Friday Fixations
What I'm into right now
Happy Friday, my fellow suffering beings. Each week, I share two things I’m digging right now (books, TV shows, movies, music, and the like) plus one online video of nearly zero cultural merit.
Darkest Hour (Netflix). It felt like the right time to rewatch this WWII movie, not only because of current events, but also because, IMHO, there hasn’t been a truly gripping new TV show since Shogun. The movie is excellent upon second viewing. Gary Oldman is transfixing. I especially love the scene where he’s developing a reluctant friendship with the king. Over lunch, they are talking about their respective fathers. At one point, Churchill describes his dad as being, “Like God… busy elsewhere.” (Note to self: please don’t let that become my parenting style.) The impact of the film goes beyond its magisterial set pieces and many micro-felicities; it is also a useful reminder that we humans have been through many tumultuous times in history, and we generally pull through. For me, in times of turmoil, studying history can be a balm. And this movie more than delivers. In fact, it ends with this deeply apropos quote: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”
Sad Park, NO MORE SOUND. If you’re looking to take out a little aggression during these anxious times, you could do a lot worse than this indie rock band, who bash out scruffy and catchy anthems. Including one infectious song about, of all things, death—very appealing to this Buddhist.
And finally… I love this dude, who makes videos with his seemingly imperturbable cat, Fiona. I’m a particular fan of a franchise he calls, “Loaf Fridays,” where he celebrates Fiona’s ability to fold herself into a demure little loaf. This is a YouTube link, but his best stuff is on TikTok, under the handle @fionaunbothered.
Oh, one last thing…
I have a couple of public events coming up:
I will be doing a thing at Troutbeck, a lovely hotel in the Hudson Valley. I’ll guide a meditation and then take questions. November 24th. You can get tickets here.
Then on December 9th, I’ll be doing a live Meditation Party in NYC with Sebene Selassie and Jeff Warren. It’s a benefit for the New York Insight Meditation Center. Tickets available here.
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Please consider hosting a live meditation party in the Midwest.
I have also been thinking about trying historical times since the election and went down a rabbit hole about Lincoln (another rewatch movie on my list). I discovered he established Thanksgiving as a national holiday exactly three months after the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg. The dichotomy of gratitude amidst carnage inspired me to write about lessons we can lean on from Lincoln and Buddhism:
https://open.substack.com/pub/emilylowe/p/lincoln-and-the-buddha?r=arhy8&utm_medium=ios
Will also putting Darkest Hour, Lincoln, Braveheart, Gettysburg and Glory on my end of year movie list.