled “My Husband Is Not Gay.”

  56. 56.

    JMG

    I have been reading Inspector Maigret books in bed before I turn out the light. Read about 5-6 pages a night, then turn in. It usually works (not so much this week).

  57. 57.

    Joy in FL

    TV shows that I keep coming back to: The Office (Peacock), Monk (Peacock), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Hulu).

    New ones that I like, and have already been mentioned: Elspeth (CBS streaming), Only Murders in the Building (Hulu).  I also like Shrinking on Apple TV.  Kaos on Netflix is growing on me. Kaos is Greek mythology in modern settings.

    I am looking forward to when Silo’s and Severance’s next season starts (Apple TV) and Hacks’ new season (Max).

  58. 58.

    Trivia Man

    @scav: i am halfway through a podcast about the Byzantine empire. Like 200 episodes total, so far so good . It is an homage to the dan carlin history of rome which is outstanding

  59. 59.

    TBone

    I used to watch the cartoons Arthur and Curious George on PBS when I was so sick I couldn’t go to work – the color schemes used in the cartoon art of those two shows are somehow very soothing.  And there are the dulcet tones of Bob Ross on the Joy of Painting! Also, anything with Julia Child speaking.

  61. 61.

    Starfish

    @Gretchen: Ooh, we also watched all of Lincoln Lawyer. There was that one character who had the crochet podcast or whatever they were doing, and some of the crochet blogs picked up on this and discussed how the stitch that he was working on is actually a really difficult crochet stitch. Jasmine stitch. I have never done that stitch.

  62. 62.

    Chris

    @Splitting Image:

    Speaking of James Garner, I’ve been watching a lot of The Rockford Files lately. It reaches me like an old friend I haven’t spoken to in awhile. Columbo, too, has aged like fine wine.

    Seventies and eighties television has a lot of stuff that really hits the sweet spot for me.  They’re just gritty and cynical enough about the world compared to a lot of fifties and sixties entertainment, without jumping off the cliff into the modern grimdark trend.  The viewpoint ends up being “yeah, there’s a lot of shit in this world; how does a mostly decent person make his way through it, and maybe even help a few other people along the way?” as opposed to “there’s a lot of shit in this world; hey, why don’t why find some of the shittiest people in it and wallow in the shittiness?”

    John Rogers has come out and said that Leverage was in part an homage to classic crime shows like The Rockford Files, which is a big reason why I ended up loving it so much.  Poker Face more recently is even more blatant about it, and just as good.

  64. 64.

    scav

    @A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan): I’m not sure if I read Katherine by Anya Seton before or after I’d gotten into the Shakespeare Plantagenets (Daughter of Time is definitely college).  Right now I’m going full history to push out the Tudor propaganda substructure, but I’ll add the York boys for later.

  65. 65.

    Gin & Tonic

    Bach’s Mass in B-minor is a real go-to for me at stressful times, or when I really need to focus. It’s the paradigm of a “desert-island” disc.

    The second Kyrie is like hearing angels sing.

  66. 66.

    mvr

    Fly fishing.

    Probably anything that takes concentration (as fly fishing does) might do the same trick if you enjoy doing it. (I think this must be why some people like golf, though I kind of can’t see the point of the whole thing.) Concentrating pushes other stuff away for a while.

    Also it gets me outdoors and this afternoon, out in the sun.

    Not sure if this counts as culture, but it fits today’s theme in other ways.

  67. 67.

    Phein64

    Leonard Cohen, both his live album and The Future.  I was hospitalized Tuesday evening with a suspected stroke (long before the returns were in).  My daughter is a doctor at that hospital, and she brought me my earbuds and Kindle with all my music on it, and I must have had The Future on replay for four or five hours at least.

    I’m also a big fan of Mischa Maisky’s recordings of the Bach cello concertos, and they carried me through Wednesday while I was awaiting an MRI (no new brain damage, thank dog).   I’ve got a long queue of James McMurtry and John Hiatt waiting for tomorrow.

    I try to solve 17 clue Sudoku puzzles once I’ve calmed down, and it is soothing to run the algorithms even if I know I’m very unlikely to solve it.

  68. 68.

