Latest news with #Wilco
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jeff Tweedy Triples Up On New LP, ‘Twilight Override'
Wilco's Jeff Tweedy has rounded up 30 new songs for his latest solo album, Twilight Override, which will be spread across three different discs upon their Sept. 26 release by the band's dBpm Records. The tracks 'One Tiny Flower,' 'Out in the Dark,' 'Stray Cats in Spain' and 'Enough' are available to sample below. 'When you choose to do creative things, you align yourself with something that other people call God. And when you align yourself with creation, you inherently take a side against destruction,' Tweedy muses. 'Youʼre on the side of creation. And that does a lot to quell the impulse to destroy. Creativity eats darkness. Sort of an endless buffet these days — a bottomless basket of rock bottom. Which is, I guess, why Iʼve been making so much stuff lately. That sense of decline is hard to ignore, and it must be at least a part of the shroud Iʼm trying to unwrap. The twilight of an empire seems like a good enough jumping-off point when one is jumping into the abyss.' More from Spin: Will You Also Be Seduced By the Beta Band's 'Dry the Rain?' Korean Brit Pop 'It's Going to Be the Best Fucking Festival Experience of Your Life': How Pickathon Survives in Corporate America 'Twilight sure is a pretty word, though,' he continues. 'And the world is full of happy people in former empires, so maybe thatʼs not the only source of this dissonance. Whatever it is out there (or in there) squeezing this ennui into my day, itʼs fucking overwhelming. Itʼs difficult to ignore. Twilight Override is my effort to overwhelm it right back. Here are the songs and sounds and voices and guitars and words that are an effort to let go of some of the heaviness and up the wattage on my own light. My effort to engulf this encroaching nighttime (nightmare) of the soul.' The album was recorded and self-produced by Tweedy at Wilco's longtime Chicago studio the Loft and sports contributions from his musical children, Spencer and Sammy, plus frequent collaborators James Elkington, Sima Cunningham, Macie Stewart and Liam Kazar. The artist will preview material from it during a Substack livestream at 4pm ET today (July 15). 'Iʼm not trying to imply that I had this all mapped out as a story,' Tweedy admits. 'The way that this ended up falling together and being arranged, it does tell a story that I think I wanted to tell. Thatʼs what a process does for me. This is why it sounded right to me in this order, aside from tempos and music.' Tweedy will support Twilight Override with an extensive fall solo tour, beginning Oct. 8 in Three Oaks, Mi. Beforehand, he'll play July 27 at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. Wilco is also on the road through late August, including several dates as part of the Bob Dylan/Willie Nelson co-headlined Outlaw Music Festival. In related news, Wilco members John Stirratt and Pat Sansone have reactivated their Autumn Defense side project for their first album since 2014. Here and Nowhere will be released Oct. 10 by Yep Roc and will be supported by a nine-date fall tour, starting Oct. 24 in Vienna, Va. Disc 11. One Tiny Flower2. Caught Up in the Past3. Parking Lot4. Forever Never Ends5. Love Is for Love6. Mirror7. Secret Door8. Betrayed9. Sign of Life10. Throwaway Lines Disc 21. KC Rain (No Wonder)2. Out in the Dark3. Better Song4. New Orleans5. Over My Head (Everything Goes)6. Western Clear Skies7. Blank Baby8. No Oneʼs Moving On9. Feel Free Disc 31. Lou Reed Was My Babysitter2. Amar Bharati3. Wedding Cake4. Stray Cats in Spain5. Ainʼt It a Shame6. Twilight Override7. Too Real8. This Is How It Ends9. Saddest Eyes10. Cry Baby Cry11. Enough To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
Winnipeg Free Press
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Must-reads for Dad
This Father's Day, skip the grilling cookbooks, the corny bathroom joke books and cookie-cutter sports bios, and get dad a something new to read that he can really sink his teeth into. The Free Press arts and life team have pulled together a list of books practically any dad will find compelling. From life on the road in a rock band to a fraught father-son story of addiction to the shifting landscape of geopolitics, a fiction writer's first novel in decades and beyond, any father on your list will find something they'll enjoy. By Jeff Tweedy (Dutton, $28) Jeff Tweedy had a dad, is a dad and makes, with his band Wilco, the kind of music sometimes described as Dad Rock, so Let's Go (So We Can Get Back) — also a deeply dad sentiment— has many dad bonafides. It's also a laugh-out-loud funny and revealing memoir by a guy who has had to fight a lot of demons to become (in this writer's opinion) one of America's best living songwriters. Obviously, there are a lot of Uncle Tupelo and Wilco stories in here, but one doesn't need to be a Wilco fan to enjoy this book; Tweedy's storytelling abilities transcend format. He writes affectingly about his father who worked on the railroad — yes, 'all the live-long day' — and his sons, who also make music. But it's the stories from his childhood growing up in