Under the Banner of Heaven – Jon Krakauer

I’ll admit, I picked this up for the salacious details of the true crime story. That portion of the book delivered, to be sure, but that quickly became the less interesting part. I never expected this book to be more about the history of the Mormon church than a single, horrific event. I’d considered myself curious about Mormonism in American popular culture for a few years now, and this book gave me a much-appreciated historical background. This book was just as much about the foundation of the religion as it is the modern murder. Or maybe it really is that the latter can’t be told without the background of the former. In any case, the way the two narratives are interspersed was fascinating. It’s worth noting the author acknowledges—and then refutes—criticisms of his research in the afterword in a way that was satisfactory to me.

El Hijo del Santo vs. La Parka (Monterrey, 12/23/2001)

I was promised blood, and I got it. The opening caida was a little slow, as these tend to be, but the action really took off in the second fall. At first, I thought it would be La Parka who would spill all the blood, because he took a shot off the ring post and spent a lot of time on the ground. Not the case. This was my first watch, so I didn’t even catch what busted Del Santo open, but his light mask was red in a matter of minutes. Wild blading, emphasized by the lingering shots on viscera in the ring. Also, I’m not well-versed in lucha matches, but I don’t ever remember seeing one with two referees, at times doing simultaneous counts. I suppose that was all to set up a confusing gimmick of a finish, but by that point, who really cares.

Rumspringa - ear

Every year, it seems like a “weird” album grabs me, out of the blue and inexplicably. They are usually out of my comfort zone or defy genre classification altogether. The artist is unknown to me, and I generally don’t dig too deep into bios or previous releases. For better or worse, I mostly forget about the artist before too long or I never get around to their next output. It was Guerilla Toss a couple years ago, and Superorganism a few years before that. Anyway, Rumspringa by the group, ear, is that for me in 2026. As soon as I put on the first track, I let out a surprised little “whoa” and went on a brief journey from there. Immediately, I wished I was listening to it in another situation, like late at night with the lights low, but then immediately after that, I decided there wasn’t a context where this wouldn’t catch me. This is one of those which defies any genre. I would have said electronic at first, but there is a surprising amount of trip hop and acoustic guitar to push it in other directions. The single, which had been the only notes I’d heard beforehand, slid in seamlessly with the rest of the record. Fantastic, short album, easily repeatably consumable, and one which I will revisit at the end of the year, shrug, and conclude it’s one of my highlights of the year, even if I can’t say what it is.

Bounty Bundle (Burger King)

To celebrate the release of the new film in the Star Wars franchise (which, as an aside, I would have called my favorite fictional franchise ten years ago, have burned out in the years since, and now, probably won't even watch), Burger King has released a meal deal honoring the property. My preference, in reverse order to build suspense:

• Imperial Cheddar Ranch Tots – a little chewy for my taste, and could have used more cheddar flavor. I had them with honey mustard, and the sauce, mild as it is, still overpowered the tots.
• BBQ Bounty Whopper – a Whopper, so it’s already pretty good, but not a drastic improvement. Yes, there was bacon, and yes, there was barbecue sauce. These are nice additions to have, to be sure, but for the most part, it was a burger.
• Grogu's Garlic Chicken Fries – if the chicken fries were different than the usual recipe, you could have fooled me. I have no taste buds. But the paired garlic sauce was immaculate! In a normal order, I would be hard pressed to rank standard chicken fries over a standard Whopper, but the garlic sauce pushed these over the edge.
• Grogu's Blue Cookie Shake – this abhorrent mess of a dessert was also the most delicious. Even despite the blue cookie syrup dripping down the side, the shake itself was delightful. Overly sweet, of course, but the crunch of the cookies was a perfect textural separation.

The Delta (1996)

A quiet, contemplative, mostly mundane story about a queer young American, a Vietnamese immigrant, and the intersection of their lives. I don’t know if this was the appropriate read of the film, but I detected a sense of mysticism to the immigrant’s story. Was he real or merely a spiritual companion for the young person with bisexual desires and seemingly few other ambitions? This interpretation, correct or not, worked for my viewing. Regardless, “John” took on the status of the main focus of the film while the other boy assimilated back into his life. We are left to explore what happiness means with John, who seems perpetually adrift. Also, the word “shocking” gets thrown around too often, I’m guilty of it as well, but the ending here caught me completely off guard. Even hours after finishing, I’m still not sure what to make of the closing scene.