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There's a lot to be said for turning the critical mind off, going with the flow, and "just watching" a show.

"Back into a phone booth and be transported somewhere else" holds an undeniable appeal ... but the last remaining phone booth in my little town vanished a few weeks ago. More than once I came upon a youngish couple with their seven-to-ten year old kids standing in front of that booth while mom and dad patiently explained "This is how we used to make phone calls."

The kids were invariably baffled -- almost as perplexed as I am when trying to do something new on my stupid smart phone...

I soldiered through the first five episodes of "Silo," but the relentlessly drab color scheme and art direction finally beat me down. Life underground just isn't for me, and I couldn't escape the sneaking suspicion that the mystery of the Great Outdoors was never going to be satisfactorily explained. Hey, no show can please everyone, and "Silo"just doesn't work for me.

As for What's Coming on Nov 5 ... I sent all my checks, vented all my outrage on social media, then mailed in my ballot, and am now a spent force, a withered husk of my former self gradually slipping into a resigned sense of acceptance that it's all out of my hands now. As the great American philosopher Doris Day sang, "Que será, será" -- what will be, will be.

That said, I await the decision with a growing sense of dread. Not fun, this.

I really hope the World Series goes all seven games. I need the distraction.

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Bummer about Silo. But understood.

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Yeah, different strokes for different folks. That's okay -- there's plenty of good stuff out there to watch these days.

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I look forward to delving into Silo. (Late to the party!) I love this piece, Tim. The irony of the two lights going out at once. I so get that feeling when you think maximum entropy is just taking over. I think you folks should adopt me, so I can go to that Scotland cottage, too. I have an irrational Scotland hankering.

That photo! “Not waving, but drowning.”

My friend Dorothy always says: “ When the shit hits the fan, you need a plan.” Often I have to take a deep breath and repeat this mantra.

I love your writing so much. I wish Substack would become the new Twitter somehow.

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Awwww, all the love to this, Lolly. Thank you. And yeah, shit like both lights going out is, for my brain in this time, just aggravation on top of annoyance, especially as part of my mind was like, "Now how is that possible? At exactly the same time. Has to be the wiring!" Wrong.

It's good to be wrong, sometimes.

Yeah, Scotland is a thing. I need to get there.

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Oct 26Edited

Found a new (to me) "one and out" UK show - The Sandbaggers. Really well done but only one season since the creator/writer had their plane go missing in Alaska before they fleshed out Season 2.

Edit - got conflicting info - looks like there were three seasons (20 episodes) but that the show did end prematurely because of his disappearance/presumed death.

And if you're looking for a Stuff Blows Up show Lioness with Zoe Saldana is back tomorrow.

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Had not heard of The Sandbaggers. Interesting. As for longtime crush Zoe Saldana, I haven't had Paramount (where it plays, I think) and am unlikely to since my Olympic pivot to online, but I do think Lioness wold be in my wheelhouse.

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Oct 28Edited

I think so, especially since I know you also like Strike Back and have no aversion to entertaining pyrotechnics. Definitely fun to see her go Next Level Uhura on folks. Plus you get Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman too. First two episodes were as entertaining as Season 1. They bring the action.

Paramount is gradually adding some interesting non-Star Trek stuff, including more sports (the CBS connection helps.)

Should have said before: Sandbaggers is on Prime.

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My family owns an apartment in Stockholm that has been sitting empty for the past five years. Could I theoretically go there after the election, even if it means leaving my husband, dog, and elderly parents here in the Bay Area? Sure... but the thing is, the far right is on the rise in Sweden too, often using a similar playbook to what we've seen here.

I know it's cliché, but this has been running through my head today: Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

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Right? Can't leave all those people and pets. However, if I may take a moment for levity, IF someone else, in this instance me, decides to be a cad and leave everyone behind to save his sanity, it would be nice for you to whisper that apartment address in my brain.

Ah, Sweden. I remember this Billy Bragg line about some dark times in the 80s: "A nuclear submarine sits off the coast of Sweden/And headline give me headaches when I read them." It's all about staying positive, that song. But anyway, I digress. I'll go to Sweden in your place and look at all the modern furniture -- or what they call "furniture" -- and report back regularly.

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Hey, don't forget, the Swedes went all in on Nazi stuff and the Nationalist movement is not pretty there. I've got a friend that moved from Molmoe to Stockholm and then moved back because Stockholm's gotten ugly...

