M c S W E E N E Y ' S
R E C O M M E N D S .
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Here is where we will be recommending things to you. There will be many different kinds of things, from films to hairstyles, all of which have been researched, tested, and submitted to a month-long stay at a resort for people who appreciate the finer things in life, before finally being voted on in a democratic manner resembling that of our forefathers. We will add new recommendations as such time allows, and there will be no accounting for personal taste.
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Voting
You're going to, right? Just do it. It will feel good. Trust us on this one. Yes, it might be cold and rainy, and you may have to wait in line awhile, but, still, power through it. You can do this. If you have children, bring them along. Show them democracy in action. Yes, they might not have much patience for waiting in line, or for the kind old people handing out ballots who ask them what grade they're in and say nice things about how handsome or pretty they are, but your children's presence when you pull that lever or touch that computer screen or jab that chad will make the voting experience all the more satisfying and (dare we say it?—yes) patriotic.
Inducting Rush into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
VH1 Classic dubbed this year's Jewish New Year "Rush Hashanah" and celebrated with two full-length concert videos, shot in Rio and Frankfurt, respectively, on the band's 30th-anniversary tour. Sure, the music's a little ridiculous and the Ayn Rand–inspired lyrics are dumb, but both those facts are beside the point. Rush is completely and totally itself, if not sui generis, then something close. Seriously, Bob Seger is in and Rush isn't? Is progressive rock not rock?
The Dart League King by Keith Lee Morris
A dark and deeply involving novel with a haunting moment on just about every
page. Suspenseful, gritty, great.
The "seasonal" sugar cookies from Barnes & Noble cafés
You can get these sugar cookies year-round, but the sprinkles change with the
seasons: green and white at Christmas; red, white, and blue in the summer; and so forth. They have a crunchy outer rim giving way to a soft, but not doughy, interior. We like them with a hot chocolate and an Us magazine.
Pizza night
Pizza night makes things so much easier. Just pick a night of the week. (We prefer Fridays.) It's as simple as that. Everyone is happy. Pizza's here! So wonderful.
Fifteen-month calendars
Who doesn't like a little overlap?
A Few Seconds of Panic by Stefan Fatsis
Fatsis, a writer for the Wall Street Journal, spent the summer of 2006 trying out as a kicker for the Denver Broncos. This entertaining book documents his experience, while at the same time exposing the often brutal business of professional football. We'll never look at kickers the same way.
Greg Stones's watercolor paintings
At first glance, a painting by Mr. Stones might appear to be a sharply rendered landscape or portrait, but look closer and you'll spot a shark fin or a flying dog or a penguin aiming a revolver. Lyrical, lovely, and funny work.
"It Only Takes a Minute" by Tavares
We heard this 1970s hit on the radio the other day and for three minutes we bobbed our head and believed to our core that it indeed only takes a minute, girl, to fall in love.
The Summer Olympics
Yes, for many they may seem less relevant than ever, but we still have a soft spot for the games. Those few seconds before the starting pistol fires in the 100-meter dash will always be electric.
Welcome to My Study
Mitchell Magee is lonely and he collects things. These video shorts, which can be found on YouTube, feature him sharing the contents of his study desk's drawer, from crabs to an avocado to a rubber boot. If only our study desk's drawers were half as enthralling.
The Blue Star by Tony Earley
This is a sequel to one of our favorite books ever, Mr. Earley's Jim the Boy (which features what is possibly our favorite last line ever). The Blue Star doesn't quite hit the quiet, emotional heights of its predecessor, but the story is just as beautifully told.
Mac's Seafood in Wellfleet, Massachusetts
This modest restaurant features fine seafood fare, but we go mainly for the soft-serve ice cream and the scenic views of Wellfleet Harbor. We once ordered a brownie hot-fudge sundae and the kind young woman at the counter told us that they were out of brownies but that she would be happy to substitute a chocolate-chip cookie if we liked. When we said that sounded like a fine alternative, she graciously offered to warm the cookie for us. We love Mac's.
Hopkins
This six-part documentary on ABC about the doctors and patients of Johns Hopkins Hospital is riveting, even with its distracting and cloying Grey's Anatomy–like soundtrack.
The Visitor
A small (in a good way) movie about a number of big things: music, healing, what it means to belong. We found the film all the more remarkable when we learned it was written and directed by Thomas McCarthy, the actor who played the smarmy, lying reporter on the last season of The Wire.
