Advent Gifts!
Because it's that time of year. (Vol. 2; Issue 20)
Welcome aboard The Bus!
The Stop
My Uncle Mike (my father’s brother) has long been a fan of the Advent gift. Usually a book, this gift wasn’t considered part of Christmas so it didn’t break the ‘don’t give the kids too many gifts’ rule. My favourite of these gifts was the one he gave me when I was hoping - desperately - for a couple of Stephen King novels for which I was too young. Instead of King, I got Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy. Go figure. I was disappointed, but because they were from Mike I read them - and my mind was blown. Which was, of course, the whole point! So, in the spirit of Mike’s Advent gifts, today’s Stop is a selection of recommendations for other Substacks I regularly read that might change your mind. Give them a go - they’re all worth your time!
I’ve been publishing on Substack since April 2022 and part of joining the community has meant I’ve encountered many excellent newsletters. There are some big-hitters out there: Robert Reich (Clinton’s Secretary of Labor) publishes Robert Reich at robertreich.substack.com, Dan Rather (that’s right - the former CBS anchorman) publishes Steady at steady.substack.com and George Saunders (of Civilwarland in Bad Decline and the Pulitizer-prize winning Lincoln in the Bardo fame) teaches an online writing course at georgesaunders.substack.com. These are excellent - and I read them regularly - but there are many others that also demand attention. Here are three of my current favourites:
Joshua Doležal’s The Recovering Academic. In 2021, Doležal packed in a tenured faculty position and moved to central Pennsylvania where he has redefined himself as husband and father while devoting himself to searching for his identity outside of the academic world he lived in for over twenty years. Extremely well-written, always engaging and occasionally profound, this is an extraordinary newsletter: joshuadolezal.substack.com.
Mark Dykeman’s How About This. Published several times a week, H.A.T. runs the gamut from fascinating interviews with Atlantic Canadians, considerations about curiosity and features on different Substack creators,1 to meditations on the inherent virtues of A5 sized Leuchtturm1917 diaries and notebooks.2 Mark has a uniquely genial presence on Substack and comes across as someone with whom you’d be happy to sit down and have a cup of coffee. And if you did, you’d go away a better person. Definitely give this a try: howaboutthis.substack.com.
Brad Kyle’s Front Row & Backstage. Brad provides a brilliant, forensic analysis of music informed by what I can only describe as an encyclopaedic knowledge available only to someone who has spent years in both rock radio and the record business. Reading his newsletter, I have learned more about music and musicians that I really didn’t know much about - if at all - and he has certainly influenced my playlists! He also writes Behind the Astros Dugout in which he offers his musings and insights about the Houston Astros. Again, not being a baseball fan, I never thought I’d be interested in them - but he’s convinced me otherwise: bradkyle.substack.com.
There are, of course, many others - and if you’re interested, I’d also recommend checking out Matthew Moran’s The Arrogant Sage (matthewmoran.substack.com), Bryn Robinson’s Campfire Notebook (brynphd.substack.com), Mark M’s The Fyve Spot (markfyve.substack.com), Tom Pendergast’s Out Over My Skis (tompendergast.substack.com), Anne Kadet’s Café Anne (annekadet.substack.com) - which singlehandedly makes me wish I lived in NYC - and M. L. Nestel’s Murders, Mayhem & Malfeasance (murdersmayhemmalfeasance.substack.com) - which is essentially like reading a police radio scanner that focusses on criminal idiots. In addition to Front Row & Backstage, music is well served on Substack - and though I’ve only scratched the surface of the newsletters available, I can heartily recommend both Sam Valenti’s Herb Sundays (herbsundays.substack.com) and Chris Zappa’s Zappagram (chriszappa.substack.com) - you won’t be sorry.
Happy reading!
The Detour
Today’s Detour is to a video (5:34) from Bizarre Beasts about the bar-tailed godwit. The godwit makes the longest nonstop flight of any bird - from Alaska to New Zealand - and does so in part by shrinking and later regrowing its digestive system. A fascinating reminder that some amazing things are out there if we only look.
The Bar-tailed Godwit Doesn't Stop for Snacks
The Recommendation
Today’s recommendation is Die Hard (1988). Based on the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp3 and directed by John McTiernan, Die Hard has become a Christmas film simply because it is set at Christmas. Starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov4 and Bonnie Bedalia, it’s a violent, thrill-packed action film. You probably know the basic plot, but just in case you don’t: NYPD Detective John McClane (Willis) arrives in LA on Christmas Eve, hoping to reconcile with his estranged wife at her office Christmas party. He arrives and is changing clothes when the tower is seized by terrorists … and he’s the only one who can save the day.
Die Hard is available on numerous platforms, including streaming on Disney+.
The Sounds
Today’s playlist is composed of five tracks that - though they should be listened to with complete focus - will also sit nicely in the background while you’re decorating, cooking, etc. They also all feature incomparable guitar playing: ‘Spanish Fly’ (Van Halen, 1979), ‘Angie’ (The Rolling Stones, 1973), ‘Once Upon A Time in the West’ (Dire Straits, 1979), ‘Valerie’ (Jerry Garcia, 1982) and ‘Do You Feel Like We Do?’ (Peter Frampton, 1976).5
The Thought
Today’s Thought is from the Swiss-born French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778):6
‘Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.’
If you have a thought on this Thought - or any part of today’s issue - please leave a comment below:
And that’s the end of this stop - I hope you enjoyed the diversion!
Thanks to everyone who subscribes - your interest and support is truly appreciated. If you like The Bus, please SHARE it with a friend or two.
If you haven’t climbed aboard The Bus, please do!
Full disclosure - Mark interviewed me as the creator of The Bus in September. He’s also been a steady reader - one of my first non-family/friend/acquaintances to jump on board. Saying that, even if he wasn’t a Bus Rider, this is a letter I’d definitely read - it makes me smile when I see it in my inbox.
These are my favourites, too. I used to use Moleskin, but I find the paper’s too thin. The Leuchtturm1917 is perfect. In fact, I’ve got one open on my desk right now …
Nope, I hadn’t heard of him either.
Yes, the Russian ballet dancer who defected to the US in 1979 while on tour with the Bolshoi Ballet in NYC.
These songs are all favourites of mine - though I haven’t listened to them in ages. I was introduced to the Dire Straits track when I was a sophomore in high school and it changed me forever - until then I never really knew a guitar could talk - and the Frampton track (again, introduced in high school), well … what can one say? It’s transformative. Seriously - when this comes on, stop whatever you’re doing, sit down on a beanbag, put your headphones on and just enjoy!
Rousseau is the topic of a future Bus Stop, but in the meantime see: Rousseau (Britannica)
Great post, Bryan! Really super recommendations - I'm going to be checking out the ones I'm not already subscribed to.
Now I HAVE to watch 'Die Hard' again... I love that film!
Yep. REALLY enjoyed the songs and especially the sequence. Spanish Fly played right into Angie seamlessly. (I feel Angie is a song John McClane would love and enthusiastically sing using wrong words.) I am in awe of Mark Knopfler's lyrical guitar play - in many songs. Your track made me think of another of my DS favorites - "On Every Street." Give that a play and I bet you will do a repeat immediately. Then there is Peter Frampton. "Frampton Comes Alive" was the second double-album I purchased. That set was played into the dirt and the two-side cover saw its share of action also. The first double-album in my collection was Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band's "Live Bullet" recorded in Detroit's Cobo Hall. I highly recommend you give a listen to the "Travelin' Man/Beautiful Loser" track.