Emchap's Shit from the Internet 10/27/21 đ
Last night, I trekked across the river for Dune (1984) and Eem takeout (the thinking Portlanderâs Netflix and chill). Despite a rocky start (the bus skipped my stop and I had to trek a few blocks along a small highway in the rain, which is a real solid way to feel completely sorry for oneself), it was an enjoyable evening; Eem is of course very good just like everyone says it is, but of course the real star of the show was just exactly how the fuck weird the David Lynch Dune film is.
And I mean. I knew it was going to be weird. Thatâs the whole thing with it, of course: the man set out to adopt everyoneâs dadâs favorite book and produced a visually impressive, completely incomprehensible version of desert fantasy politics with a couple of pinches of Eraserhead energy. The practical effects are honestly pretty great (I am so charmed by practical effects, give me that Dark Crystal Muppet Realness), the whole thing looks like it was filmed in several of the worldâs fanciest bank vaults, fully 40% of the film is just spoken exposition, and not a single ounce of it makes any goddamn sense. It wasnât until I was speaking to my dad about it today that I even learned who one of the characters was, despite him being on screen a fair amount. David Lynch apparently felt that the vibes were enough.
Iâve been refusing to read Duneâwhich really is my actual dadâs actual favorite bookâfor years now, and so this was my first real encounter with the material aside from the Litany Against Fear, which I knew both from my childhood and this Captain Awkward post (which I once mentioned to a therapist, necessitating both a broad outline of Dune and an explanation of Captain Awkward in one long and stupid use of my 55 minutes). I once impressed a CEO by reciting part of the Litany and felt like I did not need further Dune knowledge to benefit; instead, I have spent my reading hours consuming books about horny, but politically simple dragons and various retellings of various culturesâ folktales except where you get to marry the blacksmith at the end. I am good on the political desert intrigue.
But: I did enjoy the film, and I will almost certainly enjoy the new one when I watch it tomorrow, and I am glad to have finally gotten some fragmented context for this thing I have been vaguley aware of for 20 years.
Shit to read
As someone who just bought new pants for both weight gain + Pants Are Different Now reasons, I really enjoyed this AHP piece on building an adult post-pandemic relationship to clothes.
This deep dive into corporal punishment in Christian fundamentalism is great and awful.
Loved this piece on the new Chucky TV show, which Iâm absolutely too nervous to watch.
âMore potato than fat manâ is a great line from a great review of New Dune.
This piece about motel residents in Las Vegas is well-reported and also a total bummer.
Please read this piece on fictional influencers and join me in feeling old as dirt.
Shit to eat
Open the container of mushrooms thatâs been languishing in your fridge, and give it a half-hearted rinse.
Heat up a pan and put some oil in it.
When itâs hot, toss in the mushrooms and add a pinch of salt.
Poke them with a spoon every so often and let them do their thing for 15 minutes or so.
While thatâs going on, slice two leeks in half long-wise and then chop them up. Toss them into water to clean them and then salad spin that ish.
Once the 15 minutes are up, in go the leeks. If you have herbs, go for it; if not, idk, more salt.
Leave that to cook, stirring with some frequency, for 5 minutes or so.
Eat, alongside an omelette, and feel faintly autumnal and virtuous.
(Adapted from this Bittman recipe.)
Shit to watch
Dune 1984, obviously.
Shit to buy
Iâm very charmed by this Kusama felt doll.
And these bangles.
And most of all this 3D puzzle greenhouse.