Belleville, Ill., that will stay with you; no spoilers, but an anecdote about Bruce Springsteen is worth the price of admission alone. Buy on — Jen Zoratti By Tim Marshall (Scribner, $26) Tomes on geopolitics aren't usually high on my reading list, but this page-turner by Tim Marshall deserves to be on everyone's bookshelf, not just your dad's. Marshall, previously a journalist at Sky News and the BBC, explains clearly and concisely how the 'land on which we live has always shaped us' — delving into the wars, the power, politics and social development determined by the rivers, mountains, deserts, lakes and seas of our landscape. Originally published in 2015, the completely revised edition has been updated to reflect the global changes of the last 10 years and includes new material exploring the growth of China's military and strategic power, Moscow's alliances with authoritarian states and the Russia-Ukraine war, and America's pivot to the Pacific. It's a riveting book that tackles traditionally complex subjects with aplomb. Witten in highly accessible language with nothing dumbed down, this is very much a must-read. Buy on — AV Kitching By Ron Carlson (Penguin Canada, $30) This grim and gorgeous novel by American short-story author Ron Carlson is probably the most overtly 'manly' book I've ever read, but it's also startlingly tender. It follows three men working on a summer construction project, building a stunt ramp to launch a motorcycle over a canyon in Idaho. All three are dealing with painful pasts, and Carlson carefully delineates the struggle of how each one defines manhood in the face of tough work, toxic masculinity and tragedy. Arthur Key, the sort-of protagonist, is a taciturn man with no children, but he becomes a father figure to his co-worker Ronnie, a juvenile delinquent looking to straighten out. Arthur doesn't talk about his feelings; his love is expressed by teaching, passing his knowledge of how things are made on to his protegé. Carlson delves into the mechanics of carpentry and building in a way that's incredibly detailed, and yet somehow sounds like a poem, not a user manual. The writer has an unparalleled sense of place, delivering the reader to a remote location of wild beauty, but the hint of impending doom that looms over the summer does not go unanswered, and even the most macho-dude dad may find he has a little something in his eye by the book's end. Buy on — Jill Wilson For the Love of a Son: A Memoir of Addiction, Loss, and Hope MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Scott Oake's moving memoir, For the Love of a Son, describes the devastating loss of his son, Bruce, who struggled with addiction. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Scott Oake's moving memoir, For the Love of a Son, describes the devastating loss of his son, Bruce, who struggled with addiction. By Scott Oake (Simon & Schuster, $27) After decades covering the Olympics, and as part of the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast team, Winnipeg's Scott Oake could have penned a rollicking memoir about highlights both in front of and away from the cameras. Heck, he still could. Instead, in his memoir Oake (with Michael Hingston) takes readers through some of his darkest days as he reminisces about his son Bruce, whose struggles with drug use led to his death at age 25 in 2011. (Oake also recalls the loss of his wife Anne, who died in 2021.) For the Love of a Son is Oake's candid and moving recollection of Bruce's highs and lows that will tug on the heartstrings of even the chilliest of dads. Oake's trademark wit and sly humour so often on display while covering sports also permeate the book's heavy subject matter, providing some levity. The silver lining of everything Oake has endured is the creation of the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre in 2021 and the forthcoming Anne Oake Family Recovery Centre. Proceeds from sales of For the Love of a Son benefit the Bruce and Anne Oake Memorial Foundation. Buy on — Ben Sigurdson With the Boys: Field Notes on Being a Guy By Jake MacDonald (Greystone, $23) The late Winnipeg author Jake MacDonald spent a lifetime documenting and poeticizing a way of life that can feel as timeworn as the lodges and cottages he explores. An arguably conservative way of life — where free time's absorbed by hunting, fishing and gallivanting through secluded, if not exclusive, wilderness milieus, mostly with other men. While Manitoba's Hemingway found perhaps his most captive audience in the cottage crowd, his gentle humour, natural wonder and breezy but vivid prose made his work popular with Canadian literary reviewers and high school librarians alike. MacDonald wrote both fiction — his kid-friendly Juliana and the Medicine Fish is probably his best-known novel — and literary non-fiction, which is to say mythopoetic odes to his world and friends. With the Boys is the second type: a collection of vignettes about old drinking buddies, tossing barbs back and forth like rusty lures while they commune over the crap of life, amid (as the book jacket puts it romantically) 'crack-of-dawn motel breakfasts (and) starlit stakeouts in the bulrushes.' MacDonald