The Monthly Mention - April 2022
The Monthly Mention - April 2022
My monthly recommendations newsletter “The Monthly Mention” covers what I’ve been enjoying from the world of Books, Movies, Podcasts, YouTube etc.
Quick Overview
💿 Music - "Dawes - Live From the Rooftop (Los Angeles CA 8.28.20)"
📘 Book - "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" - Donald Miller
🎲 Board-game - "7 Wonders Duel"
📝 Article - "The Intelligent Plant" - Michael Pollan - The New Yorker
📕 Book - "Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy" - Serhii Plokhy
📺 TV - "Lego Masters USA" - Seasons 1 and 2
💿 MUSIC
Dawes - Live From the Rooftop (Los Angeles CA 8.28.20)
Dawes are my favourite band of the last 15 years. Musically they are brilliant. But lyrically lead singer/guitarist Taylor Goldsmith is on a different level. If lyrics won Booker prizes, his would have won several. They have just released this live album, recorded during lockdown and presenting a more stripped back version of the band. In particular "A Little Bit of Everything" and "St Augustine At Night" shine on this recording. It's the first time in a long while where I actually stopped what I was doing, lay on the couch and just listened to music. It's what this band deserve.
📘 BOOK
"A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" - Donald Miller
Another book that’s been on my list for a while. The basic idea: Guy writes a memoir. Hollywood wants to make it into a movie. However, to get it to work on film the makers need to "edit" the authors life. They need to find alternate characters and plots to serve as exposition for the writers’ thoughts. The question asked is: If you had to edit your story what would you change? Your life is a story and you’re the author, you get to edit it how you please. So how will you do so. That's the basic idea of the book but it’s SO much more than that. Poignant, moving and for me unputdownable. Even if you don’t buy the book, have a look at the authors note at the beginning. (You can do this for free by using the "look inside" feature on Amazon). The story of the Volvo there says so much about our lives, culture and society. And why they need editing.
🎲 BOARD-GAME
A classic game that my wife and I rediscovered this month is 7 Wonders Duel. A distilled version of '7 Wonders', designed exclusively for 2 people to have a ...you guessed it...Duel! For a small box, this game packs a punch. No wonder it’s a multiple award winner in the 2-player category. It's in the classic civilisation building genre, played over 3 ages. But the thing that sets this apart are the rules and the speed of play. The rules are a lot simpler than many in this category to get your head around and the speed of play is great for those who just want a quick game, you can play all three ages in 45min once you have the hang of it. Great value for money too at only £20.
📝ARTICLE
"The Intelligent Plant" - Michael Pollan - The New Yorker
This 2013 article was mentioned in a podcast recently alongside the book "Thus Spoke the Plant" by Monica Gagliano. I’ve read the New Yorker piece and added the book to my to read list. Fascinating stuff! Regular readers will be aware of my fascination with trees and their hidden lives. This article very much compliments Peter Wohlleben's "The Hidden Life of Trees" and Suzanne Simard's "Finding the Mother Tree" and serves as a great introduction to the world of plant/tree intelligence and the wood wide web.
📕 BOOK
"Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy" - Serhii Plokhy
I’ve just got round to watching the HBO miniseries Chernobyl, which dramatises the 1986 Ukranian nuclear disaster and its fallout. Well worth a watch BTW. But I fancied digging a bit deeper on the topic and recalled seeing Serhii Plokhy's book in a charity shop a while back and stupidly hadn't bought it. So, I decided to get the audiobook. It’s a well-researched work, which won the Baillie Gifford Prize for non-fiction in 2018. In particular, the closing sections on the wider impact of the disaster (the breakup of the Soviet Union and even the action of Russia in Crimea in 2014) really resonated, especially with the current conflict raging in the Ukraine.
📺 TV
"Lego Masters USA" - Seasons 1 and 2
My wife and I binge watched these seasons back-to-back. And let me assure you my wife is not a Lego fan. I had made her endure the UK version of the show (the original) which I though was really good. In fact, the prize in my opinion was better than this US version - a job for the winner with the Lego group at their Billund headquarters in Denmark. Like everything adapted for American TV, it’s the UK version on steroids, a whole lot of steroids. Here, they have the actor from the Lego batman movie - Will Arnet - as host. They have two superstar “Brickmasters” Jamie and Amy - I do wonder if one or both got the job just because their names rhymed mind you. A $100,000 prize. Big lights. Big Noise. 5million Lego bricks to work with. What the builders come up with is incredible. Some truly amazing creations. Love or hate Lego you can't help but be impressed at the ingenuity and creativity of the contestants. The judges had an unenviable job as many of the teams were good enough to win. Great dinnertime TV. Easy, yet inspiring.
Please Note: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links
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