First, thanks for all the well wishes after last weekend’s plague ripped through our house. Both kids are back to normal and back to raising hell. Max had his follow-up with his regular doctor this week who said he’s seen bad luck like having strep and the flu. But never seen those plus pneumonia. I’ll remember that age 3 was when we discovered Max is Wolverine.
I’ve been under the weather this week so gym time has been exchanged for couch time. Zak and I just beat Untitled Goose Game (Link). It’s available on every platform and it’s just so ridiculous. Wikipedia describes it as a puzzle game where players control a goose who bothers the inhabitants of an English village. That’s pretty much it. You have a mischief list that this goose must fulfill, but requires lots of planning, strategizing and trial and error. It’s full of frumpy, slapstick humor that had Zak and I laughing throughout.
As far as movies, I watched 2 music documentaries featuring the 60s:
Woodstock: 3 Days That Defined A Generation (Link)
Besides the great footage, the documentary showed how Woodstock overcame impossible logistics to materialize. It’s a well-told dramatic story so I won’t ruin it. The film was also a comforting reminder that as crazy as we think times are now, the 1960s took the volume to 11. Vietnam, civil rights, assassinations. A heavy decade.
Echo in the Canyon (Link)
From Wikipedia: “A look at how musical groups such as The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, and The Mamas & the Papas birthed the beginnings of the Laurel Canyon music scene and how the echo of these artists’ creations reverberated across the world.”
It follows Jakob Dylan, Regina Spektor, and Beck as they record classics with the artists like Michelle Phillips, Stephen Stills, and Brian Wilson.
I have a bit of a fetish with the Hollywood Hills which includes Laurel Canyon. It started when I read Helter Skelter. Echo may have saved me from reading about 4 books that I found on the music scene in Laurel Canyon during the 60s. In general, I have anemoia for the 1960s and 1970s and especially in California. My Instagram is a shameless parade of old muscle cars, 1970s fashion, and vintage guitars. With some Million Dollar Listing LA mixed in. Total id.
Pumping Iron, Boogie Nights and the more recently made Once Upon A Time In Hollywood are some of my favorite movies just because the sound and feel of those eras come through. For OUATIH, Tarantino had freeways closed so they could change the billboards. The attention to detail in re-creating Hollywood in the 60s pays off. And it was this nostalgia for an era I never knew that prompted me to read Inherent Vice last year. California-noir-stoner-detective-novel set near the beach in 1970 with the Manson stuff still dominating the public consciousness. Right. Up. My. Alley.
You know too much about me now.