    Chris

    @Craig:

    @Splitting Image: Rockford Files is great. Jimmy is just such a thoughtful decent guy.

    Maverick from the sixties is the cowboy version of Rockford, if you’re looking for more James Garner.  (Although there are several Mavericks who take turn being the protagonists).

    I’ve thought for a long time that if modern Star Wars wants to try something fun and relatively small-scale, they should just remake Maverick in space, and make it about Lando Calrissian’s younger years as a gambler, before he became “the respectable one.”

  71. 71.

    Chet Murthy

    I’m still wrecked by The Event.  Not sure I can manage to watch anything with any sort of narrative or even comedic tension.  But there’s some comedies that don’t have either and are still comedies.  I was thinking of rewatching Fisk, And somewhere I found a pointer to a comedy called Rosehaven.  I’m watching the first episode and it seems likeThe right sort of thing: A bit like comfort food, With just a little bit of comedy in it.  Something gentle and goes down easy.

  72. 72.

    TBone

    @Trivia Man: I have a set of vintage hardcover volumes of the complete works of Mark Twain I found in a thrift shop.  With illustrations!  I share his birthday.  Innocents Abroad is the first story I (re)read from the set. Very entertaining and, indeed, soothing.

  73. 73.

    UncleEbeneezer

    We’ve been thinking about re-watching Crash Landing On You or Mr. Sunshine.  Two of the best K-dramas we’ve ever seen.  And both have a lot of feel good moments without being too cheesy.

  74. 74.

    Joy in FL

    I thank everyone who is posting on this thread. I was reminded of good things to watch/listen to and I also gathered in some new things.

    I waver between feeling horrible for wanting to feel better and relief that I might feel better. The sheer quantity of posts, each with a human/jackal behind it feels helpful. None of us don’t care, and being in a (virtual) group with you all here in this post feels so supportive.

  75. 75.

    RevRick

    MrsRev and I went to the Allentown Symphony Orchestra today to hear their performance of Rhapsody in Blue, which was composed 100 years ago. Diane Wittry, the Music Director/Conductor, wove together an incredible program. It began with Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Ballade in A minor and moved to Billy Child’s Diaspora, Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra. This piece featured saxophonist Steven Banks, who brought me to tears, and takes as inspiration three African-American poems. It begins with Africa’s Lament by Nayyirah Waheed, moves through If We Must Die by Claude McKay, and concludes with And Still We Rise by Maya Angelou. After Intermission we heard William Grant Still’s  Afro-American Symphony and ended with Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, with pianist, Simon Mulligan.
    What tied this program together was that English-African composer, Taylor-Coleridge influenced African-American composer Still, who was friends with Gershwin through their mutual work in the Paul Whiteman’s band, and Child’s piece echoes Still’s work, which was divided into Longing, Sorrow, Humor, and Aspiration.

    MrsRev and I agreed it was the best concert we’ve ever attended.

  76. 76.

    Gretchen

    @kalakal: oh yes, Jeeves and Wooster are very soothing. Also Rumpole of the Bailey ( I haven’t seen the tv show but love the books), and the Lucia books by EF Benson have a similar soothing quality. Especially when her worthy adversary, Miss Mapp, turns up to compete for boss of the town’s social scene.

  77. 77.

    TBone

    PSA: tonight is Goldie Hawn double feature night on TCM for all who celebrate.  Sugarland Express followed by Foul Play.

  78. 78.

    Jacel

    My wife and I have surprised ourselves to be hooked on Pokemon TV shows and movies. As no-lore-required entry point, I recommend the recent “Pokemon: The Power Of Us” movie, set in a city closely modeled on San Francisco, and involves a large ensemble of characters not seen before who wind up together solving a major problem that emerges. Also, on Netflix, the delightful and beautiful “Pokemon Concierge” done in stop-motion animation about an island resort where people and/or Pokemon critters can vacation.

  79. 79.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    @scav: Phillipa Gregory books are a bit overwrought (no, I don’t think Elizabeth Woodville and her mother were witches), but she does a good job creating the world of the court and I love that they are all from women’s POV and in first person narration (which I love).

  80. 80.