Alouette Light Garlic and Herbs Spreadable Cheese
The "Light" is key here, because it doesn't taste like it's light at all. This makes us feel less guilty when we're cramming the stuff into our mouths.
51 Birch Street
This documentary, by Doug Block, is not only about how "parents are people, too." It's also about how struggles for identity and for a normal American life lurk behind the calm facades of our parents' biographies. Though a little uneven, a little errant in structure, 51 Birch Street sneaks up on you. It's an effective and graceful film. Did we say graceful? We did.
Fields of cut hay
On a country road, after the cutting but before the baling, these are good for the beauty, the smell, the world beyond the street, the parable potential, all at once, every time. Drive slowly. Even better, bike and stare and absorb.
George Harrison's All Things Must Pass
When George was a Beatle, he came up with a lot of songs that never found their way onto a Beatles album, so, after the Beatles broke up, in 1970, he released this, the first triple album by a solo artist. A couple of songs on the album were written as early as 1966. Listen again. It only gets better.
Duff from Ace of Cakes
This guy Duff has a cake bakery in Baltimore and a show on the Food Network. Maybe you know the show. Our sense is that if everyone were like this guy, and if every show had this joy, we'd be all good.
Watching your son pitch his first-ever Little League baseball game
Never mind those four walks and two earned runs in his one inning of work. That little fist-pump he gave himself after striking out the final batter tells us that he is going to be more than all right, and we are terribly, terribly proud.
Rapture Ready!: Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture by Daniel Radosh
A fascinating and funny exploration of exactly what the title indicates, leavened with empathy. Radosh seeks to understand, not merely to mock, which creates a deeply engaged and interesting study of a subculture many are likely to be unfamiliar with.
Pretty. Odd. by Panic at the Disco
We thought their first album was pretty bleh, but these guys have been hitting the '60s-orchestrated-pop pipe pretty heavily and the result, while maybe a little kitschy and ersatz Beatles, is tons of listening fun. Don't overthink things. Just go with it.
Weight Watchers Giant Latté Ice Cream Bars
We're usually pretty resistant to low-fat desserts, but after much coaxing from a family member we tried these, and we're glad we did. Best of all, they're only 90 calories each, so you can have, like, four of them at a time.
Explosions in the Sky
Apparently, there's something called "post-rock," and Explosions in the Sky is a member of this particular genre. We were familiar with many of the bands people like to put in this category; we just didn't know they needed their own genus or phylum or whatever. Point is, it sounds like rock to us, though sans lyrics and very heavy on the dynamics.
The Gentle Leader Easy Walk Harness
This is for walking dogs, and, unlike the traditional harness, the leash connects in the front rather than in the back, which—as the product claims—keeps the dog from pulling. It's actually a bit of a miracle.
Hulu.com
Free streaming video of all kinds of shows: St. Elsewhere, Hill Street Blues, Buffy, WKRP in Cincinnati, Picket Fences. The video looks pretty good, and, like we said, for now, it's free.
What I'd Say to the Martians and Other Veiled Threats by Jack Handey
You know him, you love him. We know him, we love him. This is a collection of Mr. Handey's published humor pieces, along with a smattering of his favorite "Deep Thoughts" and TV sketches. A national treasure, this guy.
Carrier
This 10-hour documentary on PBS about life on the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier is a huge but satisfying commitment. At times, it feels like a recruitment video, as it looks something akin to "The Hills" Goes to the Navy. But, over all, it's a compelling look at the men and women of the United States military, and not nearly as jingoistic as we initially feared.
Volume One by She & Him
Take this recommendation for what it's worth, given that we're fans of pretty much anything the actress Zooey Deschanel does. She could release a CD of herself taunting kittens and we'd think it was the best thing ever. This collaboration between her and the musician M. Ward features little to no kitten-taunting. Instead, it's a lovely collection of old-timey-sounding songs, delivered earnestly by Ms. Deschanel's imperfect but nonetheless alluring vocals. For us, "Change Is Hard" is the album's highlight.
The Remington ShortCut
If you cut your own hair and like it really short, this is the Jesus Christ of hair clippers.
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis
Yes, looking at things objectively, progressive rock is kind of ridiculous. The songs are bloated, the lyrics dumb, and concept albums ... forget about it. Still, every so often we come back to this album and listen to it straight through.
