Movies & TV
- I Saw the TV Glow — Disorienting, dreamlike, and visually beautiful. Feels like one of those movies you need to watch again to really absorb it.
- Charlie Hustle & the Matter of Pete Rose — Should Pete Rose be in the Hall of Fame? Yes. Is Pete Rose a massive prick and a liar that can’t get out of his own way? Yes.
- The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping — Man, this was gutting to watch. Katherine Kubler is a fantastic storyteller.
- Bring It On — Somehow I’d never seen this before. Parts of it didn’t age well but what a fun time capsule of the early 2000s.
- American Rust (season 2) — I had forgotten about this show from 2021. Season 1 had its moments, but season 2 took it to another level. Luna Lauren Velez (LaGuerta from Dexter!) was a great addition to the cast.
- The Final: Attack on Wembley — This was pure pandemonium. I read Among the Thugs from 1990 — I’d be curious to see a deeper dive on what the modern version of football thuggery looks like beyond this incident.
- Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One — after getting into the MI franchise a few months ago, this was another fun one. It was a little uneven in the middle but the train scene at the end was thrilling.
Music
We saw Jon Batiste at the Greek Theatre on the last weekend before Ashley went back to work. I didn’t know much about him going into it, but Ashley heard him on an Armchair Expert podcast and he seemed like a good dude, so why not? The show was great — him and his crew are insanely talented.
Miscellanea
After traveling to Mountain View back in March, I took another work trip — this time to our Chicago office. Was great to reconnect with folks I met back in March as well as meet a bunch of people in person for the first time. We did a couple fun team activities (darts at Flight Club, river architecture tour) and had some good food (Girl & The Goat).
Another fun end of summer activity we did with a group of friends was Cinespia, where we watched the aforementioned Bring It On at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. It was super chill — we brought blankets, chairs, and some Shake Shack and just posted up on the grass while they projected the movie on the back of a building (maybe a mausoleum? 💀). Kirsten Dunst was there with her family and she said a a little piece before the movie started which was cool.
In sad news, I had my last meal at Otium, which is shutting down (at least its current location — sounds like they may reopen elsewhere). Otium was an icon next to the Broad Museum, and was our go-to place for an upscale meal when I was working in downtown LA.
Lastly, the latest food-related item I’ve fallen in love with is Goodles mac & cheese. The pasta is made with chickpea and wheat protein so it packs 14g of protein into each serving. Been making it and throwing in pulled pork or other protein and seasoning with Trader Joe’s chili onion seasoning (my other favorite thing lately). Also really love their branding.