    Gretchen

    @Joy in FL: Of course you want to feel better. We can’t help improve anything until we are doing ok ourselves. Put your own oxygen mask on first.

  84. 84.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Splitting Image:

    One thing that I’ve been playing with for the past couple of months is an AI story generator at perchance.org.
    It does a passable job of getting cultural references right if you set a story in the 1920s or 1970s or whatnot, but if you set a story in the present day, it makes a big difference whether you set the story “in the present day” or “in 2024”.

    If you set the story in 2024, they will have flying cars.

    That’s hilarious!

  85. 85.

    TBone

    @mvr: Fly fishing is definitely its own culture, so I’d count it!

    Brad Pitt in A River Runs Through It 😍 with Redford’s narration is also soothing for me.

  89. 89.

    Splitting Image

    @Gretchen:

    @kalakal: oh yes, Jeeves and Wooster are very soothing. Also Rumpole of the Bailey ( I haven’t seen the tv show but love the books), and the Lucia books by EF Benson have a similar soothing quality. Especially when her worthy adversary, Miss Mapp, turns up to compete for boss of the town’s social scene.

    Rumpole the TV series is well worth watching. Leo McKern was as perfect a match for Rumpole as Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie were for Jeeves and Wooster. Rumpole has a terrific supporting cast, too.

  90. 90.

    SomeRandomGuy

    Um. Just a pedantic note: to “suffer” a fool is to leave the fool be. One who doesn’t suffer fools gladly, drives them away, in a bad mood. I’m not sure “fools unsuffered” is the right term. I don’t care, just to be clear – I just want to be sure you know, so you know what joke you’re making.

  92. 92.

    jackmac

    I’ve been dipping back into Donald E. Westlake’s comic crime novels.  Currently rereading “Why Me?” about his main character, John Dortmunder, and the inadvertent theft of a ruby that everyone seems to want. Some of the references and technology are vintage late 1970s and early 1980s. There are lengthy pages devoted to landline telephones, answering machines, call-forwarding and public payphones —  but are elements in the plot and any minor quibbles can be overlooked in what is otherwise an enjoyable, escapist read.

  93. 93.

    Kelly

    A quiet walk in a mossy forest relaxes me. Problem is most of my nearby walks burned up in the 2020 Beachie Fire. I’ve begun exploring new walks but it’s a bit bittersweet.

  94. 94.

    zhena gogolia

    I get those nursing-home type puzzle books with all kinds of different word puzzles in them (PennyPress Variety Puzzles, etc.). This habit started in . . . November 2016.

    When I was young, I used to devour Dickens novels. I haven’t been able to read him for about 20 years. But I have started Bleak House before bed. I have to read every sentence at least twice, and it puts me to sleep very quickly.

    Any Ruth Rendell book will get me into a different world instantly.

    Second the recommendations above for Miss Marple, especially Joan Hickson. Those are so slow and sleepy, they’re perfect.

  95. 95.

    Phein64

    @zhena gogolia: Thanks.  For some unknown reason, my normally normal blood pressure spiked to 250/150.   Not sure what I did to merit that, but looks like there will be a lot of rehab in my immediate future.   Still planning to spend Xmas in the familial homeland, Slovenia, which is a real “what, me worry?” place for me.

  96. 96.

    lowtechcyclist

    Another potential SF category for a Medium Cool: SF novels that don’t rely on either time travel or some equivalent of faster-than-light travel.  I can think of only a couple of examples, so I’m not sure how much material there would be for a Medium Cool based on this idea.

  99. 99.

    Suzanne

    What puts my mind at ease? Stand-up comedy specials are a favorite. I can listen to them while I do other tasks, which is pretty much exclusively how I roll these days. I like to read mysteries and spy novels, but with kids around, I get interrupted nonstop.

    Various Mario Bros. and Zelda games are very comforting to me.

  100. 100.