Peanut-butter-and-bacon sandwiches
Despite what your spouse or loved ones or arteries tell you, there's no shame in eating one of these every now and then. Just be sure to toast the bread.
Not watching the commercial for the forthcoming movie The Strangers,
starring Liv Tyler
Nightmare City. We're thinking of starting a campaign to keep them from releasing this movie because it violates some kind of law against spookiness.
College Hoops 2K8
We've been playing College Hoops 2K8 for about a month now and, quite honestly, we don't know how we lived without it. It's terribly addictive. You start out as a bright-eyed coach at a small university (we began with the Big Green of Dartmouth) and work your way up the coaching ranks. Yes, we tend to cheat from time to time in recruiting (you can create your own blue-chip recruits, and if you play it right you'll have a 7-foot-5-inch power forward with an above-average outside game leading your team to the conference championship), but it's not like that's not the norm in real life, right?
Scott Fisher
More not-rocking music. Ben Folds meets early Elton John. Remember, it
doesn't rock.
Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan
With the economy tanking and all, we figured we should recommend a very
readable and relatable book about economics that isn't Economics for
Dummies so much as Economics for People of Normal Intelligence Who Can
Grasp Things If They Aren't Treated Like Dummies.
Amy's organic frozen pizzas
They're a couple bucks more than the average frozen za, but they somehow seem a
bit fresher and there's a pleasant wheatiness to the crust that we think you'll enjoy.
The Jeannie Tate Show
A series of webisodes featuring Liz Cackowski as Jeannie, a suburban housewife who interviews celebrities in her minivan while taking her sons to karate and trying to keep her delinquent teenage stepdaughter out of trouble. Very, very funny.
Desktop Tower Defense
This is a Flash-based game playable in your browser. Maddeningly addictive. Zombie-free.
"My" by Okay
Sounds like Sparklehorse, only more accessible. Sad and transcendent. Our favorite song of the year thus far.
Homemade marshmallows
You can even make chocolate ones (just add cocoa).
Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo
Typical Russo, which, to us, is a good thing.
Fastpasses for rides at Disney's Magic Kingdoms
We wish there were Fastpasses for other things in life, like grocery shopping and graduate school.
400 Words
This is a magazine of nonfiction short-shorts that comes out but once a year. It's not only the most aptly titled magazine we know of—all the short-shorts are about 400 words long—but it's sincere and pocket-sized, too. They've published two issues so far, both of which contain a good percentage of pieces that are in some way endearing.
West Indian Girl
Wikipedia tells us that this is the street name for a type of LSD, which we're definitively not recommending. Instead, we're recommending the band, which has taken its name from said drug and employs synthesizers.
Sledding with your 6-year-old
We defy you to find an activity more fun than sledding with your 6-year-old. It's the very definition of delightful.
You Suck at Photoshop
Each one of these short how-to videos not only makes us laugh but also makes us realize that, yes, we really do suck at Photoshop.
Battlestar Galactica (the newer version)
Way behind the curve on this one, but this is a great, great show. Now they just need to release Season 3 on DVD.
Backing up your computer
Don't ask.
Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
The story of the genesis, apex, and end of Mr. Martin's standup career. This book has been justifiably praised.
Laura Linney doing aerobics in The Savages
Despite only two brief glimpses of her in action during the film (which is easily one of our favorites of 2007), there's something so determined and focused about the way Ms. Linney does aerobics that we can't help but fall in love with her a little. We could watch her do her aerobics forever and ever and ever.
Not having Internet access for a few days
Have you tried this? It's scary and awesome. It's amazing how much you can get done when you aren't checking your e-mail every five minutes. Highly recommended.
Comparing apples and oranges
With one, you eat the skin; with the other, you likely peel it. One is generally red or green; the other, almost always its eponymous orange. One is crunchy when you bite it, and can be mashed into sauce or squeezed into juice or made into cider or put into "jack" form for the purposes of cereal; the other isn't crunchy, but can also be turned into juice. Besides all that, we're comparing stuff like this all the time, so why act like it's a deal-breaker in a debate?
One Foot in Eden by Ron Rash
A tense, emotional mystery that's a whydunit and a howdunit, rather than a whodunit.
Hershey's Kissables
The candy of the future. These are unstoppable.
