Let's welcome 2022!
Published Jan 2, 2022 12:05 am
HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRIPEVINE: OUR NEW ABNORMAL
Today is the second day of our New Year; and after living one complete turn of the sun under the shadow of COVID, there’s thankfully renewed hope that the light at the end of the tunnel is for real — and that the tunnel’s end is within sight. The Omicron variant is hopefully COVID’s last gasp at lingering; and if learning to live with COVID is the trick, then this ‘old dog’ is guardedly optimistic that the vaccines and boosters have given us valuable lessons in doing so.
Life does go on in spite of COVID, and the last quarter of 2021 was sparked by several instances of people and events that helped take our minds off COVID. This happened on various fronts, so I’d like to share some of them with you — in no particular order. I’m sure you’ll all have your own lists; but see which ones of mine you likewise appreciated, or will now be moved to explore:
1) Our cinemas reopened, and for me, this was a godsend, as there are so many films that deserve being watched as a community of movie aficionados. No Time to Die was the "Daniel Craig as 007" swan song; and while I’ve mentioned that some brisker editing, and a stronger villain, could have helped make the movie a more pleasurable experience — the minutes with Ana de Armas interacting with Craig were pure joy to share with a crowd in a theater. Those minutes pretty much encapsulated what makes James Bond still work after all these decades. For me, it was minutes that had us wondering where did this de Armas character come from, then spending the rest of the movie hoping (in frustration), she’d make a return.
2) As the "cancel" culture of social media continued to wield its influence, and made minefields of so much regular social discourse; one excellent and hilarious novel came to the fore, and became the exemplar of why this has reached ridiculous levels and won’t be abating anytime soon. Read The Echo Chamber of Irish novelist John Boyne; and be prepared for pages you’ll have to reread, and pages you’ll have to mark your place, as you’ll be falling off your chair in laughter. It’s about an entitled English family; and Boyne takes potshots on celebrity, social media, LGBTQ politics, and the hypocrisy that surrounds all those arenas. Boyne wrote The Boy in the Striped Pajamas in 2006, his take on the Holocaust; and this new one is so "today."
The Beatles documentary Get Back; and the Tuna Tataki and Thai Crudo of Jones All Day.
3) Steph Curry, and his breaking the NBA’s Regular Season 3-Pointers Made record of Ray Allen. I’ll put it out there, I don’t cheer for the Warriors or Curry, but to be witness to a record such as this falling, was watching NBA history being made, and surpassed. Each Curry three pointer made from here on in, just makes the new NBA career record total even higher, and more "unattainable." I know the final number amassed by Curry, when he eventually retires; may one day be broken; but for now, it is something to marvel at, when you consider how he’s such a target defensively for every team they play against.
4) From 60 hours of footage to an edited eight hours, may still seem like a formidable task to view; but Peter Jackson’s "Get Back" Beatles documentary was like being a fly on the wall, and watching musical genius, band dynamics and friction, and a rueful sense of "What If," all come to life. I’ll confess I had the Fast Forward button pressed at times; but that didn’t stop me from appreciating what the film represented. I called my review The Wrong and Blinding Road, as the film did show how many long-held beliefs just aren’t borne out by what we see actually transpiring. My strongest takeaways are that Yoko wasn’t the cause of the break up, but was just an easy "fall guy"; and that Paul’s creativity can’t be denied — when with the Wings, his composing Silly Love Songs in 1976, was his defensive rebuttal.
5) In the new restaurants category, I’ll nominate Jones All Day at Serendra as one of my new "go-to’s." The Szechuan Lamb Ribs, the Tuna Tataki and Thai Crudo, are my favorites — and I know my sons love how you can order their Eggs Benedict anytime of the day or night. JAD is a Raintree resto, and you’ll love how it’s upgraded comfort food; and has made dining here, both familiar, and still an adventure at the same time. I’ve often said that eating establishments survive either because they’ll do particular popular dishes very well, or offer items on the menu that you can’t get anywhere else. On both counts, JAD comes through with flying colors.
6) Squid Game, as just one more example of how well South Korea markets its creative output. BTS and their Army, the long shadow cast by Korean telenovelas on all major steaming platforms, and let’s not forget Parasite in last year's Oscars — it seems there’s just no escaping the Korean Wave. It’s not just that the output is so well-crafted and packaged, but also how it’s marketed and made to seem like the thing we all can’t miss out on, that has me totally green with envy. Can you fathom how many billions of dollars this all represents, and that we’re actually adding to the dollars earned; while we keep harping on about how innately creative the Filipino artist is? In the meantime, Seoul has emerged as one of the global Entertainment capitals.