    Chacal Charles Calthrop

    I’ve been feeling stabby for all the usual reasons which, thank God, I need not explain here, and when I feel stabby I watch a John Wick film.  They’re beautiful, full of architectural color (they use real NYC landmarks), Keanu Reeves whatever his limits as an actor is well within them to play John Wick, and, they’re, well, stabby.  If you feel like you need to see bad guys die in so many different ways that you could watch the bloodsports of the Roman coliseum with pleasure, you will get what you desire.  Also the prequel the Continental, on Peacock, which is very well done (sample dialogue:  “We don’t serve your kind”  “That’s good, because I don’t eat my kind”) about how the assassin’s hotel became Winston’s.

    @Trivia Man: I initially loved the premise of those books, which is kind of like the Charterhouse of Parma but set in outerspace.  Alas, everyone goes too nice and everyone gets along too easily.  It has none of the edge of Stendhal.   And I’m feeling stabby.

  105. 105.

    NotMax

    Clever fun with a superb ensemble cast to unwind with is Wonderfalls.

    “I’m the universe’s butt puppet.”   :)

    Not streaming anyplace at the moment – BUT – all 13 episodes are available on YouTube.

    In nothing else, enjoy a music video set to the theme song.

    (First time tried to post this the power flipped off for 3 seconds just as was about to click Post Comment. Grr.)

  106. 106.

    Trivia Man

    @piratedan: I like long albums i can get lost in. Lately it is Pink Floyd (Umma Gumma) and Tangerine Dream (80s concerts specifically)

    Hypnotic .

  107. 107.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    One other fantabulous thing about Rockford:

    It’s very much like Perry Mason in that you see a crapton of actors who subsequently went onto to high profile stuff.   It’s really a Who’s Who of actors from the late 70s and into the 80s.

  108. 108.

    Chris

    @Trivia Man:

    We watched Ready Player One with a friend the other night.

    Friend found it really sad that RP1 uses him as a weapon, when the entire story in the original movie was that he didn’t have to be a weapon.

  109. 109.

    MoCaAce

    I have a couple hobbies that distract me from the madness.

    woodworking, gardening, winemaking,

    “What are your hobbies” might make an interesting post.

  111. 111.

    RevRick

    @zhena gogolia: Our daily paper has three puzzles I do: Sudoku, Cryptoquote, and Word Game ( you’re given a word and the challenge is to find as many 4+ words from the letters in it). During COVID we discovered Happy Color online… I particularly enjoy coloring works of Art.

  112. 112.

    kalakal

    Movies, for comfort it would be various old movies.

    eg Cary Grant in almost anything, Errol Flynn & Basil Rathbone in Captain Blood  & The Adventures of Robin Hood. 

    A bit more recent My Favourite Year & Local Hero ( or other Bill Forsyth films)

  113. 113.

    Chet Murthy

    @banditqueen: I watched that video.  He’s right, and he speaks for me, too.  But …. oof.  Wednesday morning I closed the tab with my RSS reader in it, and haven’t opened it since.  I no longer go to news sites.  I come here, and read some of the posts, but rarely the comments — unless they’re like this one, about non-news.

    I’m really glad for the non-news posts here.  Gladder than I’ve ever been.  Thank you all for this (so it might seem) idle and vapid chit-chat about diverting culture.  It’s not idle and it’s not vapid: it’s ….. oof.  OK, I’ll stop now.  Thank you all again.

  114. 114.

    Melancholy Jaques

    @scav:

    I’ve been reading about the Plantagenets since I was in my early 20s and stumbled onto Thomas B Costain’s four volume set in mint condition at a garage sale.

    Recent books I recommend:

    Blood Roses: The Houses of Lancaster and York Before the War of the Roses by Kathryn Warner

    The Red Prince: The Life of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster by Helen Carr

    The Greatest Knight: The Remarkable Life of William Marshal, the Power Behind Five English Thrones by Thomas Asbridge

    Also, I cannot believe that there hasn’t been a large budget ten episode series on the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine.

  115. 115.

    MagdaInBlack

    @Melancholy Jaques: My love affair with the Plantagenets started with that same 4 volume set, when I was in my early 20’s as well.

    Eta: my love affair with English history started with, of all things ” Forever Amber” by Kathleen Winsor.

  116. 116.

    dww44

    @Phein64: Wow! And I thought my 160 over 100 BP on Wednesday was bad. Mostly caused by coming home and seeing DT on my TV.  Hope you and your medical people figure this out..