An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England by Brock Clarke
Kind of a crazy-ass novel that's funny and page-turning but also really dark in a totally satisfying way.
Reaper
A new show on the CW (check your local listings). Kid's parents sell his soul to the devil and the devil comes calling on the kid's 21st birthday, tasking him to recapture souls that have escaped from Hell. Has a Buffy-ish vibe about it. Caused us to cancel our House TiVo season pass and replace it with this.
FruitaBü Organic Smoooshed Fruit
Organic fruit roll-ups for adults as well as kids.
Giving up hope for your favorite sports team
Truth be told, we're going to have a hard time sticking to this one ourselves, but recently we made a conscious choice to schedule something else during the big game, and, upon arriving home and learning our team had lost, felt much better for it.
"Dirty Dishes" by Deer Tick
A song that feels old and new all at once. There's a video on YouTube of Mr. Tick (aka John McCauley) singing the song in somebody's bathroom. It's a must-see.
Skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Skinless, boneless chicken thighs have long been frowned on by the diet-conscious elite. We think it's high time that chicken thighs made a comeback. They're so much tastier than their breast counterparts it isn't even close. Love handles be damned.
Ritalin Reading Series
Every month, at Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction, in New York, an assortment of goofballs and prodigies gather and each one presents four perfect minutes of original material. The host and hostess are uproarious and remarkably attractive.
Cider Donuts
These toothsome flavor-rings, Entenmann's tip of the hat to autumn, come round but once a year. The search begins now.
The movie Once
We've seen it twice. We can't remember the last movie we've paid money to see twice. It may have been Under the Cherry Moon, and, if so, that was a huge mistake. Once, however, is definitely worth seeing twice—for the scene in the music shop alone. That's the scene of the year.
Strawberry caprioskas
The perfect summer drink: limes, sugar, strawberries, vodka, and ice. Given that summer is almost over, we're ready to declare it the perfect fall drink as well, and, while we're at it, winter better watch out, too.
CDs from the public library
Check 'em out, load 'em into your computer, take 'em back. Depending on how nimble your public-library system is, you can sometimes even reserve the ones you want online and have them brought to the library nearest you. The only problem, of course, is guilt, but there are ways around that: tell yourself you're more likely to support the artist in other ways, rationalize something having to do with the taxes you already pay, convince yourself you used to own this album and this is merely a replacement for something you sort of already own. Regardless, free music. Do the next person a favor and return it quickly once it's loaded up.
Losing a few pounds
Losing a few pounds makes everything easier: walking, running, jumping. Losing a few pounds even makes sitting easier. We've always been fans of sitting. Before we lost a few pounds, we didn't think sitting could get any better, but we're happy to report that it can. It really can.
Basia Bulat
It seems her debut CD is available everywhere in the world except in the U.S. and Canada, so we've only heard a few of her songs here and there on the Web, but each one has pretty much dazzled us. "Before I Knew" is just over a minute long and it's so good that after its first few notes we get disappointed because we know the song will soon be over. And then there's her cover of the Strokes's "Someday," which sounds like the demo that it is, but nevertheless is lovely and different, and reminds us why we still have a soft spot for the Strokes.
Measuring the World by Daniel Kehlmann
Our German readers, if any, realize we're bandwagoning here; it's been a best seller in Deutschland for a while now, with Rowling-like sales. But no matter where you happen to live, this novel about scientific exploration, two scientists (Humboldt and Gauss), and a world gone by is brisk and witty and fluid.
Wraps
There's a battle going on out there: the Wrap and the Panini are at each other's throats as they struggle for middle-class-eatery dominance. We side with the Wrap.
Mad Men on American Movie Classics
It only took three episodes for us to succumb to this AMC original drama. Ostensibly a show about the American advertising industry circa 1960, it's really much more than that: it's an examination of family, identity, adultery, and the shifting values of that era.
Laying off the firecrackers on July 4
Seriously, they terrify the dog.
Famous Fathers and Other Stories by Pia Z. Ehrhardt
Readers of the quarterly know Ms. Ehrhardt's stories from Issues 14 and 16, and now there's a whole book of them together in one place, which is very convenient. So emotionally honest you almost want to flinch while you're reading.
God Is Dead by Ron Currie Jr.
