I’ve been watching The Pitt starring Noah Wyle, and it really takes me back to the ’90s—those Must-See TV Thursday nights when ER was appointment viewing. There’s definitely some nostalgia there, but The Pitt is much grittier. The hospital feels stark and realistic, and the show doesn’t shy away from gore.
I’ve been watching it with my wife, which I really enjoy—I just like sharing a show with someone. She recommended Code Black, so when she wasn’t around and I wanted more medical drama, I tried an episode. It’s slower and much darker, with a totally different vibe, and it didn’t really grab me. I might give it another shot once I finish The Pitt.
What really works about The Pitt is the structure: each episode covers a single hour of the same day, and the ER is never slow. I just finished the episodes following a mass shooting, and they were intense. What I like most is that it feels like a dramatic workplace story with strong characters—it’s more about real work and real pressure than the usual romantic subplots.
Dr. Robbi (Noah Wyle) is a great lead character. But I think I’m rooting for Mel (Dr. King) the most. She’s showing some signs she might not feel like she can do the ER but I so hope she sticks around.
I’ve been reading Red Rising by Pierce Brown. It’s a bit more sci-fi than I usually reach for—which is kind of a lie, since one of my all-time favorite books is about as sci-fi as it gets (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy). The series is apparently six books long, and I’m about halfway through the first one.
The characters are strong, and the setting is a strange, otherworldly version of the future on Mars that somehow also feels primitive because of what society has become. It’s tense and brutal in a way I didn’t expect. I’m fully on the edge of my seat, and I really hope the rest of the series keeps this momentum.
I’ve been drinking Pseudo Sue by Toppling Goliath, the best thing out of Iowa. It’s probably my favorite IPA and that’s no accident as it is considered World Class with a 99 on BeerAdvocate. Who would have thought something out of Iowa would be so awesome? Review coming soon.
I’ve been listening to the album Corporate Pudding by Dogpark. Looks like their first single hit Spotify around 2023 so they’re pretty new in general. I explored their first couple of albums and not sure I enjoy those as much as their new release Corporate Pudding. They’re an alt punk band from NYC, at least I found them on the Spotify punk lists. Off the Corporate Pudding album I really like the song September, it has a Radiohead feel to it in the vocals which, I know, isn’t very punk… I’ve also thrown Dandelion on my New Jams Spotify list, this track has a bit of an Atlas Genius feel to it, and still kind of Radioheadish but then with the chorus it feels a little more modern pop punk. Very bright and cheery for these cold February days. I’ve been needing a bit more upbeat stuff lately and this is filling that. What’s My Line Again? is a pretty good tune as well, the whole album is pretty good I’d give it a 3.8/5.
Over the weekend I headed down to Wells, MN for my son’s robotics tournament. He did pretty well in Wells. Wells is a pretty small town, and if you know small-town Minnesota, you know the drill: a Casey’s, a Subway, maybe a Dollar General, and a Napa Auto Parts if you’re lucky.
I’m not much of a Subway guy anymore, and Casey’s coffee is… aggressively fine, so I tracked down a small independent coffee shop in town. It was open but completely empty. The woman working there—who seemed like she might be the owner—asked what brought me to Wells, and when I said the robotics tournament, she lit up. She said she was hoping for a big rush from it because “people are going to need their coffee for a long day over there!” I sat by their fireplace for about a half hour and no one else came in. I felt like I should go over to the tournament and do some selling for her but I shook that idea off, keep your eye on the ball, you’re here for your kid.
She wasn’t wrong. It’s a long day. I dropped my son off at the bus at 5:30am, then drove down on what might be the bumpiest county road ever created. Highway 13 between Montgomery and Waterville is brutal—who did they hire to pave that thing? I honestly thought something was wrong with my Tacoma.
The competition wraps up around 4pm after roughly 60 qualifying rounds and another dozen or so playoff rounds, so it’s a full marathon of a day. People bring those little seat pads so their butts don’t get absolutely wrecked by sitting on bleachers the whole day.
Still, it was a really good day—one of those days where you’re genuinely glad you went out to see what your firstborn is up to.
February is here. January felt, kinda long. Pretty eventful. Pretty stressful. Pretty cold as well, our average temp had to be pretty low. The slightly longer day of sun is already feeling pretty good.
Quote of the Week:
“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” –Sam Levenson
Be sure to check out my recent posts
- My take on why people look at the same video and see a completely different story which often aligns with their political leanings
- My disbelief that conservative politicians have been blaming the gun in a shooting
- Some thoughts on the anti-vax movement and why it’s so obviously nonsense
- Beer review of Brouwerij West Picnic Lighting IPA
- Be sure to check out my mixtapes which sync with my Spotify account
