51: Oh Say Can You See?

as well as the recommendations...

In this week’s edition, I’ve got some recommendations and an essay about near misses (not in a weird or provocative way; it’s chill, I promise), BUT FIRST…

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🔓The Commodification of Personal Information 🔓

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Marlowe and I have started taking drives at sunset to see if we can spot deer or any other cool animals who want to be obsessed over.

On our drives, Marlowe takes pictures of anything and everything that interests her. She averages 45 pictures taken per ride, and of those 45, usually only a couple are decent (she knows this, as I have and would say to her face).

But she took this one the other night, and I thought it was pretty good!

This is the pond that we’re using to irrigate our yard so that we don’t have to shell out for that high-falutin city water, which by the way, please pray for our sod. These are crispy times…

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🎧 Listen Up 🎧

Jason and I recorded a new episode of Over Under Achievers about Glen Powell’s (extreme Michael W. Smith vocalizing) place in this world.

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🎉 The Recommendations 🎉

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📺 Presumed Innocent

WHERE: Apple TV

STARRING: Jake Gylenhaal, Ruth Negga, Peter Saarsgaard, Bill Camp

WHY:

Based on Scott Turow’s 1987 novel of the same name, it centers on Rusty Sabich, a prosecutor in Chicago, who becomes the main suspect in the murder of his colleague and lover, Carolyn Polhemus.

This is old-school whodunnit TV with cliffhanger episode endings and entire setpieces in court, complete with cross-examinations and objections.

And on a personal note, HOLY COW do I love a cross-examination scene with a possibly hostile witness and a judge who wants to keep a handle on their courtroom but also low-key likes letting the drama simmer.

Anyways, Jakey G stars as the entirely too buff Rusty Sabich who also casually hangs his glasses midshirt when not using them:

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahaha what?? Rusty, are you TRYING to break them?? Do you, like, know Warby Parker himself and can just get free glasses whenever you want??

Supposedly this choice is an homage to Paul Newman, but my interpretation is that it’s a detail implying his character has very MID-judgement (not a spoiler).

Anyways, this show freaking slaps.

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📚 The Silent Patient

WHERE: Amazon / Audible

WHY:

Ashley recommended this to me a couple of weeks back, as I had missed it when it originally came out.

It’s a psychological thriller that revolves around Alicia Berenson, a famous painter who is found guilty of murdering her husband, Gabriel. After the murder, Alicia stops speaking entirely, leading to her being admitted to a psychiatric facility, The Grove.

The story is narrated by Theo Faber, a forensic psychotherapist who becomes fascinated with Alicia’s case and believes he can help her speak again. Theo takes a job at The Grove to work with Alicia, delving into her past and the events leading up to the murder. As he investigates, he discovers secrets about Alicia’s life and the people around her, AND THRILLING HIJINX ENSUE, DUH.

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✍️ MINI-ESSAY✍️

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“Oh Say Can You See?”

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Maybe I’m wrong, or not looking in the right places, but does it seem like the coverage of the assassination attempt this weekend has been a little…thin?

Of course, the basics have been reported: who, what, when, and how, but the deeper details, like motive and method, are still unfolding.

But I’m wondering if this is the postpartum of both living through history while also existing during the information and on-demand ages in that expecting immediate reactions and comprehensions to things that will have decades-long ripple effects is just a TEENSY bit unreasonable.

In the absence of in-depth analysis, I filled the void by fixating on how the missed shot of an assassin serves as a stark reminder of how precarious it all is.