This is one of those "linked" story collections. Linking these stories is the question What if God died and people found out? Each story burrows into you and rolls around for days, possibly even weeks, but it hasn't been that long since we devoured the book, so it's hard to say that for sure.
National Geographic magazine
You remember this one. Yellow border on the cover. Great photography. Insightful, colorful articles. That's all still true, we're saying.
Patton Oswalt in a guest supporting role on any show
His minor guest roles make everything better. Always. Reno 911, there's a good example. We're saying this for our audience, but we're asking P.O. to keep at it, too. Funny face, that one.
Microwaving cake for 20 seconds before eating
Doesn't matter how powerful your microwave is—you put the cake in there for 20 seconds. Remove. Add a dollop of vanilla ice cream (chocolate generally doesn't work in these cases, probably because of some kind of microwave-induced molecular rearrangement). Use a spoon. Do that mmm-mmm-wow moan-noise thing. Thank us later.
Colored kitchen glasses, if you have a toddler
If said toddler were to drop one of the glasses onto the floor, shattering it into thousands of microscopic fragments, you could at least see where they were to clean them up. With glasses made of clear glass, you don't stand a chance. Even if you sweep four times, use a mop, get on your hands and knees, shine a flashlight over the floor, and test the floor out with your own life-hardened bare feet, even then you'll be cursing the impossibility of how far and how wide and how high (yes, how high! Countertops, tables! How does that happen? What the—?) they all go. But, see, if the glasses were maybe red, or green, or blue, you'd stand a chance of finding all those demonic little shards.
Getting along famously
Has to be the best way to get along with someone. Try it.
Planet Earth
The BBC really outdid themselves with this astonishing documentary series about our planet and the animals that live on it. It's full of rarely seen things: the two-humped camels of the Gobi Desert; lions killing an elephant; a snow leopard lunging after its prey on the rocky slopes of the Himalayas as glistening snowflakes fall. As beautiful as it is fascinating, this series provides more wows per minute than anything else currently available on DVD.
Maria Bello
She's good. Not all of her movies are good—that's a different point—but she is.
Recommending things
Sure, there's a risk, the inevitable "Why the hell did you tell me to try that/see that/listen to that/drink that?—you must be some kind of idiot" response, but from our experience the rewards outweigh the risk.
The Complete Prose of Woody Allen (aka The Insanity Defense)
Collects three collections of short funny things into one volume. Worth anyone's time.
Straight Man by Richard Russo
A "campus novel." Funny. Should be made into a movie.
Buffaloaf
Meat loaf, but with ground buffalo. Lower fat, cooler name.
Taking the first flight of the day
Sure, you have to get up unreasonably early, but there's less chance of a delay and the airports tend to even smell a bit better.
The Sopranos
Now that it's wrapping up, those of you who haven't watched this should start investing in the DVDs, or using Netflix, or stealing the shit from the Internet, or whatever it is you people do, and watch the best television series of all time.
The Zero by Jess Walter
A really fantastic novel that is hard to describe. Part mystery, part lots of other things, this book is, along with Ken Kalfus's A Disorder Peculiar to the Country, among the best "9/11 novels" we've read.
Bumpus
This is a Chicago-based funk group. Back in the late '90s, there were a bunch of funk bands in Chicago—Bumpus, Nubile Thangs, Liquid Soul, Cassius Clay—that were really, really great. Most of them are no longer around, but Bumpus continues on. Their albums are now available on iTunes, a boon to those of us who are no longer able to see them live. Stereoscope is most recommended.
Can I Keep My Jersey?: 11 Teams, 5 Countries, and 4 Years in My Life as a Basketball Vagabond by Paul Shirley
A highly entertaining reminiscence of the author's life as a professional basketball player. Interesting insights into what it's like to be among the best 1 percent in the world at what you do and still not be "good enough." We're not even finished with the book yet, but nevertheless we eagerly recommend it.
Abita Purple Haze
This is beer, raspberry-flavored, sort of. The taste is more suggestive than literal and lives only briefly, somewhere toward the rear of the tongue, after each swallow. Pour it into a glass instead of drinking it out of the bottle.
Deadliest Catch
Documentary-style show tracking the king-crab season on the Bering Sea. "Deadliest" is not a misnomer for these fishermen, which makes this tough watching on occasion.
Henning Mankell
A mystery writer of Swedish nationality