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My dream is to move there and have it furnished entirely in Svenskt Tenn. Don't know if this is your speed, but it's definitely mine. https://svenskttenn.com/us/en/range/furniture/

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So THAT'S where all the color went! I see.

I'll take Cabinet 2192.

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At first I thought, "oh, 16,000 kronor, that's not so bad" (about $1500), but then I noticed all the prices were already in dollars :(

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The rise of the far right is unfortunately happening in too many places these days.

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I'm just throwing this in here out of context.

The unsinkable Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets, Fallout) is in a fun dark comedy streaming on Starz called Sweetpea. It's only 6 episodes and episode three dropped today. She plays a quiet, sort of mousy girl who works in a UK newsroom — until something triggers her and, well, she kills a bully. And then another...

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I haven't had Starz or Showtime for ages now, so all of that just has to be missed. Part of the choice of what to pay for, I guess.

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I was busy and hadn’t read that previous post or commented. But y’all took care of it nicely. I thought Season 1 of Silo was excellent so I am all in for the box set! I enjoy watching a show once a week and taking some time to marinate how I feel about an episode and the show in general. I think it will be fun and hopefully can get us through whatever is going to happen. I also will point out that What We Do in the Shadows is back. It started with a 3 episode drop but then it will release once a week through December.

I have been suffering existential dread for at least a week now (earlier I just put it off). Here’s the thing: leaving the country doesn’t solve anything. The USA is the most powerful country on earth and everyone will have to deal with it. There’s no escaping America. My daughter is probably moving to Europe after graduation and suddenly Ukraine isn’t so far away. I think that is the biggest immediate Bad Thing that could happen. (Abandoning Ukraine) It just feels like any plan we make is more about taking mental health breaks. It’s not really solving any problem. I still am thinking about how to solve my bad social media habits. Especially X/Twitter. Maybe we can talk about that in the future as well. I.E. What I read/watched that kept me sane this week.

I added the Tennis tune to my playlist!

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I think the issue is so shaded on various aspects of it that both you and Scott are both right. You can't escape the far right rise internationally, BUT, I do think avoiding whatever the fuckstorm will be here if Trump is elected makes leaving here, at least in my dream scenario, pretty great. Because although I've done a good job at times limiting my social media (actually doing a great job lately since I'm just down to Instagram and haven't done anything there except one post in the last three weeks), I'm less good at NOT doomscrolling the news. So, four years of that would probably destroy me, which is the allure of leaving.

What We Do In the Shadows is such a gift.

And yeah, "Pollen" is great but there's something about Tennis that's vibey in a way that, in the past, it wasn't my kind of thing, but songs kept popping on my list and then I just went deep with them and I now just love their upbeat thing so much. Saw them in concert as well and was pleased to see they can make that studio goodness work live.

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I continually worry about our abandoning Ukraine, too. Remember when the war started, and it took up the entirety of every newscast? Now things are worse and there’s no news about it. Zelensky’s last visit didn’t seem very fruitful for Ukraine. Every evening, I check on Twitter and read messages from a great lady who lives alone with her cats in Kyiv. In between air raid strikes she WORKS! Somehow, just reading about, and writing to her and her daughter helps me. And they seem to like hearing from people outside of Ukraine, to know they’ve not been forgotten. It’s such a helpless feeling. I know the nightly checking is more helpful to me than them. But sometimes I think we can at least say to others who are suffering: “We see you!”

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I've been following Ukraine rather closely, too and even with all of the jackasses in the GOP somehow fantasizing that Vladi will give them presents or something if they just let him take it, the Ukrainian people have been incredible. They've improved the M-1 Abrams tank and fixed all of its vulnerabilities. They've created their own more effective drones and they've managed to do things on the battlefield that no one thought they could possibly do.

They've done all that while managing to keep a government functioning while being attacked by one of the most intimidating forces in the world. People are still going to work, people are still growing food, making things, writing software (major sector in Ukraine) and somehow, they've managed to preserve elements of normalcy in the midst of all the chaos.

It's unthinkable that we would stop doing everything we can to help them remain free and their own nation.

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Right?!

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Sadly, since we'll have Co-Presidents Vladimir Putin & Elon Musk, come Jan 21st, I'm afraid that the US will abandon Ukraine — which angers me immeasurably.

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I know, right? He’s going to be cozying up to all the dictators. He was shouting out to Viktor Orbán for eff’s sake.

