Your Mid-Week Experiment
Welcome to your mid-week Experiment, where I’m still disappointed Ted didn’t end up with Sassy. In response to last weekend’s essay about a growing delusion among some Americans that humans aren’t causing extreme weather, I got this harrowing response from an old friend.
Thank you for this validating read. I spent 50 mins in my last therapy session talking about climate change and how I’m worried for my kids as adults and what this heat means for them.
Should i buy land in Michigan for retirement?
A friend got a tip from the Texas commission on environmental quality that Texas heat projections are headed well over 125 degrees in the next 20 years.
It’s hard to admit this but in terms of scale I’ve almost given up on the gun fight and become far more terrified of the sun.
In this mid-weeker, I promise no doom and gloom. In fact, nothing at all about the planet’s inexorable decline into a lake of fire. In fact, you can rest assured that this week we’ve got nothing but fun things to read, watch, listen to, and even make. Let’s get to it:
OK, maybe not “fun.”
In the ‘80s, a small number of wealthy Christian nationalist activists normalized homeschooling. Now they’re trying to redirect public funding to private and parochial schools. (Washington Post)
Russell Gold is the center of the world, and this is a fine line: “Sisyphus would feel right at home working for the Railroad Commission’s orphan-well program.” (Texas Monthly)
Gods and Heroes is a rock ‘n roll fairy tale by Dallas musician Paul Williams. It got a nice writeup in CultureMap. I love the story:
The piece follows rock star Simon Byrd, presumed dead since he vanished in the late 90s while addicted and spiraling under the pressures of fame and heartbreak.
After taking a mysterious drug called Sleep, Byrd falls into a Rip Van Winkle slumber for 20 years. He awakens to a struggling music industry and the aftermath of loved ones still grappling with his disappearance.
This is the column that started a national conversation about whether the news media is bungling the 2024 election by relying on horserace trivialities… (Will Bunch)
This guy loves the Detroit Lions as much if not more than I love the Baltimore Orioles, and lord but this is lovely writing. (Tim Alberta)
I had no idea Rotten Tomatoes was such garbage. (Vulture)
…and this is a glorious rumination in response to the Bunch Affair on the true nature and purpose of media criticism. (Jon Allsop)
Guess how many times the Republican presidential candidates used the word “woke” in the Fox News debate? Once. (The New York Times)
I was a TAG kid. Does that mean I was gifted? Or just that I had advanced classes? (Washington Post)
I’m a little embarrassed how excited I am to make this. (New York Times Cooking)
The principal in this story died this week. It’s a story of quiet, frustrated good guys and loud, brutish bad ones. And frankly I wasn’t crazy about it, until the end that is. It’s a long read over rocky terrain, but there’s a soft landing. (Texas Monthly)
If you’re looking for a low-stress fun watch? Don’t mind swearing? Have always wanted to see Anthony Mackie in a show with a Deadwood vibe? Check out Twisted Metal on Peacock.
If you enjoyed the Christmas dinner scene in Bear, you’ll love Shiva Baby.
I was laid up with food poisoning Friday night through Saturday evening, so I finally dove into Love & Death, the Texas-based true crime show about… oh, who cares. I am watching it because Sam Slade plays a deputy prosecutor in the show. I’m not completely done, but so far my review of his performance is that he is in focus and reflects light. Give this man a line!
We set up a merch table in the back where you can get T-shirts, coffee mugs, and even tote bags now. Show the world that you’re part of The Experiment.
We’ve also got a tip jar, and I promise to waste every cent you give me on having fun, because writing this newsletter for you is how I have fun.
Buy the book Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick banned from the Bullock Texas History Museum: Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of the American Myth by Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, and myself is out from Penguin Random House. The New York Times bestseller is 44% off and the same price as a paperback now!