Same, but not the same
The everlasting sameness of the days (even interrupted, as mine are, by classes now taught via videoconference) makes writing any kind of preamble to an email feel pretty weird. I teach Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and have some meetings with students and faculty to attend, plus grading and course preparation, so that helps make a week feel like a week. Glad to have that, and work.
In the mornings I wake up early, make a cup of coffee and put it in a travel mug, and go out for a walk, three miles or so, around the giant man-made lake in our park. Early, because it’s easy to avoid getting too close to anyone that way, and I get to smile at the dogs and watch the geese float around the lake. I listen to The Daily and follow it up with last night’s edition of Today, Explained, less because of brand loyalty and more because Sean’s delivery of dark news provides a little bit of a pick-me-up. By the time I’m home, it’s time to dive in to the workday.
My favorite thing this week is the video in this Tweet, of an Italian priest who streamed the mass for his parishioners but activated video filters by mistake. A taste of it:
Also, I wrote about the Criterion Channel, which is one of my favorite things in the world, and had an interview with the directors of the new Netflix documentary Crip Camp, which is about camp, disability, activism, and … joy. It’s out today.
My friend Brett has made her remarkable movie The Prison in Twelve Landscapes — easily one of the best nonfiction films I’ve ever seen — available to stream for free on Vimeo. This movie completely blew my students’ minds when I assigned it; it’s lovely and thought-provoking and not at all what you’re thinking of when you hear “prison documentary.”
Eater always has great essays, and I quite liked this one on the grim comfort of delivery toast. Humorist David Sedaris wrote about his failed attempts to hoard anything at all. Bookshop is doing a series of pretty amazing virtual lectures called “Homebound,” in conjunction with Triangle House, and you can sign up to be notified about them on their website. And the 1998 National Theater of London version of Oklahoma! will be streaming for free on Broadway HD, starting Friday night at 8pm and continuing into Saturday.
Hang in there. Help is on the way. See you soon.