DEUTSCHLAND ’83

This was recommended by “The Week.” And I recommend “The Week”

But it’s expensive.

The magazine world has completely changed, and it’s even worse in the era of Covid-19. I.e. advertising has fallen off dramatically. But “The Week” was never based on advertising. So now, every magazine is expensive, look at the price of “The New Yorker” or “Rolling Stone”! Furthermore, you can get so many overpriced journals via Apple News+. But I recommend subscribing to “The Week,” especially if you don’t subscribe to many periodicals.

Anyway, “The Week” combs through all the news of the week and distills it down. Kinda like a Zagat guide, but more comprehensible.

I subscribed years ago, but thought there was a right wing bias. If there ever was, I no longer believe this to be the case. But be wary of the long condensed article at the back, oftentimes there’s no context and you don’t get an accurate picture.

Now I have subscriptions to almost all of the publications they quote, the NYT, WaPo, WSJ…but not all of them.

You can avoid all TV news (which you should, other than for images that are breaking) and all periodicals and just read “The Week” and be more informed than almost anybody you know. Buy it!

Now “Deutschland ’83” has a tone problem. As in is it humorous or serious? It’s about an East German spy invading West Germany. But it’s not a James Bond movie, it’s more of a delineation of the viewpoints…and the landscape is amazing! Makes you want to go to Germany.

And the story is true.

Not the set-up, with the characters, but the basic framework. I don’t want to give anything away, but I didn’t know the truth of this story, and I doubt many people will.

You get hooked.

And, East Germany is the land of the true believers. Kinda like Trumpworld, they’re wearing blinders. Unfortunately, I think the Republican party is following Trump right off a cliff. What he did yesterday was indefensible, even the bishop was offended, and by defending him… What did the Beatles say, “Think for yourself”? This is the time of iconic leaders, those who stand up for what is right, followers will be burned. Everything is up for grabs and we’re experiencing a giant reset. The ball is being moved as we speak. Zuckerberg is gonna stand up. The NYT is taking a firmer stance against Trump. And the Fox people have no idea what is going on outside their bubble. Which is why you want to get “The Week,” to see what’s going on outside your world. Information is power. Challenge your parents’ precepts. Make your own decisions.

Do what’s right.

Actually, that’s the ultimate message of “Deutschland ’83.”

DEUTSCHLAND ’86

I didn’t know it existed. I thought “Deutschland ’83” was a one time shot. But it turns out there’s going to be a “Deutschland ’89”! Word is it’s going to be on Amazon, not Hulu like the previous two. And speaking of platforms, it’s unfortunate the new Laurel Canyon documentary is on Epix. If you know nothing about the scene, you must see it. But you don’t come away beaming and needing to testify. But there is so much more here than has been focused on previously. The impact of the Monkees, the players more than the TV show. And this doc takes you all the way up to the seventies, Manson and beyond, to the Eagles and when acts were making so much money they embraced more upscale digs and wanted more safety.

So, there’s no tone issue with “Deutschland ’86.”

Its focus is on Africa and apartheid. East Germany was on the side of the oppressed.

Once again, the landscape makes you want to go there, South Africa is so beautiful!

“Deutschland ’86” portrays the cracks in the East German system.

That’s why you should listen to “The Big Steal” podcast. We don’t realize what chaos existed in Russia between the fall of Communism and Putin. Everything was up for grabs. Watch the Showtime documentary now on Netflix “Operation Odessa” for further insight. “Operation Odessa” is nearly a romp, you’ll have a hard time turning it off, but maybe that’s another newsletter.

DOUGLAS

Hannah Gadsby’s latest on Netflix.

No, it’s not as good as “Nanette,” but I still recommend it. Hannah Gadsby is so damn LIKABLE! She talks about being an autistic lesbian, but even if you’re straight, you’ll be drawn to her. And at the end she says we’re all somewhere on the spectrum, which is probably true.

