PicoBlog

I saw Shia LaBeouf on TV today. Not long after that, I saw him on my phone. The people on TV didn’t talk about him. He was just there, at the Cannes Film Festival, standing right alongside his castmates and one of the few big-name directors still willing to give him a job. I thought he looked strange with his bleached hair slicked back, his face craggy, his weary expression giving way to short bursts of laughter as Jon Voight said one of those things that people on TV say to each other when they’re on camera but no one can hear them.

Mr. Ribs makes mountains out of molehills, hay outta horse’s mouths, something outta nothing. Behind the scenes, long form tangents of uncommon grace and courage. Always a new song, unreleased song, outtakes from legendary recordings, etc Mr. Ribs makes mountains out of molehills, hay outta horse’s mouths, something outta nothing. Behind the scenes, long form tangents of uncommon grace and courage. Always a new song, unreleased song, outtakes from legendary recordings, etcncG1vNJzZmirmJ67ur7Im6pnq6WXwLWtwqRlnKedZL1wv8eipbKqmZfAbrzOnZqaq6RisrG10qibnmVp

The 1975 James Clavell novel Shogun has, starting today, two adaptations. Usually when I write about something like this for all you fine people, I secretly do a decent amount of research. Sometimes that means just watching a movie or TV show or reading a book, but sometimes it means quite a bit more. Today, I did something a bit unusual for me in that I restrained myself from doing more.

Catch up on Shogun: We’re at the all hope is lost part of this story. And they’re making us sit with it for a whole week. Dastardly, I must say. In the age of binging, it feels almost obscene to not let us know what happens next. To not let the next episode roll over after the typical five seconds forces us to sit with what we just witnessed. Nagakado, dead.

Well, after telling everyone how great the 1980 Shogun miniseries is, I watched the first two episodes of this new adaptation of the 1975 novel by James Clavell. And it’s real good. Maybe the best show I’ve seen in years. Spoilers ahead, not only for the first two episodes, but for the whole series. I mean, this is sort of said while assuming historical events are spoilers for a show. Anyway.

Dear readers, Thanks for bearing with us as we’ve been on a slight hiatus — with our other jobs and the holidays approaching, this week made the most sense to get you our A-game: some aspirationally sharp analysis that we hope you’ve come to expect! This week, we’re digesting the largest contract in professional sports history — or was it?  Happy reading. -Ian and Calder On Monday, two-way baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani signed the biggest contract in sports history with the Los Angeles Dodgers: $700 million over 10 years.

“If you follow your passion, you'll never work a day in your life.” - Tony Bennett Hiya Friends, I’m sure you heard the sad news that the legendary singer, Tony Bennett passed away on Friday at age 96. I read and heard many wonderful tributes to Bennett over the weekend and the takeaway for me was this: Tony Bennett was one hell of a mensch. Everyone adored the guy and had a tough time finding anything unkind to say about him.

Brandon: Steve, I’m so glad to be talking with you. I’m sorry about the time difference (note: Steve is on Eastern Standard Time, and I’m in New Zealand). Steve: I directed a couple of operas in Taipei a few years ago, and I was awful about all of that [laughter]… so it’s okay. I should’ve asked you what time zone you were in [palm to the face]. I was able to run a couple of errands, so we’re good.

I joke that I can shop in a black hole. Given, the closest I’ve come to proving this theory is finding a thrift store in the wilds of southeast Alaska. But you get the idea: I am a very good shopper. Being a good shopper is different from being a big shopper. The satisfaction I get from the retail game has nothing to do with what I buy, but what I see.