died right before the pandemic, and as this writer's father also ages out of this outdoorsy boomer culture, one wonders wistfully whether its best aspects are disappearing too. Buy on — Conrad Sweatman Ben SigurdsonLiterary editor, drinks writer Ben Sigurdson edits the Free Press books section, and also writes about wine, beer and spirits. Read full biography Jill WilsonArts & Life editor Jill Wilson started working at the Free Press in 2003 as a copy editor for the entertainment section. Read full biography AV KitchingReporter AV Kitching is an arts and life writer at the Free Press. Read full biography Jen ZorattiColumnist Jen Zoratti is a Winnipeg Free Press columnist and feature writer, working in the Arts & Life department. Read full biography Conrad SweatmanReporter Conrad Sweatman is an arts reporter and feature writer. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Chicago Tribune
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
What to do in Chicago: Jeff Tweedy in concert, Mike Epps comedy tour and skating at Thalia Hall
Thalia Hall Skate Night: Get your skates on, as Thalia Hall transforms into a roller rink. Hosted by 'Smooth Goddess' Myesha McCaskill, the night promises great grooves and a wide-open wood floor. 6-10 p.m. April 20 at Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St.; tickets $25 (ages 12+) at Jeff Tweedy: You can't live in this city and not know who Jeff Tweedy is. But just in case, the founding member of both Wilco and Uncle Tupelo, and producer, author and longtime Chicago fixture will perform his annual benefit shows this weekend. If you'd prefer to see him play with Wilco, you'll have to wait until Aug. 10 at the Salt Shed; those tickets go on sale this weekend, too. 7:30 p.m. April 18-19 at The Vic Theatre, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave.; tickets $100 at Caleb Hearon: The comedian and actor who launched his career at the iO Theater will perform a live installment of his 'So True' podcast. Last year, Variety reported that Lilly Wachowski would direct 'Trash Mountain,' a movie starring and co-written by Hearon about a young, gay Chicago man returning home to Missouri following his father's death. Can't make it this weekend? Hearon will be back at The Hideout in June. 7 p.m. April 18 at the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St.; tickets at We Them One's Comedy Tour: Check out this lineup: Comedian and actor Mike Epps hosts a night of stand-up featuring Kountry Wayne, Lil Duval, Tony Roberts, Karlous Miller, HaHa Davis and Bubba Dubb. 8 p.m. April 19 at Wintrust Arena, 200 E. Cermak Road; tickets from $65.50 at 'Alton Brown Live — Last Bite': Get ready to dig into Alton Brown's 'culinary variety show.' The TV personality, cookbook author and science geek promises cooking hacks and food songs during what's been billed his 'Farewell Tour — Maybe?' 3 p.m. April 19 at CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St.; tickets from $26.50 at Kelli O'Hara: The Tony Award-winning actress will perform American Songbook classics and Broadway faves. Expect personal stories as well as highlights from the musical productions in which the soprano has appeared. 7:30 p.m. April 18 and 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. April 19 at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.; tickets from $89 at Kassa Overall: Need an endorsement? Consider what fellow jazz drummer Terri Lyne Carrington wrote of Kassa Overall in the New York Times: 'Kassa is a pre-eminent style bender and blender, successfully juxtaposing genres through his production expertise and use of melodic and harmonic forms that deftly integrate the new with the old.' Go see for yourself. 8 p.m. April 18 at SPACE, 1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston; tickets $16-$28 at David M. Rubenstein and Walter Isaacson: As the current occupant of the White House attempts to remake the executive branch, the Chicago Humanities Festival hosts a discussion between best-selling authors David M. Rubenstein and Walter Isaacson on the American presidency. Given the deep experience both guests have in chronicling the lives of leaders, it should be an incisive conversation. 7 p.m. April 21 at Francis W. Parker School, 330 W. Webster Ave. (entrance at 2233 N. Clark St.); tickets $20-$55 at 'Making New Gods': Sci-fi and fantasy readers take note — N.K. Jemisin, Nnedi Okorafor, Nghi Vo and Matthew Kirby will chat about religion and the role of the spiritual in world-building. The panel discussion kicks off the American Writers Museum's new exhibit, 'American Prophets: Writers, Religion and Culture.' 5:15 p.m. April 22 at Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St.; more details on the free event at Henhouse Prowlers: The four members of the Henhouse Prowlers are not just about concerts, they're about evangelizing for bluegrass music across the globe; their nonprofit is called the Bluegrass Ambassadors. They're celebrating an album release show at the Old Town School of Folk Music for 'Unravel,' out April 18. 8 p.m. April 19 in Maurer Hall at the Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave.; tickets $35 at 773.728.6000 and