  118. 118.

    Percysowner

     

    The New Matlock on CBS. It streams on Paramount +, CBS.com also has 5 episodes up. My understanding is that ALL they have at one time is 5 episodes, and episode 6 will go up on Thursday, so if you want to get in for free, you need to move quickly. The acting is great. It stars Kathy Bates, so you know she is good and the rest of the cast is pretty much keeping up. The known names are Beau Bridges and Jason Ritter. There are some great twists and turns and some really interesting social commentary along the way because one of the lawyers is trying to move into social justice issues and prove they can do good and make money suing for people that have been hurt unjustly. It’s one of the few network shows that keeps me involved enough to forget about life.

    Topic suggestions Non-political podcasts, historical, social, media, old tv show analysis, or anything just fun. I have quite a few that get me through the day, or did until my grandson decided that he needs ALL the attention ALL the time.

  119. 119.

    ChicagoBarca

    Television: Somebody Somewhere (Dear lord I love it)

    The Diplomat

    Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes (I hate mysteries generally, but I am obsessed with this actor and the whole series)

    Music:  Alice Coltrane

    Laura Marling

    Aldous Harding

    Katy J Pearson

    Dorothy Ashby

    Laura Veirs

    Khruangbin

  120. 120.

    RevRick

    @Kelly: I go for walks in the nearby Little Lehigh Park, which has a six-mile loop for walking, jogging and cycling. It runs along the Little Lehigh Creek, which sits 60+ feet below steeply wooded hillsides. It’s home to deer and fox, and I often see blue heron stalking the creek.

  125. 125.

    Chet Murthy

    @Phylllis: and for a murder series it’s remarkably calming.  I’ve only watched the first N seasons, nothing after the changeover of the detectives, but I remember lots of them were really calming to watch.  The sceneryIs a character in a way in the series. And that helps a lot.

  127. 127.

    ChicagoBarca

    Almost a month ago I canceled my very expensive Hulu live subscription because the constant price increases just pissed me off, but I think I have to get it again because I can’t live without Turner Classic Movies. Yes, I paid almost $100 a month for one channel. I do not watch any other channel. It’s crazy. Also for me, there’s a huge relief in just being to turn the TV on and see “what’s on” rather than  having to decide on what to watch.

  128. 128.

    prostratedragon

    @Mr. Prosser:
    Me too. Clap on the headphones and enjoy the luscious musical scores an soundscape; almost like audio books at times. British tv at that level has superb composers. Similarly, Twin Peaks, whose soundscape still throws new stuff at me after 30 years.

    Plenty of other music and cinema, at least one movie most days. At least half dozen live concerts per season, any type of music where people both do something well and convey their enjoyment of doing so.

    And for doodling, sudoku.

  131. 131.

    Chris

    @Percysowner:

    old tv show analysis

    I just want to second this.  There are a lot of old TV shows I like, and since I believe this blog skews on the old side, people might enjoy going back to the shows of their youth.

  133. 133.

    WaterGirl

    @dw44d: I think your nym is wrong? It doesn’t look right to me and it went into moderation.  You had it as dww44d and that looked wrong.  I took out one of the Ws, but that doesn’t look right, either.

    You’ll need to fix that before you post another comment, or that one will go into moderation, too.

  134. 134.

    Steve in the ATL

    @ChicagoBarca: ​
     

    Also for me, there’s a huge relief in just being to turn the TV on and see “what’s on” rather than having to decide on what to watch.

    Me too!

  138. 138.

    RSA

    @NotMax:  Clever fun with a superb ensemble cast to unwind with is Wonderfalls.

    What a great show! I’ve recommended it to friends, especially friends with college-age kids. The directing, dialog, and so forth are a little dated now, but still very enjoyable.

  140. 140.

    mvr

    @TBone: Read the book last summer and enjoyed it. And then this summer read the book by the author’s son about the author & the book, which I also enjoyed, but in a different way. Believe it or not, I have not seen the movie.

