Hi folks, just a few entertainment recommendations for you. Well maybe not for YOU, (you know who you are), but for everyone else. Some of these you’ve probably heard of, many you probably haven’t. I highly recommend all of these (for what that’s worth).

Books:

The Shadow of the Wind

A great book, but kind of hard to describe: sort of a literary, book-based coming-of-age thriller about how books can affect our lives. Takes place in Barcelona, Spain after WWII. Amazing writing, great characters, very suspenseful. Some cursing, some sex, but nothing too graphic/explicit. Best thing I’ve read in a while.

World Made By Hand

A great post-apocalyptic tale: In the not-too-distant future, society has collapsed, wars, famine, and epidemics have drastically reduced the population, and those left are living in a technology-free, early 19th century kind of world. Modern medicines and technology are things of the past, but most people are old enough to remember them, which just makes adjusting harder. A small town reaches a crisis point where they realize they must either dig in and start over, or give up and sink even deeper. A new religious group moves into town. Are they a force for good, or evil?

A great read: Exciting but thoughtful, dystopian but ultimately optimistic, very non-political. Reads more like a western than a typical dystopian story. World Made By Hand is the first of a series of four. It’s followed by The Witch of Hebron, A History of the Future, and The Harrows of Spring, all of which are really, really good. Some bad language, some violence, some sex, but none gratuitous, exploitative, or graphic. Really not much worse than most Louis L’amour books.

Wyoming Range War: The Infamous Invasion of Johnson County

A non-fiction account of the Johnson County War of 1891-2. A great examination of a little-known range war in which the big ranches/cattle interests literally recruited an army of hired guns and invaded Johnson County Wyoming with the intention of killing numerous small ranchers and law enforcement officials. Goes to great depth in examining the events that led up to it, and the aftermath, in addition to recounting the events of the actual invasion. A little dry/very detailed, but really worth reading. A great tale of power run amok, and what can happen when the little guy stands up to it. Also an eye-opener to those who think that “fake news” is something new.

Augustus Carp, Esquire

A very funny and frequently hilarious “autobiography” of a man so convinced of his own righteousness that he writes the story of his life to serve as an example to others of how they should live their lives. Surprisingly relevant (at least I thought so). Not a very long read, and very entertaining, although the language is somewhat old-fashioned (first published in 1924). Definitely the lightest of these four recommendations. Nothing objectionable.

Movies

Flu

Great Korean thriller about a city struck with an especially virulent strain of flu. Not a horror movie, but if you liked Train to Busan, you’ll enjoy this. One of the most likeable and amiable heroes I’ve ever seen in a movie of this kind, and once again proves that there’s nothing more tear-inducing than a 7-year-old Korean girl crying for her mother. Gotta hand it to the Koreans, they give this type of thing a lot more heart, and ramp up the suspense way more than most American films of this type. Some cursing, violence. A lot of flu-based gore. Great movie. Available on Amazon Prime.

The Terror: Infamy

Season two of AMC’s series The Terror. History-based horror, this time taking place in the Internment Camps of WWII America. A great blend of actual historical horror and supernatural horror, with the historical horror coming off as scarier. Like the best of any genre, it’s about more than just horror. It makes you think about much deeper issues (at least it did me). A great show. Some bad language, some violence, but nothing too extreme or graphic. Just as good as season one The Terror, which was based on the Dan Simmon’s fictional account of the real-life Franklin expedition to find the northwest passage. That was one of the few programs that I felt was actually better than the book (and I love the book). This recommendation is kind of a two-fer.

The Terror season one takes place in 1845-6. Two ships, the Erebus and the Terror, under the command of Sir John Franklin, become frozen in the Arctic ice while searching for the Northwest Passage. Not one of the crew was ever seen again. That part is all true. The show (and book) provide a partly realistic/partly supernatural explanation. Some violence and a lot of suspense.

