F. Scott Fitzgerald famously wrote “there are no second acts in American lives” but he obviously didn’t have rock bands and TV shows in mind. The Don Henleys, David Lee Roths and Stings of the world are more than happy to reunite with their old bandmates if the money is right, and shows like Futurama and Arrested Development can get a second or even third life, especially in a world with Netflix and Hulu.
Now there’s news that one of my favorite television shows from the early aughts is making a made-for-Netflix comeback: Gilmore Girls. Most folks regard GG as a chick show, and I’m not a chick (I just checked), but I loved it because the writing was brilliant – the quirky characters had charm and depth, and the smart, snappy, mile-a-minute dialogue was amazing.
Then there was the music – it was note-perfect for a guy like me who likes artists who play on the fringes. The marvelously talented but commercially ignored Sam Phillips (ex-wife of superstar producer T. Bone Burnett – they were still married when the show started) did the score, and Grant Lee Phillips (of the late, great Grant Lee Buffalo and a fantastic solo artist) often appeared as the town troubadour.
The Gilmore daughter character, Rory, and her friend Lane were indie rock lovers – Rory was playing The Shins before the movie Garden State even came out. (They later appeared on a show) and Thurston and Kim from Sonic Youth played Stars Hollow with their daughter Coco. (Read more about the Gilmore Girls hipster cred here.) Of course, there was also Sebastian Bach from Skid Row playing an aging rocker… and somehow it worked.
I don’t know if the new shows will live up to the old series, but I can’t wait to find out.
I’m old. I know I’m old. I don’t care. Beats the alternative. One old person thing I really enjoy doing (no, it isn’t talking about my medications or the regularity of my bowel movements – I’m not that old!) is crossword puzzles. There aren’t too many things more fuddy-duddy (now there’s an old person word) than writing letters into boxes on a piece of paper using a pencil (or a pen if you have mad skillz like me). Every week I do the Sunday New York Times crossword, and I love it.
But now, being a WordNerd (cruciverbalist if you’re fancy) is good. Crosswords are retro cool, like horn-rimmed glasses and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.
Buzzfeed, that bastion of the Interwebs age, is rolling out a daily crossword. Sure, they’re putting a hipster spin on it, but it’s still a crossword.
So old people of the world, rejoice, we’ve now lived long enough to be semi-cool again. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go take my medications and drink some prune juice… mixed with Red Bull!
Here’s a commercial for overpriced headphones featuring tennis superstar Serena Williams. It ran prior to the U.S. Open and the tennis footage is from NYC, but the running scenes were shot in Cincinnati.
Here she’s on the steps that lead to Holy Cross/Immaculata Church in Mt. Adams (photo is fuzzy because the video is fuzzy at that point). Every Good Friday, thousands gather here to ‘pray the steps‘ – a tradition for more than 150 years.
And finally she reaches the summit, with a great view of the downtown Cincinnati skyline.
Nice workout, Serena. Now for a similar view and a refreshing adult beverage, try the patio at City View Tavern.
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