There’s a big focus on Gadsby’s haters. She doesn’t wince and crumble, she pushes back, but the fact that she spends so much time on them is noteworthy. If you’re in the public eye, you’ve got haters. And they hate so much that you become inhibited, you think before you write or speak, for fear of the backlash. You know exactly what the triggers are. And the haters are professionals, they’re working the refs 24/7, especially the Trump supporters, I know from experience. Those on the other side? They’ll complain, but not as vociferously, not every time, and they won’t make it personal.

But that’s the world we live in today. Everybody’s gun-shy. Politicians and artists and… Whereas the public resonates with the truth. It’s kind of the reverse of the Nixon era, the silent majority is actually left!

And, once again, like in “Nanette,” Gadsby focuses on art, there’s a whole section where they flash paintings and she whips out her pointer and makes comments. She needs to do a whole special just on art. She’s very knowledgeable and her sensibility is unique and she makes art history come alive. Made me want to know more.

THE GIRLS FROM CORONA DEL MAR

The Girls from Corona del Mar: A novel

I could not put this book down. Not initially, but then I got hooked and had to sit and finish it all in one marathon session.

No, this is not as good as Rufi Thorpe’s latest book, “The Knockout Queen,” but in “The Girls from Corona del Mar” you see a reflection of how people really are. Their choices and the results. Life is long, you may think it’s over immediately, but you can pivot, you can make new choices.

Not that there are no consequences of these choices. What is your character, what is your responsibility?

Thorpe’s books are SoCal focused. And that’s quite a different mentality from the east coast. On the east coast everything’s serious, important. Parents hover over their kids, especially when it comes to education. On the west coast it’s life and life only. On the east coast, it’s about notches in your belt, as if at the end you’ll get acknowledgement from the committee in white robes. Education does not insure success in labor life.

But that’s another screed.

Once again, I refuse to delineate the plot, I don’t want to ruin it for you. Books are private adventures, that you luxuriate in. When someone tells you what is going to happen, the experience is hobbled, you’re ripped off.

When this book ends you’ll sit there stunned with the truth. It’s not so much what happens, but the reflection on life. You think you’ve got the game figured out, you think you’re winning, you jumped through all the right hoops and…you find out at the end that you know less than you did at the beginning.

DEAR FANG, WITH LOVE

Don’t read this. This is Rufi Thorpe’s second book (out of three), it misses the mark, it fails. But the reason I mention it here is I became so enraptured with Thorpe’s writing and viewpoint that I wanted more, I needed more, I wanted to explore, and that’s why I kept plowing through her books.

Twenty five years ago, I cut out a quote in “Newsweek,” when that was “The Week” of its day. I kept it right by my computer. It was inspiring. It was by Mitsuko Uchida, the Mozart pianist/expert. And I can almost quote it by heart, but the essence is she tells all her students to practice really hard, because there are very few great things out there, and if you’re great, people will be drawn to you.

That’s the absolute truth.

We’re trying to find a new streaming series. Been through about three that haven’t met the mark. Stopped after seven episodes of one. And there are some on Sundance Now and MHz and Britbox but I refuse to sign up for one more streaming service, it’s an insult. It’s worse than the cable bundle. Just quote me one price for EVERYTHING!

With the plethora of TV shows, it’s stunning how few are truly great. And that’s all I have time for. And when something is great, I want to go deeper, check out everything the artist has ever produced. It’s no different from the sixties and seventies, there’s just more stuff. There are very few gems. And I know, people e-mail me their mediocre material all day long. If it was truly that great, OTHER PEOPLE would be e-mailing me about it. In our self-promotional culture purveyors don’t realize this. If you made it and you’re telling me it’s great, I ignore it completely, it’s got no value, I need to hear it from someone else. But it’s easier to promote online than to create great work. Every artist thinks they’re entitled to time and eyeballs, but very few deserve attention. But if we find one who does, we tell everybody we know!

Like I’m doing with Rufi Thorpe.