(October 1, 2017)

What a month. Here’s some of what I was reading and watching (I also got a new library card — so much reading!):

• “We are gathered here today to say our goodbyes to our dear friend America, who died recently after a brief, intense battle with fascism and a long, slow battle with carbs.” http://www.newyorker.com/hu…/daily-shouts/eulogy-for-america
• Here’s Laura Osnes and Steven Pasquale singing from Carousel that I cannot stop watching:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXXNQqKP-zk
• California has a state dinosaur! Augustynolophus morrisi.
  http://www.latimes.com/…/la-me-ln-california-state-dinosaur…
• “Secret Service Agent Learning A Lot From Malia’s ‘18th Century European History’ Seminar”
  http://www.theonion.com/…/secret-service-agent-learning-lot…
• “The country’s initial devotion to religious and intellectual freedom, Andersen argues, has over the centuries morphed into a fierce entitlement to custom-made reality.” woweee.
  https://www.nytimes.com/…/kurt-andersen-fantasyland-how-ame…
• “The First White President,” Ta-Nehisi Coates: https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/537909/
• “The Culture War President,” Bill Scher. (This presidency needs a lot of analysis.)
  http://www.politico.com/…/20…/09/27/trump-culture-war-215653
• “South Florida is an artificial civilization, engineered and air-conditioned to insulate its residents and tourists from the realities of its natural landscape…People tend not to think too much about existential threats to the places they live. They just live.”
  http://www.politico.com/…/09/08/hurricane-irma-florida-2155…
• the NFL has been in the news more than enough lately but here’s some great analysis of its fundamentally American spirit towards the end:
  https://wafflewhileyouwork.wordpress.com/…/nike-dad-and-ma…/
• Heartwarming, hard to believe, just so nice: https://www.nytimes.com/20…/…/07/us/harvey-irma-couple.html…
• Headline is “Kansas town celebrates Christmas early for dying boy” so there’s not much else I can do to warn you or your tear ducts: https://apnews.com/3d960d1eaa9146528b4cb223f740571a
• Fascinating look at TV lighting and black representation:
  https://www.facebook.com/TheMovementByMic/videos/1644364208919696/
• A nice read from Hillary’s memoir, post-election: https://www.vogue.com/…/hillary-clinton-memoir-election…/amp
• Reviews of some truly delightful picture books:
  https://www.nytimes.com/…/yak-dove-kyo-maclear-friendship.h…
• We’re heavy on the heartwarming this month: https://mobile.nytimes.com/…/jake-olson-blind-snapper-usc.h…
• “Italian townspeople stage drama from their lives in charming documentary ‘Spettacolo'”
  http://www.latimes.com/…/la-et-mn-capsule-spettacolo-review…
• WOO kid’s lit analysis makin big headlines. A great reminder to think critically about the entertainment and culture we consume: https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/racist-propaganda-librar…/…
• I am a big fan of Zeynep Tufekci’s work all the time, but her recent op-ed is especially spot-on:
  https://www.nytimes.com/…/opi…/mark-zuckerberg-facebook.html
• This article is appropriately filed under the New Yorker’s “Rabbit Holes” category but it is thoroughly interesting: https://www.newyorker.com/…/the-repressive-authoritarian-so…