  141. 141.

    kalakal

    Another thing that relaxes me is image editing – I do a blend of photography, digital art, & AI generation ( to be honest by the time I’ve finished some images I couldn’t tell you the proportions of methods used) ’tis calming. You can see some by clicking on my nym and if you use instagram kallak221b is more current

  142. 142.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    I am reading  “The Orphan Master’s Son.”  I usually read in bed before sleeping but I have been trying to read at other times during the evening.  My attention span is not what it use to be.  Great read in any event.

  146. 146.

    TBone

    @ChicagoBarca: I did the same thing.  I told the cable company they could put TCM in my lowest tier subscription or I would call the local satellite TV company instead.  They immediately accommodated me!  I don’t get any “pay” channels, just basic cable plus TCM.

  147. 147.

    RSA

    Media-adjacent: Friday I read a relatively glowing review of a Ralph Steadman retrospective at the American University Museum in DC, by Sebastian Smee:

    Steadman’s flayed and scabrous worldview may once have looked histrionic and over-the-top. But by now, his pen’s “filthy scribbling” (as he has called it) looks pretty much spot-on — even understated — when measured against the present.

    If you’re interested in drawing, and in all the various ways in which art can intersect with society, politics and the wider culture, this is a show you’ll want to see.

    I’ve noticed that since the pandemic I’ve become a homebody, but mainly out of habit. But visiting museums puts my mind at ease! So this afternoon I drove down to see the exhibit. Minimal traffic, free parking, a nice brunch in a French bistro beforehand. Worth the trip.

  151. 151.

    scav

    @Melancholy Jaques: I’m going to have quite the list!  I may have to sneak in my Ottoman read mid-series.  It’s Empress of the East: How a European Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman Empire by Leslie Peirce and she’s supposedly Ruthenian, so I have to.

  153. 153.

    Chris Johnson

    I’ve got an interesting one. Might very well emulate this.

    Russian dub-techno DJs on youtube. Vibey, mournful, deep, forlorn music that you can just let play for hours as it progresses.

    These kids are years ahead of OUR curve. They could doubtless prosper by adding some martial lyrics or something. They could do many things… but what they DO, is wordlessly play this music, this techno refuge. And they run video, and I’m not telling you where to find it, just that if you find the music and the video is scenes of their countryside but half the time it runs BACKWARDS… well, then, I’m sure it’s a coincidence and means nothing at all.

    Once I wanted to be a singer, and turn my efforts towards music with a message.

    Now I just want to provide something on the level of these kids, because it feels like it’s come full circle and we’re now them.

    Wordless music to soothe, and maybe I can shoot footage of MY beautiful country, and play a clip forth… and backwards. Now that we are on the path to backwards, just like them.

  154. 154.

    Kelly

    @RevRick:

    Silver Falls State Park is 20 miles away. It has 40~50 miles of trails. For years I’ve walked the fairly busy 8 mile waterfall loop once a month or so. Most of the other trails are not.

  156. 156.

    Quiltingfool

    @TBone: OMG!  Stephanie Plum!  Lula!  Stepanie’s Mom and Grandma!  I love those books!

    There are some really funny situations in the books, out loud laughing.  I’m thinking about the goofy dog Stephanie acquired, the one that would eat a bucket of chicken, including the bucket.  The scene where these guys kidnapped the dog (she had him outside as he was about to throw up and poop out all he had eaten) and not 50 feet away the car screeched to a halt, doors flew open and the men jumped out of the car, barfing and screaming about the stench.  Goofy dog did the vomit and poop, got out of the car and ran to Stephanie, noticeably slimmer and happy!

  157. 157.

    NotMax

    @ChicagoBarca

    Sling has (like all the others) gone up. Now $40 per month. Tack on the Hollywood Extras package (which has not gone up) for $5 more, which includes not only TCM live but also a rotating roster of TCM On Demand choices. Total less than half your previous $100.

    If you don’t mind subtitles, tons of good stuff on MHz Choice ($7.99 per month). Recommend suscribinmg directly rather than through entryways via other services.

    Timely tip: usually some bargain basement offerings for various streaming services on Black Friday weekend.

  158. 158.

    TBone

    @Quiltingfool: 😍😆😎

    The books are indeed great fun!

    Quirky, cool, hilarious, suspenseful, sexy, female shero and all manner of pals and villains – what more could you ask?