Today is the second day of our New Year; and after living one complete turn of the sun under the shadow of COVID, there’s thankfully renewed hope that the light at the end of the tunnel is for real — and that the tunnel’s end is within sight. The Omicron variant is hopefully COVID’s last gasp at lingering; and if learning to live with COVID is the trick, then this ‘old dog’ is guardedly optimistic that the vaccines and boosters have given us valuable lessons in doing so.
Life does go on in spite of COVID, and the last quarter of 2021 was sparked by several instances of people and events that helped take our minds off COVID. This happened on various fronts, so I’d like to share some of them with you — in no particular order. I’m sure you’ll all have your own lists; but see which ones of mine you likewise appreciated, or will now be moved to explore:
1) Our cinemas reopened, and for me, this was a godsend, as there are so many films that deserve being watched as a community of movie aficionados. No Time to Die was the "Daniel Craig as 007" swan song; and while I’ve mentioned that some brisker editing, and a stronger villain, could have helped make the movie a more pleasurable experience — the minutes with Ana de Armas interacting with Craig were pure joy to share with a crowd in a theater. Those minutes pretty much encapsulated what makes James Bond still work after all these decades. For me, it was minutes that had us wondering where did this de Armas character come from, then spending the rest of the movie hoping (in frustration), she’d make a return.
2) As the "cancel" culture of social media continued to wield its influence, and made minefields of so much regular social discourse; one excellent and hilarious novel came to the fore, and became the exemplar of why this has reached ridiculous levels and won’t be abating anytime soon. Read The Echo Chamber of Irish novelist John Boyne; and be prepared for pages you’ll have to reread, and pages you’ll have to mark your place, as you’ll be falling off your chair in laughter. It’s about an entitled English family; and Boyne takes potshots on celebrity, social media, LGBTQ politics, and the hypocrisy that surrounds all those arenas. Boyne wrote The Boy in the Striped Pajamas in 2006, his take on the Holocaust; and this new one is so "today."
The Beatles documentary Get Back; and the Tuna Tataki and Thai Crudo of Jones All Day.
3) Steph Curry, and his breaking the NBA’s Regular Season 3-Pointers Made record of Ray Allen. I’ll put it out there, I don’t cheer for the Warriors or Curry, but to be witness to a record such as this falling, was watching NBA history being made, and surpassed. Each Curry three pointer made from here on in, just makes the new NBA career record total even higher, and more "unattainable." I know the final number amassed by Curry, when he eventually retires; may one day be broken; but for now, it is something to marvel at, when you consider how he’s such a target defensively for every team they play against.
4) From 60 hours of footage to an edited eight hours, may still seem like a formidable task to view; but Peter Jackson’s "Get Back" Beatles documentary was like being a fly on the wall, and watching musical genius, band dynamics and friction, and a rueful sense of "What If," all come to life. I’ll confess I had the Fast Forward button pressed at times; but that didn’t stop me from appreciating what the film represented. I called my review The Wrong and Blinding Road, as the film did show how many long-held beliefs just aren’t borne out by what we see actually transpiring. My strongest takeaways are that Yoko wasn’t the cause of the break up, but was just an easy "fall guy"; and that Paul’s creativity can’t be denied — when with the Wings, his composing Silly Love Songs in 1976, was his defensive rebuttal.
5) In the new restaurants category, I’ll nominate Jones All Day at Serendra as one of my new "go-to’s." The Szechuan Lamb Ribs, the Tuna Tataki and Thai Crudo, are my favorites — and I know my sons love how you can order their Eggs Benedict anytime of the day or night. JAD is a Raintree resto, and you’ll love how it’s upgraded comfort food; and has made dining here, both familiar, and still an adventure at the same time. I’ve often said that eating establishments survive either because they’ll do particular popular dishes very well, or offer items on the menu that you can’t get anywhere else. On both counts, JAD comes through with flying colors.
6) Squid Game, as just one more example of how well South Korea markets its creative output. BTS and their Army, the long shadow cast by Korean telenovelas on all major steaming platforms, and let’s not forget Parasite in last year's Oscars — it seems there’s just no escaping the Korean Wave. It’s not just that the output is so well-crafted and packaged, but also how it’s marketed and made to seem like the thing we all can’t miss out on, that has me totally green with envy. Can you fathom how many billions of dollars this all represents, and that we’re actually adding to the dollars earned; while we keep harping on about how innately creative the Filipino artist is? In the meantime, Seoul has emerged as one of the global Entertainment capitals.