Dune, Navalny, Dance Moves

a Blue Room grab bag

Happy Friday, Blue Roomies!

You’ve already heard from me once this week—a post for supporting subscribers, made available to everyone, about stability through change. Today, I offer my monthly media grab bag—books, links, etc.

A reminder that I’m donating 50% of all new supporting subscriptions through March 25 to World Central Kitchen for their work in Gaza. Thanks to everyone who’s already subbed/upgraded!

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Film/Television

“H is for Harkonnen, that’s good enough for me. Nom nom nom!”

We saw Dune Part 2 at the Air and Space Museum IMAX, an auspicious place to see such a sweeping adaptation of a sci-fi classic. The Dune series is one of Robert’s favorites; for a long time, he called God Emperor of Dune his favorite book. I liked the film a whole lot and am eager to see it again, but I’d say I admired the movie more than I loved it, though I admired it very very much. It had some interesting things to say about hope: is it still hope if it’s based on propaganda and a manufactured messiah? I was drawn to the line, about the freedom-fighting Fremen, “Our resources are limited; fear is all we have.” Sometimes desperation is the best fuel for action—when people have nothing left to lose, that’s often when they’re moved to act. (See Cuban Christian ethicist Miguel de la Torre on this.)

I’ve covered the HBO limited series Station Eleven several times, and am now in a rewatch of its 10 episodes. (There will be no season two of this show, so it’s not a big lift if you want to try it.) This time I’m pairing the show with the podcast hosted by the showrunner, Patrick Somerville, which I highly recommend. In addition to being an outstanding window into the creative process, it reveals the core of kindness that makes the show an inspiring watch, despite the bleak subject matter (a collapse of civilization following a deadly pandemic).

I watched the 2022 documentary Navalny while away on study leave. It was poignant to hear the Russian dissident reflect on his eventual death, now that the eventuality has happened. The film is inspiring, unnerving, and also really funny in parts. The bit where Navalny impersonates a Russian official in order to confront one of the men who poisoned him, who proceeds to spill the beans in gobsmacking detail, was an all-timer. Rest in Power.   

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Books

Fellowship of the Ring, JRR Tolkien—The movies are a core text for me, but my success with the books has been mixed, so I’m (re)reading this series and loving it this time around. I’m making my way through it slowly, keeping pace with the Lord of the Rings challenge Robert gave me for my birthday. I’m just 20 miles away from the Mines of Moria! The first medal made me ridiculously happy:

The Universal Christ, Richard Rohr—Gosh, this is rich. Trinitonians: let’s do a monthly meal/discussion of this book: 

“Comfortable people tend to see the church as a quaint antique shop where they can worship old things as substitutes for eternal things.”  

“Divine perfection is precisely the ability to include what seems like imperfection.” 

A Quiet Life in Seven Steps, Susan Cain—available only on Audible, from the author of Quiet and Bittersweet. A wonderful companion on walks and runs. If you feel like you don’t quite fit in this world of clamor and climbing, you will probably love it.

Maisie Dobbs books 12-15, Jacqueline Winspear—I can’t call these cozy mysteries, because this stretch of the series takes place in London during World War II, but what a window into a fascinating and bracing period of history. Maisie is a wonderful character: smart, intuitive, courageous. The series is remarkably wise about trauma without being didactic.

Sacred Self Care: Daily Practices for Nurturing Our Whole Selves, Chanequa Walker-Barnes—I’ve just begun this one, but I affirm this endorsement from Jeff Chu: “In a world that has cheapened self-care, Chanequa Walker-Barnes provides a valuable, faithful, and much-needed antidote.” 

Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock, Jenny O’Dell—Time is one of my favorite topics to read and write about. This book covers similar ground to what I delved into 12 years ago when I wrote Sabbath in the Suburbs, but there are some new nuggets to chew on. 

Emergent Strategy and Pleasure Activism, adrienne maree brown—I’ve read Emergent Strategy and listened to the audiobook, but brown’s work is full of simple-but-not-easy ideas that demand multiple visits. This is another one that would benefit from group discussion—any takers here at the Blue Room? 

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin—Just a few pages into this novel, but it comes highly recommended, and after a months-long wait, it popped onto my iPad. Whether I can get it done before it vaporizes in three weeks is another matter… the perils of parallel reading. 

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Links and Miscellany

Thank you to Hugh Hollowell for sharing this visual essay, Things I Thought Made Sense Just Don’t Anymore, by Mira Jacob. A poignant read this week, the fourth anniversary of The Great Pivot. 

This guy asked various people to teach him their favorite dance moves. Six delightful minutes:  

Synchronicity: This commencement speech from Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is several months old, but two people shared it with me on the same day. Funny, warm and wise:

In case you needed more evidence of the ways news outlets fail in their charge to inform the public: Media Matters shares how CNN changed a headline about EV sales from a success story to a failure. The substance of the story did not change at all.

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This Week in Candles 

Trader Joe’s Cedar Balsam:

What’s in your grab bag this week? Let us know in comments:

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What I’m Up To

I’ll be preaching at Belmont University’s chapel service on Monday at 10:00. Nashvillians, come on by! 

Steady on.