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...and remember, a hundred million bucks (if you count the money he's given to Stephen Miller's agitprop operation, it's more like 190 million) buys you ownership of a stooge. Elon's not going anywhere and with his loving relationship with Putin, they are poised to make The Donald dance to any tune they fancy at any given moment...

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This is lovely. I'm glad you're doing it. I agree with the all you said, all of the stuff that has been rattling around in my worrisome head, and then my brain just fritzed out with the North Korean troops. I was like, "What could possibly go wrong?" I mean, my supply of Xanax is getting low as it.

But, as you say, knowing that some many other people have it so much worse and are surviving as best they can in horrible situations makes my own fears and worries seem more pointless than the existentialist inside me already knows they are.

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Haha. YES! I used up my klonopin. Right, I think when I see how people in Kyiv and beyond are making do, it gives me perspective. And empathy! But pls don’t feel you have to minimize your anxiety or existential angst. I totally get it. You have your lovely kids and their futures to worry about! Plus, we had CA brownouts, then covid lockdown, then you bravely moved, then Mrs. Fuck Christmas and that family of ghouls were creeping about in our faces. Allow yourself grace for anxiety.

I just saw David Gilmour at MSG in NYC. “Luck and Strange” tour. (His last?) SO GOOD! He auctioned off his 1969 Black Strat for ClientEarth💚. Plays a Black Cat now. Just as fabulous! I’d only ever seen Roger Waters. Flying Pig was exciting but DG is the soul of the band for me. Such a ray of light in these dark days! Art saves us!

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Beautifully said!

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Leaving the country could solve not having to live day to day with a lot of the bullshit that this country provides. Nothing is perfect, but that doesn't mean that living here is the best either. There are many things you could get away from by moving out of the United States. It's not about "escaping" every possible piece of American influence. If that's how you are thinking, then you are misunderstanding the concept.

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As I said above, I think you're both right on the topic (if there's a topic other than aaaaaiiiighhhhhhh) in that there's a definite rising of right wing shit worldwide, as the pendulum swings. BUT, I do agree with you that my main reason for wanting, deep in my bones, to just flee and get away if he's elected is that I'm just incapable of surviving the rot of hearing him every day, reading the news about his ilk every day, etc., and I don't trust my ability to block it out. It would be like someone drilling and doing construction next to my amazing, vibey living pod -- what's the point of staying if I can't get away and get some peace. But I'm trying to stay positive when possible, although in all honesty that hasn't happened yet. I just feel like it's healthy to dream of an escape, even if I couldn't leave my loved ones and my old, more blind by the day dog, to really get away. Talked about this with KB on a longish car ride -- It sucks that I have the *ability* job wise to do it, but I would be leaving everyone else behind. In the meantime, I think the one place where, internally and externally I can feel happy -- my Portland sanctuary -- is always there. And it's already turned decisively to fall there -- all the rain and gray would be LOVELY to witness from INSIDE. I always get a lot of work done there. Maybe I could find enough sanity to survive.

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It’s interesting…I googled and read the 1994 “Budapest Memorandum,” and it’s right there: America and UK are SUPPOSED to help Ukraine if anyone effs with their borders or attacks them. My brain has a hard time with these things just not mattering. I’m glad my old commie/Dem dad isn’t alive to see this sh^tstorm. North Korea, wtf?! Women miscarrying upsets me so.

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Pretty sure if Hitler l'Orange wins, you won't be able to get away from a constant barrage of his babble no matter where you go. The way Europe's going, he'll probably be held up as a hero to the Nationalists/Facists that are rising there...

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If you mean particular problems here (like guns and lack of public transportation in many parts), then sure. If you mean Trumpism and fascism, I have some very bad news for you about Europe. It’s on the march. And if the US leaves NATO (something that has been threatened repeatedly) how secure is Europe? Now maybe you mean Canada? I am just saying it’s not a simple choice where your political problems go away. Anyway I live in Georgia where abortion is illegal at 6 weeks. Some of us have been enduring the bullshit already. We are considering Europe for retirement (my husband is an EU citizen) but I have thought about this stuff a lot. I feel there is peril in many places, not just here. It just stinks.