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Five Joyful Ways to Spend Time Online
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Welcome back to The Daily's Sunday culture edition. The internet is a choose-your-own-adventure place, but it can sometimes feel like too many roads lead to doomscrolling. In an effort to suggest more joyful destinations, The Atlantic's writers and editors answer the question: What's your favorite way to spend time online? In moments of chaos, I want to play The Sims. Lately, I've been playing it a lot. I've had various iterations of the game since I was a child, when there was such a thing as a 'computer room' and games were bought at Best Buy as very precious, very scratchable CD-ROMs. Give me the soothing, dulcet tones of the 'Create a Sim' music while I pick my Sim's new party outfit and personality traits (Art Lover, Nosy, Lactose Intolerant). Or the cheap thrill of having everyone at the same virtual table eat the same food at the same time (harder than you might think). Or the humble reminder that a kitchen stove can catch fire at a moment's notice. What better salve for reality than micromanaging other people's lives, in which there are truly no stakes? Even if that stove does catch fire, you can 'rosebud' your way to a better one. The cheat codes even extend life itself: I've turned off the game's aging feature because my Sims family has a dog, and I just can't deal with that right now. — Jinae West, senior podcast producer *** I never get tired of reading the YouTube comments beneath some of my favorite songs. I love to scroll through the missives, peering into the lives of strangers, as a song unfolds. So many digital forums are needlessly aggressive, but an earnest YouTube comment thread can briefly restore your faith in your fellow online humans like nothing else. People can get incredibly specific with experiences and memories—there's the man who said Creedence Clearwater Revival's 'Long as I Can See the Light' helped him survive more than 42 years in prison, and the person who said he'd listen to the song every morning in the shower before chemotherapy. More than a few of these comments concern life-changing moments: Under Wilco's 'Jesus, Etc.' video, two people talk of playing the song for their babies; beneath the Grateful Dead's 'Box of Rain,' someone shares that their grandfather asked them to put this on as he took his last breaths. I love that I will never meet these people, and that they're posting for the sake of posting—and, perhaps, to temporarily lift up their fellow web traveler. — John Hendrickson, staff writer *** We deify celebrities, often to a fault. First We Feast's Hot Ones proves that even if they wrote your favorite song, all must bow to hot sauce. The talk show, hosted by Sean Evans on YouTube, challenges guests to eat 10 chicken wings, each of which is spicier than the last. DJ Khaled made it to wing No. 3 before calling it quits; Ricky Gervais tapped out after wing No. 8. (In the latter's defense, his wing was topped with Da' Bomb: Beyond Insanity hot sauce.) It turns out that most people tell the truth when fighting for their life against hot wings. But Evans (whose years of hosting the show must have fried his taste buds) doesn't capitalize on their moment of weakness to probe for gossip. He asks interviewees about their inspiration or creative process, while also tossing in some trivia. More valuable than any one answer is how the show makes you see your idols. Every glug of milk and loud burp pushes them off their pedestal and into more relatable terrain. Scientists say we enjoy spicy food because it reminds us that we are alive. I enjoy Hot Ones because it reminds me that my favorite stars are real people too, and that they might be just as spice-averse as I am. — Amogh Dimri, assistant editor *** I spent most of my childhood accumulating mountains of collectible cards. Baseball, basketball, Pokémon: If it was printed on a piece of card stock, I wanted it. My interest in the hobby waned in my teens—who needs card stock when you can drive?—but as a 33-year-old, I've found myself reconnecting with the hobby, thanks to a new breed of online content creators who open packs of cards on camera. A favorite is ShadowlessRed on Instagram, who has been opening a Pokémon pack each day in search of a relatively unremarkable holographic card of an alienlike creature wearing what appears to be a space suit. The card he's after can be easily purchased online for about $30, making his nearly 500-day quest to find it both unnecessary and deeply financially irresponsible. And yet, I find the videos transfixing. There is something heartwarming about watching someone pursue something they're unabashedly passionate about—even if it's just a game for kids. — Nicholas Florko, staff writer *** I am aware that I could never enjoy living in a van, partly because it seems uncomfortable to be responsible for my own plumbing and partly because I think driving is way too dangerous. Yet I love watching other people live in vans. I particularly love a couple, Courtnie and Nate, whose last names I do not know, and a young woman named Abby who lives in her van by