Weekly Musings 2/14/25

I’m trying something a little different, once again. I really don’t intend to neglect this blog or my writing, but it’s been hard to find time or energy to focus on it in recent times. I still intend to stick with Our Television Heritage, but it’s become a further burden to cover The West Wing in particular in a post-Trump reelection society. My feelings on the 45th/47th President should be clear, and I’ll leave them at that. Even The Sopranos, a series I like much more without factoring in political parallels, can sometimes feel daunting to cover, which is why I haven’t touched a season set in weeks. Rest assured that I will post a new OTH post by the end of the month, however.

But until then, let’s try something out, where I share some thoughts on life, what’s been on my mind and maybe some recommendations.

Anyway, you first. I’d love to hear from my readers, however many of you are still around. I don’t have as much to say currently, but I’m sure some people want to know my thoughts on the recent Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot news. Well, that will have to wait for an upcoming article, maybe, eventually. I can say that I’m currently somewhat mixed, but please wait to hear me out.

I did get to see my mother this week, who flew up to see me. We didn’t do too much, which is usual for our trips- we’re both easily entertained and enjoy each other’s company enough that we don’t need to hop from scene to scene. We did go to the High Museum to see the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibit, which was lovely. This focused almost exclusively on her New York period, featuring many of her paintings she made during her summer visits with her husband, Alfred Stieglitz, as well as some of hers and Stielglitz’s photographs from this timeframe. A couple of pieces from her more famous southwest period were also available, but this collection mostly featured O’Keeffe’s interpretations of New York scenery and less of her vaginal projects, although there’s one or two of those pieces, as well. We had a very good time!

We also started watching The Pitt, and saw the 6 episodes currently available on Max. I think it’s a pretty good time, even though it’s clearly an ER revival that got changed at the nth hour- from what I understand, that’s more or less the case, and I’m not complaining. Noah Wyle may not be playing John Carter, but he still has a bit of that charm in him and the supporting cast does fine with holding their own against his professionalism. Combining the constant pressure from ER with 24’s iconic hour stretches does the trick to make for a series that helps to stick out in what I consider the streaming monotony, and I look forward to when I see my mom next so we can catch more of the show. Maybe the rest of its 15 episode season will be ready by then?

Movie(s) To Watch:

Lucky (2017) and Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (2012)

For this first post, let’s do two for the price of one!

The recent passing of David Lynch is a loss that many a film fan is still processing, and while I’ve struggled to connect with his works as much as others have, I’d be lying if the director’s passion and undeniable artistry didn’t leave an impact on me. I’ve found myself picking up pieces of his work that I’ve missed or wished to rediscover over the years, less so his features but some of the shorts I never got around to- What Did Jack Do? is an example of what doesn’t click for me about Lynch, and it being among the only works he was able to achieve with Netflix is ultimately disappointing- to his on-screen roles. During his last decade alive, Lynch had less filmmaking opportunities and instead spent more time in front of the camera, from memorable bits in Louie and Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans (where Lynch was supposedly only paid a bag of Cheetos, per his request) to the odd voice role in Robot Chicken or Seth McFarlane’s work.

An extended role of Lynch’s came in 2017’s Lucky opposite long-time friend and frequent collaborator Harry Dean Stanton. Stanton plays the titular Lucky, a veteran noted for his particular routine in his small town in the California desert. Day in and out, Lucky’s habit of milk and coffee balanced by cigarettes, crossword puzzles and trips to the only bar in town make him a familiar, welcome face to his neighbors, including the bizarre Howard (Lynch), who is in dismay when his pet tortoise disappears without a trace. The only thing that potentially changes his routine is when one morning, Lucky gets light-headed and falls over, something that never happens to him. Why, he’s healthier than many men half his age!

If you require fast action in your movies, I can’t recommend Lucky, but as someone who likes a good character study, I found the film engaging as we go through the character’s routines. Stanton was one of our great character actors, a reliable source in hundreds of bit parts over the years, although John Carroll Lynch (no relation to David) seems most inspired by Stanton’s most iconic starring role in Paris, Texas (possibly one of my all-time favorite films), sharing a similar love for wide shots of the desert being juxtaposed with closer, more intimate frames. Lynch’s work doesn’t come close to matching Wim Wenders, but he gets the job done and is terrific with getting his actors to play along. Stanton, in his last leading role (he’d die two weeks before Lucky was widely released) gave us one last gift in this memorably quaint ditty.

I balanced this out with the documentary Partly Fiction, which focuses on Stanton’s life and career as the actor sings a few folk standards and shares stories from his younger escapades to detailing his long-time friendships with Jack Nicholson (his former roommate!) and Marlon Brando. Along the way, we see further examples of how well Stanton has been able to keep friends in an industry where you’re expected to go from one collaborator to the next. David Lynch appears again as they share jokes and talk about some of their many projects, including Stanton’s incredible work in The Straight Story, as well as bits from Wenders and Paris, Texas co-star Sam Shepard, Debbie Harry (who famously name-dropped Stanton after seeing Paris, and became life-long friends after) and Kris Kristofferson. It’s a charming look at an actor who may have never hit the A-list (Stanton jokes about how one of his few serious partners, Rebecca De Mornay, ended up leaving him for Tom Cruise after co-starring in Risky Business) but made every minute of screentime count.

Both films are under 90 minutes along and are worth exploring. Both are supposed to be on the Roku Channel and Hoopla (although I didn’t find Lucky on the former- I believe different library systems receive different titles) and Partly Fiction is additionally streaming on Kanopy.

Three Albums I’ve Been Listening To:

• Savatage- Hall of the Mountain King

• Bathory- Blood Fire Death

• The Stooges- Fun House

Not much to talk about here, two metal classics and a proto-punk favorite. I don’t intend to write much about my choices of the week other than I’d like to add at least one non-metal album each time (although the Stooges are probably kind of cheating here). Maybe I’m listening to one of these while writing!