  160. 160.

    Quiltingfool

    I started watching Bridgerton on Netflix.  I love the costuming and architecture.  However, as I watch, I keep thinking how labor intensive it would be to keep all those white garments spotless.  And make all those intricate gowns.  And fix elaborate hairstyles.  And cooking fancy food.   Lord, the servants worked so hard.  This is a show, after all.  I’m pretty sure the real life version wasn’t as pretty.

  163. 163.

    Chris

    @NotMax:

    Sling has (like all the others) gone up. Now $40 per month. Tack on the Hollywood Extras package (which has not gone up) for $5 more, which includes not only TCM live but also a rotating roster of TCM On Demand choices. Total less than half your previous $100.

    By the end of the decade, online pirating of movies and TV shows is going to have skyrocketed all the way back up to what it was during my college years in the mid to late 2000s.

  165. 165.

    dww44

    @WaterGirl: it was a fat finger error on my  phone.  I tried to fix it while it  was in moderation.  I couldn’t.  Maybe I’ll try upstairs from the desk top. There should not have been a “d” at the end.

  166. 166.

    Enzymer

    Been rewatching Andor.  Somehow underground rebellion against the evil empire is hitting a chord right now.

  168. 168.

    Tehanu

    @MagdaInBlack: ​
      Oh sure, Thomas Costain and Forever Amber, I’m just a sucker for English royalty stuff. Right now have discovered P.F. Chisholm’s history-mysteries about Sir Robert Carey, they’re fantastic. But if all else fails, I re-read Lord of the Rings. “They cannot conquer forever.”

  170. 170.

    RSA

    @TBone: Thanks for the pointer! The historical society’s efforts look like such a work of love.

    Okay, now I’m thinking about day trips…

  171. 171.

    prostratedragon

    @RevRick:  That sounds like a terrific bill. Ages ago when I was in high school band, our teacher lamented that fhere was so much great music out there, bryond jazz, by African composers, but sheet music for concert bands was nearly impossible to find. Now bands and orchestras all over the world are playing and recording it.

    He specifically mentioned W.G. Still and his musuc for our smaller ensembles, such as these “Miniatures”.

  173. 173.

    RevRick

    @prostratedragon: Two/three years ago, the Allentown Symphony Association voted to make a concerted effort to perform more works by women and minorities. We are now definitely hearing stuff besides the usual white guys canon. Still was the first African American composer to have his work performed by a major US symphony — in 1930. Our Symphony also sponsors an El Sistema program in the Allentown school district, which is majority Latino.

  174. 174.

    Craig

    @kalakal: I watched The Adventures of Robin Hood awhile ago on TCM. It’s so great. No wonder I fell in love with it as a kid. I grew up on Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes so his-to me- heel turn as Guy of Gisbourne was shocking to me. It was like later as Henry Fonda’s reveal as the villain Frank in Once Upon a Time in the West. Errol Flynn is magical as Robin Hood.

  180. 180.

    Craig

    @Chacal Charles Calthrop: Casting. Tone. Didn’t buy any of it. I’m committing one of my pet peeves, ‘you should have made the movie that I want rather than the movie you made’. The main guy didn’t say Winston to me at all, and Mel Gibson was just wrong. Sometimes I just don’t like something derived from something I really like.

  182. 182.

    Chacal Charles Calthrop

    @Craig: ok your call. I liked it. It was full of anachronisms (suicide bombers during the Vietnam war?) but the whole thing is a fantasy so I didn’t mind.

  183. 183.

    SuzieC

    Also what calms my mind is consistent practice of yoga.  The mantra of yoga is that it calms the fluctuations of the mind.

  184. 184.

    mvr

    @TBone: I went on a major fly fishing lit jag this summer prior to a trip to Glacier & near there by way of Yellowstone.  Sort of liked A Cast Away in Montana by Tim Shulz.  Also really like Paul Schullery’s two Yellowstone books even though they’re not mostly about fishing.

  186. 186.

    Chris

    Oh yeah, I forgot one last relaxer –

    Manyu videos. Videos of the world’s calmest, happiest, and most ridiculously pampered dog getting spa treatments and otherwise getting the  bejeezus spoiled out of him. And then always waving goodbye at the end.

