Three Good Things

I was just easing into Saturday evening when I hit a bit of a road bump—a cold to to end all colds. This is okay, however, because my life is relatively undemanding, although my job does require active thought, which can be difficult with a head full of sauerkraut. Anyhoo, I would like to report about a few things that have given me joy as of late. Are you down?

Lonesome Dove: Great, you're thinking, of course she'd get caught up watching some faded cowboy mini series that aired back in ’89. But—get this—it's magnificent. The show chronicles a group of Texas Rangers moving cattle from the Mexican border up to Montana. Such a hard glorious life they lived back then. The scenery, amazing, and the acting, good god, the acting. Tommy Lee Jones, you can know the sun rising and setting purely by the emotion portrayed on his face in a single scene. And Robert Duvall, he has the corner on gleeful bad-assness. It's two DVDs containing three hour-long episodes. We started watching it on a whim and just couldn't stop. In fact, we still say to each other every now and then, "I miss Lonesome Dove."

Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern: Culinary "adventurer" Andrew Zimmern travels the world eating outlandish stuffs with the locals. No, it's not rocket science. But—there's something about this guy. He doesn't pull any punches, about himself, about the crap he's eating, or about those smiling folks handing it to him. He's sharp and witty, but ... he's also completely consumed by the sheer joy of eating. It's remarkable. Some of my favorites are Ethiopia (raw, fly-covered camel meet and other spoiled things), Samoa (raw sea snail), Uganda (goats blood, cows blood, and other congealed substances). Anyway, it's on the Travel Channel, but I just "watch instantly" on Netflix.

Janis Joplin, "Me And Bobby McGee": Just. Listen. The raw beauty, it will get you.