This Week
This Sunday the third episode of my podcast Quiet Little Horrors drops and we’ll be discussing Hereditary. So it will be a nice, light, fun time. Subscribe at the usual places to get it delivered to you or hit up our website, quietlittlehorrors.com. As always, if anyone has feedback or film suggestions for future episodes, send us an email at hello@quietlittlehorrors.com. We also keep a list at Letterboxd of films we have coming up if you want a sneak peek.
This morning I sent out the August essay to paid subscribers. It’s about Nancy Drew, specifically the Nancy Drew computer games that I play almost every evening with my daughter. It was a regular activity even before the pandemic, but it’s even more appreciated it now. I included in this a list of my favorite games in case anyone else wants to give it a go.
Links
“So we are now in the second Age of Discord.” The scientist who predicted 2020's political unrest on what comes next. This seems to underscore two points: first, we really need to pay attention to history, and second, this is all going to take some time to untangle.
Eve Ewing on how police unions have little in common with the labor movement.
How a teen threw Scots Wikipedia into chaos and how it highlights a massive problem with Wikipedia.
The Lucas Museum embodies a new hope for institutional diversity.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s failed rebellion against its own queerness.
You can now browse every IKEA catalog since 1951 online.
“Instead, what my barely-teenaged self took from the book was that my existence was fundamentally absurd. The world is simultaneously too complex and too dumb for it to be anything else. Our rules and systems and desires and foibles are all constantly interacting in bizarre and incalculable ways. The book is a populist gateway to existentialism, exploring the tension between free will and an indifferent universe.” “How The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy saved my life.”
“As we live through frightening and uncertain times, perhaps more than ever we need our entertainment to remind us that we cannot allow the brutality of the world around us to dull the ways we respond to it. We need to look, even when it’s difficult, because to not do so is irresponsible and dangerous.” Why Hannibal is the unexpected story of empathy we need right now.
“Today I’m thinking about trees, and how beautiful they are, and how important they are.”
Reading/Watching/Listening
The Criterion Channel currently has a collection of three films noir directed by Robert Siodmak: The Phantom Lady, The Killers and Criss Cross. I highly recommend watching them all.
The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography is a light, sweet offering from Errol Morris that I enjoyed for its simple charms.
I’ve been listening to a lot of soundtracks lately. If you haven’t dived into Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s film score work, I recommend doing so. Twin Peaks soundtrack music is also a staple. Which is how I stumbled across Xiu Xiu’s recent take on Twin Peaks:
Stay cool.
Love,
Jen
Connections
Substack archive: https://jenmyers.substack.com/archive
TinyLetter archive: http://tinyletter.com/jenmyers/archive
Essay archive: http://modernadventuress.com/
Website: http://jenmyers.net
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jenmyers
Email: hello@jenmyers.net
Post: P.O. Box 13114 Chicago, IL 60613
This week’s quote is from Georgia O’Keeffe.