herself (but sometimes her dad visits!). Nothing soothes me like watching these people do their little chores and eat their little snacks and read in their little bunks. I do not envy them, because I reside in the greatest place in the world (Brooklyn), but sometimes I do feel a whisper of What if? The nomadic lifestyle is the opposite of mine in every way: The van people go to bed in their neat little bunk after doing their dinner dishes right away, and sometimes, they wake up next to a mountain or a beach. In my apartment, something always needs tidying, but I'm never tidying it, and I never wake up next to a mountain or a beach. Even though each van-life video basically shows people doing the same things over and over again, I'm always so happy to tune in. Some might say that the appeal of watching such menial repetitions is feeling a degree of control during a time when that feeling is hard to come by. Yes … I think I would also say that. — Kaitlyn Tiffany, staff writer Here are three Sunday reads from The Atlantic: What the comfort class doesn't get Here are the places where the recession has already begun. 'Can I still teach my Yale course on racism?' The Week Ahead Sinners, a film by Ryan Coogler about twin brothers who return to Mississippi and come across evil forces (in theaters Friday) Season 2 of The Last of Us, a sci-fi zombie series based on the hit video game (premieres tonight on Max) Lower Than the Angels: A History of Sex and Christianity, a book by the historian Diarmaid MacCulloch about three millenniums of Christians encountering sex, gender, and the family (out Tuesday) Essay Dwyane Wade's Greatest Challenge By D. Watkins On a Sunday in October, a group of spectators gathered outside the Kaseya Center, the home of the Miami Heat. They sat in rows of chairs, arranged in a half circle. The crowd was there for the unveiling of a statue of Dwyane Wade, the superstar who had led the team to three NBA championships. I wasn't enough of a VIP to get a seat, so I found a spot on a gate during the unveiling, behind Wade and his family. I knew he had been anxiously awaiting the day. Read the full article. More in Culture A truly macabre White Lotus plot Jonathan Majors is looking for redemption. Will he find it? When your dream job is a lie 'Why I played the Kennedy Center' The late-night experiment that puts comedy first Reclaim imperfect faces, Sophie Gilbert writes. Catch Up on The confrontation between Trump and the Supreme Court has arrived. This is why dictatorships fail, Anne Applebaum writes. David Brooks: 'I should have seen this coming.' Photo Album Take a look at these photos of the week, which show flooding in America, the Grand National horse race in Liverpool, a stranded parachutist in France, and more. Explore all of our newsletters. When you buy a book using a link in this newsletter, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic. Article originally published at The Atlantic
Atlantic
13-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Atlantic
Five Joyful Ways to Spend Time Online
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Welcome back to The Daily's Sunday culture edition. The internet is a choose-your-own-adventure place, but it can sometimes feel like too many roads lead to doomscrolling. In an effort to suggest more joyful destinations, The Atlantic 's writers and editors answer the question: What's your favorite way to spend time online? In moments of chaos, I want to play The Sims. Lately, I've been playing it a lot. I've had various iterations of the game since I was a child, when there was such a thing as a 'computer room' and games were bought at Best Buy as very precious, very scratchable CD-ROMs. Give me the soothing, dulcet tones of the 'Create a Sim' music while I pick my Sim's new party outfit and personality traits (Art Lover, Nosy, Lactose Intolerant). Or the cheap thrill of having everyone at the same virtual table eat the same food at the same time (harder than you might think). Or the humble reminder that a kitchen stove can catch fire at a moment's notice. What better salve for reality than micromanaging other people's lives, in which there are truly no stakes? Even if that stove does catch fire, you can 'rosebud' your way to a better one. The cheat codes even extend life itself: I've turned off the game's aging feature because my Sims family has a dog, and I just can't deal with that right now. — Jinae West, senior podcast producer *** I never get tired of reading the YouTube comments beneath some of my favorite songs. I love to scroll through the missives, peering into the lives of strangers, as a song unfolds. So many digital forums are needlessly aggressive, but an earnest YouTube comment thread can briefly restore your faith in your fellow online humans like nothing else. People can get incredibly specific with experiences and memories—there's the man who said Creedence Clearwater Revival's 'Long as I Can See the Light' helped him survive more than 42 years in prison, and the person who said he'd listen to the song every morning in the shower before chemotherapy. More than a few of these comments concern life-changing moments: Under Wilco's 