‘Twas the day before Christmas and all through D.C.,
Two-dollar Big Macs for you and for me!
Let the Wizards keep winning as the Caps rest a while,
And Santa, give the Football Team a reason to smile.
We all could use a bit of good news,
God Bless our teams in their 2022s.
Among the differences between my hometown of Binghamton, New York, and my adopted home of Loudoun County, Virginia, is that the saps in Binghamton had to go to school three days this week while we had to go none!
For a more in-depth comparison tune in to Math and Musings this Friday, special Christmas Eve “from the road” edition.
I’ve heard it said you can’t go home again.
No, you definitely can, though perhaps a part of you wishes you hadn’t.
“Home,” currently, in the place I so often deride, I’m reminded why I do.
But for a handful of people I still talk to, there really ain’t much to it.
Hashtag sad comes to mind.
It’s here. The last day of school and the final day of announcing my “Christmas list” on Math and Musings.
Now it’s time to go home.
Three days until winter break.
Oh, if the kids only knew the teachers looked forward to the end of the week waaay more than they do.
I just finished reading Mark Seal’s Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli: The Epic Story of the Making of The Godfather.
Eh.
Not exactly a page-turner, the book did at least have the advantage of my all-time favorite movie as its subject.
Most of the stories I’d heard before, but it was cool to have them all in one place.
And it definitely made me want to watch the movie for the 300th time.
Fifty-one down, 27 to go.
It’s a labor of love, completing my Christmas list, and the only thing I like more than doing it is talking about it.
For a further explanation, tune in to today’s episode of Math and Musings, available wherever podcasts are sold.
For the second time in a week I’m plugging something on HBO, the O.G. of all subscription services certainly in no need of any assistance from me.
The documentary I suggest watching on said service concerns a musician. Of all the musicians in the world he’s the one who needs my two-bit acknowledgement the least, but here goes.
Available on HBO now is a film called Listening to Kenny G. If you’ve lived on Planet Earth the past 40 years you’ve already listened to Kenny G, but you probably haven’t seen him like this. (And if you’re wondering who Kenny G is, have you ever been in, like, a building? Ever? And there was music? Yeah, that was Kenny G.)
Honestly before Monday night I knew very little about Kenny G the person. Everyone knows Kenny G’s music, but no one knows Kenny G. This is addressed in the film.
Most professional jazz musicians and nearly all professional jazz critics dislike Kenny G. This is also addressed in the film. Actually that’s basically the premise of the whole thing. Why do real jazz players and fans hate Kenny G, while millions of people around the world love him? Is Kenny G’s music actually jazz? Has he ever claimed it was?
All of this and more is discussed at length in Listening to Kenny G. And yeah, we actually get to listen to Kenny G. Like, Kenny the guy, talking about his craft. At which he still practices three hours a day. Yeah, 50 years on he’s practicing three hours a day. Like him or not, the man is a true master of his instrument, and apparently tries to be a master of everything he does. Golf, flying a plane, making hit records. And whether you call it jazz or not, it sells. People like it. Just not real jazz fans, apparently.
I’ve been the Kenny G apologist among my jazz friends for many years. (I’m the Beatles apologist too, though that one tends to be easier to defend.)
Maybe I can pick up a few more supporters now.
When you’re searching for the Holy Grail there’s no silver medal for second place.
When you’re trying to reach the College Football Playoff there’s no prize for being five.
My beloved Fighting Irish of Notre Dame have the unfortunate distinction this year of being fifth place in a four-team race for the national championship.
My first thought was, no way Cincinnati should be in, I bet they didn’t beat a ranked opponent all year!
Actually, no, Cincinnati topped Notre Dame in October.
And the Irish didn’t beat a ranked opponent all season.
You know HBO’s old slogan, it’s not TV, it’s HBO.
That’s kind of how I feel when watching one of said subscription service’s new(ish) offerings, How To with John Wilson.
Trying to describe the premise of the show is like trying to explain water to a fish. Short version: it’s good.
How To airs Friday nights on HBO. I think it’s 10:00 or maybe 10:30… who’s really paying attention in the streaming era? I know that it magically shows up on HBO Max at some point Friday night, and even if I “miss it” (20th century TV talk right there) it’s available Saturday morning. Last week instead of cartoons my son and I watched it together. Yeah, my seven-year-old son and I watching HBO programming together. That’s what makes How To so good. It works on many levels. (Sometimes it gets a little adult but thankfully this one wasn’t.) I’d make the summary something like this…
It’s a documentary. About something. Usually some cohesive topic for the week but not necessarily a story, per se. It’s short clips from a guy with a sort-of hidden camera, though sometimes the subjects being filmed are aware they’re being interviewed. Sometimes not. It’s just regular people, regular things, sometimes regular and sometimes unusual circumstances. Mostly filmed in New York City, and it’s definitely got a New York City vibe. In a city this big even day-to-day life is bound to get a little interesting.
The cameraman/narrator of this first-person story is the eponymous Wilson. He’s a Binghamton University graduate (that’s what brought me to the show in the first place), class of 2008.
Ouch.
You know you’re old when the “famous” people from your college graduated after you did.
“Critically acclaimed” is a common adjective to describe Wilson’s show. And now I think Wilson too, whose social awkwardness works perfectly in his How To world. He’s in a class by himself because I can’t think of anyone else doing what he’s doing as commercially successfully as he. Without selling out. It’s magical.
Episode Two of Season Two airs tonight. If you haven’t seen Season One yet do yourself a favor and check out those half dozen episodes from 2020 and get caught up in the story.
Actually there’s no story. You’ll just be entertained.
Because… it’s good.