JoJo Rabbit

Hands-down the best movie I’ve seen in a long time. A hilarious, heart-breaking, thought-provoking look at Nazism and the end of WWII through the eyes of a ten year old member of the Hitler Youth who discovers a Jewish girl hidden in the walls of his house. Amazing performances by the entire cast, and especially from Roman Griffin Davis (JoJo), Thomasin McKenzie (Elsa), Scarlett Johanson (Jojo’s mother), and Taika Waititi (Jojo’s imaginary best friend Adolph Hitler. He also wrote and directed it). I can’t say enough good about this movie. Jess and I both loved it. I can’t think of any higher recommendation. WATCH THIS MOVIE!!!!!!

Hunters

An Amazon Prime series about a group hunting Nazis in America in 1977. The most difficult recommendation here. It has come under completely understandable, legitimate, and valid fire from a number of people and groups (like the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum) for its historical inaccuracies regarding, and cartoonish embellishments of, Nazi atrocities in the camps (and, if that sounds stupid, read what they had to say, as well as what the show’s creator had to say in response.)

It is a very pulpy, cartoony show with overt nods to comic books, Quentin Tarentino (especially Inglorious Basterds) and other WWII fantasies like The Dirty Dozen and Kelly’s Heroes. I have a hard time taking anything seriously that includes the words “rag-tag group” to describe the heroes. That term pretty much always describes something that is basically a fantasy, and Hunters is definitely a fantasy.

What it comes down to, for me, is that it does what all good fiction based on historical “real events” does. Although it is, frankly, shitty history (and virtually anything based on “real events” is. If it wasn’t, no one would watch.), it asks the right questions (“was going to the moon worth doing if we had to smuggle Nazis in to do it?” and “What does the fact that we brought Nazis here and protected them to suit our ends say about us?” and “Was it worth it?” and “At what point do monster-hunters become monsters themselves?”), and it makes me feel the need to read more about the actual events, to try to understand not only what happened, but why it happened, and how those events affect us today, so that we can avoid/prevent repeats.

At any rate, it is the sketchiest recommendation here. Lots of violence, profanity, bloodshed, etc. However, I did find parts of it very moving and thought-provoking. If you can make it through the first 10-15 minutes, you’ll probably enjoy it.

Music:

I haven’t been checking out a lot of new stuff (and by that, I mean new to me), but I do have some recommendations for bands you might not otherwise hear about (and some you should already know).

The Bottle Rockets

A great Americana rock band that’s been around for almost 30 years. A lot of fun to listen to. Here’s one of my favorites of theirs, “Indianapolis“. If you like Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, Lucero, or Drag the River, chances are you’ll like the Bottle Rockets. If you don’t know any of those bands, then you’re missing out. If you like Tom Petty, chances are you’ll like most of those bands.

The Old 97s

Another band that’s been around since 92. These guys fit in well with the Bottle Rockets and those other bands I mentioned. On the Cowpunk scale, they come down more on the Cow side, while the Bottle Rockets are more punk. If you’re a fan of Gram Parsons or The Flying Burrito Brothers, you’ll probably enjoy these guys. Great stuff with a great sense of humor to go along with that honky-tonk twang.

Jethro Tull – Thick as a Brick

Okay, I know that most of you have probably heard of this one. However, I’ve recently reconnected with Tull, and with Thick as a Brick in particular. I find it amusing that an album recorded in 1972 and intended as a parody of the concept album genre, with the standard prog-rock obtuse lyrics should suddenly be relevant again (or at least I find it so). Do yourself a favor and listen to the whole songhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X15PsqN0DHc, not just the radio edit, and read the lyrics. Then check out Aqualung, War Child, and Too Old to Rock and Roll, Too Young to Die.

And finally,

RUSH

Of all the musicians/artists who’ve died recently, the one that hit me the most personally is Neil Peart of Rush. Not only was he one of, if not the, greatest rock drummers of all time, he was also a brilliant lyricist whose humanity, and view of the world was always tempered with love and mercy. Songs like “Limelight“, “Spirit of Radio“, “Freewill“, “Far Cry“, “Bravest Face“, “Subdivisions”, “Lakeside Park“, “Fly By Night“, “Making Memories“, “2112” (of course), and too many others to list, show an intelligence and transcendence that is rare in any kind of music, much less rock, and a lot of that came from Neil Peart. When we lost him, we lost a giant.

Anyway, I guess that’s about it for now. Happy reading/watching/listening!