'Jesus, Etc.' video, two people talk of playing the song for their babies; beneath the Grateful Dead's ' Box of Rain,' someone shares that their grandfather asked them to put this on as he took his last breaths. I love that I will never meet these people, and that they're posting for the sake of posting—and, perhaps, to temporarily lift up their fellow web traveler. — John Hendrickson, staff writer *** We deify celebrities, often to a fault. First We Feast's Hot Ones proves that even if they wrote your favorite song, all must bow to hot sauce. The talk show, hosted by Sean Evans on YouTube, challenges guests to eat 10 chicken wings, each of which is spicier than the last. DJ Khaled made it to wing No. 3 before calling it quits; Ricky Gervais tapped out after wing No. 8. (In the latter's defense, his wing was topped with Da' Bomb: Beyond Insanity hot sauce.) It turns out that most people tell the truth when fighting for their life against hot wings. But Evans (whose years of hosting the show must have fried his taste buds) doesn't capitalize on their moment of weakness to probe for gossip. He asks interviewees about their inspiration or creative process, while also tossing in some trivia. More valuable than any one answer is how the show makes you see your idols. Every glug of milk and loud burp pushes them off their pedestal and into more relatable terrain. Scientists say we enjoy spicy food because it reminds us that we are alive. I enjoy Hot Ones because it reminds me that my favorite stars are real people too, and that they might be just as spice-averse as I am. — Amogh Dimri, assistant editor *** I spent most of my childhood accumulating mountains of collectible cards. Baseball, basketball, Pokémon: If it was printed on a piece of card stock, I wanted it. My interest in the hobby waned in my teens—who needs card stock when you can drive?—but as a 33-year-old, I've found myself reconnecting with the hobby, thanks to a new breed of online content creators who open packs of cards on camera. A favorite is ShadowlessRed on Instagram, who has been opening a Pokémon pack each day in search of a relatively unremarkable holographic card of an alienlike creature wearing what appears to be a space suit. The card he's after can be easily purchased online for about $30, making his nearly 500-day quest to find it both unnecessary and deeply financially irresponsible. And yet, I find the videos transfixing. There is something heartwarming about watching someone pursue something they're unabashedly passionate about—even if it's just a game for kids. — Nicholas Florko, staff writer *** I am aware that I could never enjoy living in a van, partly because it seems uncomfortable to be responsible for my own plumbing and partly because I think driving is way too dangerous. Yet I love watching other people live in vans. I particularly love a couple, Courtnie and Nate, whose last names I do not know, and a young woman named Abby who lives in her van by herself (but sometimes her dad visits!). Nothing soothes me like watching these people do their little chores and eat their little snacks and read in their little bunks. I do not envy them, because I reside in the greatest place in the world (Brooklyn), but sometimes I do feel a whisper of What if? The nomadic lifestyle is the opposite of mine in every way: The van people go to bed in their neat little bunk after doing their dinner dishes right away, and sometimes, they wake up next to a mountain or a beach. In my apartment, something always needs tidying, but I'm never tidying it, and I never wake up next to a mountain or a beach. Even though each van-life video basically shows people doing the same things over and over again, I'm always so happy to tune in. Some might say that the appeal of watching such menial repetitions is feeling a degree of control during a time when that feeling is hard to come by. Yes … I think I would also say that. — Kaitlyn Tiffany, staff writer Here are three Sunday reads from The Atlantic: The Week Ahead Sinners, a film by Ryan Coogler about twin brothers who return to Mississippi and come across evil forces (in theaters Friday) Season 2 of The Last of Us, a sci-fi zombie series based on the hit video game (premieres tonight on Max) Lower Than the Angels: A History of Sex and Christianity, a book by the historian Diarmaid MacCulloch about three millenniums of Christians encountering sex, gender, and the family (out Tuesday) Essay Dwyane Wade's Greatest Challenge By D. Watkins On a Sunday in October, a group of spectators gathered outside the Kaseya Center, the home of the Miami Heat. They sat in rows of chairs, arranged in a half circle. The crowd was there for the unveiling of a statue of Dwyane Wade, the superstar who had led the team to three NBA championships. I wasn't enough of a VIP to get a seat, so I found a spot on a gate during the unveiling, behind Wade and his family. I knew he had been anxiously awaiting the day. Read the full article. More in Culture Catch Up on The Atlantic Photo Album Take a look at these photos of the week, which show flooding in America, the Grand National horse race in Liverpool, a stranded parachutist in France, and more.