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I am SO worried about young pregnant women and v distressed about women who are miscarrying and can’t get medical help. WTAF? These crusty old white guys don’t understand. I did 4 IVFs, and miscarried during a second trimester. That late you need D&E hospital surgery! And I had zero frozen embryos. There are very rarely any for IVF women. A dingo eats your ‘baby’! All I can think of is that ERs need more ultrasounds, so they can see stat that there’s no heartbeat, and HELP women for eff’s sake!

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This is a very complex discussion, but I responded to your initial statement that I thought was oversimplified where you said that leaving doesn't solve anything. I think that is simply false. Because it really just depends on what you are trying to solve, and that's different for everyone. You made multiple assumptions here about what I might have been referring to. But let's just keep it simple for sake of argument. You said you live in Georgia with a 6 week abortion ban. Nobody has to stay in a place with such a draconian environment. Leaving can solve that. Does it solve the world's problems? Of course not. But you can solve for things, absolutely. And I already previously commented on the rise of the far right around the world elsewhere. I'm not asleep.

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Peril everywhere indeed. And the NATO thing is real. The only laugh I got was this weekend when I told KB that Canada isn't an option because I only really want to go to Vancouver and I can't afford it. I mean, it's like Manhattan there. I once, long ago, dreamed of getting a show made and having a big infusion of stupid money that I could blow immediately on some modernist gem tucked in "Super Natural" British Columbia, but then realized my deep, deep fear of bears would make that impossible. Bears LOVE Canada.

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Luckily, Australia would never let us in (strict immigration rules there). Otherwise we would just be terrified of spiders and snakes and God knows what else the whole time!

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I LOVE Australia but, well EVERYTHING there'll kill you.

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I'd rather stay here and face my own anxieties and fear than live with Drop Bears.

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My Plan: I have some old, good friends (Brits) who have dual citizenship and are going to their lovely flat in Scotland if the worse happens. They've said I can come with. We'll see if they really mean it, but I've put them on notice I mean it. They've gotten me out of jams before so I have hope.

I see that Silo 1 is only 10 episodes so I can do that before the 15th (even though there are so many things I want to watch now: Bruce Springsteen doc, What We Do in the Shadows final season, Fringe!). I'm looking forward to the fun and fellowship too!

I totally get what you're saying about needing a win, any win, any tiny win. Yay! Sometimes having something go right is amazing. Why does life have to be so hard?

I always love the songs you share. Do it more. Please.

BTW, I love the comments people post here, you guys are pretty cool.

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Scotland is clearly on the mind!

And yes, I keep having fantastic ideas about posting more songs and then...life. But it will happen. Have been on a listening binge and have lots of options.

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Grumble grumble, I'll forgo my normal (and correct) binge instincts and play in the Box Set...

If the unthinkable happens (and I'm doing everything I goddamn can to prevent that) I will man up and stay and resist.

Oh, and Fix It Again Tony.

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I would prefer a professional who kisses and tells. C’mon, what was it? What bloated yet trivial project could possibly absorb your disdain and, ahem, be transfigured into a moment of zen? Less believable than two bulbs going out simultaneously and it not indicating something more troubling beneath the surface is going on. On another note, looking forward to Solo S2.

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Ha. Most of these involve me signing away that option.

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Immediate reaction was to imagine silently humming, “The NDA Took My Baby Away”, paraphrasing the Ramones. Happy for the taillight victory.

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Paraphrasing The Greatest Mindless Party Band in History (AKA The Ramones) is ALWAYS in good taste...

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Been catching up with Silo, anticipating this post, and am looking forward to S2. As long as For All Mankind exists, I'll have AppleTV+.

Change is hard. In my younger days, I prided myself on my adaptability, and said I loved change. As I got older, I realized I actually find change terrifying. After the required amount of time chastising myself for my weaknesses, I finally just accepted the facts. I still wish I wanted change, but I know it won't happen in my case. This isn't always a bad thing ... being married for 51 years to the same person is kinda nice ... but mostly the thing is to accept yourself, even as you try to improve yourself at the same time.

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Yes and self acceptance is, as you know doubt learned, kind of a motherfucker. Long process. But essential. Not easy.

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Cool tune. My head feels clearer....

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Thanks! I love it. Super catchy in that I’m always singing, “it’s just the pollen/fucking me up.”

I also like the verse about being annoyed that a light summer rain could fell a person.

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It's not my usual but it's really good. Nice to have a new band to check out

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Yes! And thank you.

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We are going to surface.

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It was healthy to write, so thank YOU.

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