    Only lasts a minute, but it’s a nice relaxer.

  187. 187.

    Kayla Rudbek

    I need to do re-reads of the following:

    Diane Duane’s Young Wizards and Feline Wizards series (I would love to see artwork of the battle beneath Manhattan where the Dark and Bright Serpents are entwined in battle around the Tree of Life with the cats participating in the battle, and the Wizards at War? reverse Annunciation scene between the king cockroach and his handmaiden; I can’t draw so I should find someone to take a commission, or put it on AO3 as a request)

    R.J. Blain’s Magical Romantic Comedy series

    Jean Johnson’s SF and fantasy series

    Robin D. Owens Celta series

    Patricia Keneally-Morrison’s Arthurian cycle in Space! SF/fantasy

    David Eddings (particularly the scene where Garion defeats Torak by destroying him with words first, then weapons – “if I can change just one thing, you’ve lost. Go stop the tide if you can and leave me alone to do my work”

    Eric Flint/David Drake’s Belisarius series

    Maybe the Vorkosigan Saga?

    Lynn Kurland’s Nine Kingdoms series

    I need some more non-White authors for this list, but this is comfort reading for this GenXer reader

  188. 188.

    b

    I would recommend the Kung Fu tv series for sleeping. I put it on for an hour and barely last 10 minutes. At the same time I put on Blade Runner Meditative on the PC in a loop. Lots of rain and the like

  191. 191.

    billcinsd

    I should add my comforters

    Phoebe Atwood Taylor books — particularly the Leonidas Witherall books which are madcap fun (although she is writing as Alice Tilton for these)

    the video games West of Loathing and Shadows over Loathing very humorous

  192. 192.

    Timill

    @Kayla Rudbek: For some reason the Feline Wizards don’t seem to be on Kindle. I’m also starting in on a through-read of the Young Wizards now I have all of them on Kindle (I’ve read the first 4 or 5 in paper).

    I might do a re-read of Andrew Moriarty’s “Adventures of a Jump Space Accountant” – Jake Stewart is no good with a blaster, but give him a spreadsheet and stand back…

  196. 196.

    Timill

    @Timill: Still up at ebooks direct. To quote a blurb,

    a smoggy film-noir landscape filled with glamourous starlets, flamboyantly corrupt studio heads, wicked, pampered cats with hidden agendas, unsolved murders, snoopy screenwriters, scheming PR flacks, and a shadowy, celebrity-ridden cult dabbling in knowledge better left alone

    Clearly I should buy at once. What more could one want in a book?

  197. 197.

    Kayla Rudbek

    Question for the hive mind on comfort reading: I remember reading an SF story in an anthology involving time travel to try to prevent an alien invasion, with the winning moves being 1) changes to the fairytales commonly told and 2) one of the time travelers making a mistake and showing herself to the medieval peasants, starting to curse in French, and getting eventually interpreted as a Marian apparition in a part of France that didn’t get them very often.  I remember the lines about how strangling Marie Antoinette in her cradle didn’t work, and the final greeting from the Marian Council that was welcoming the heroes back home (successfully changed history). Any ideas on the title and author of it? Maybe a Ray Bradbury?

  201. 201.

    bjacques

    Dead thread, but the late Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror And The Light just dropped on BBC. It’s escapist entertainment featuring a fickle and faithless tyrant who keeps his minions perpetually on edge.

  203. 203.

    Gloria DryGarden

    I’ve just listened to a great romance story on audio from my library. Not the fluffy stupid kind w stereotypes. Teenagers who become best friends, then fall in love. Interesting unexpected plot twists, it ends well, and I liked all the characters. I need to spend time with characters who are kind and fiercely have each other’s backs, and this was a good one. The reader had great voices for the different characters, she was really terrific.

  204. 204.

    Gloria DryGarden

    Usually I use music to stay calm. I adore thomas Tallis, palestrina, and lisa Gerard, and also like some space music. I made these artists be pandora stations. Also David parsons-textural space music- really great for tiny undulations and micro movements, my favorite movement meditation. I especially like his album forje lying, available on YouTube.

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