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Etcetera #31: Macaques, Records, Dad Thrillers

Matthew Culnane
Matthew Culnane
@coldbrain
Hello. Here we are again—the new schedule, such that it is, seems to be working better. I write this from my repose after having received a COVID booster yesterday. Get yours as soon as you’re eligible.
This issue is nature-heavy, with stories about ice, primates, trees and sharks. Sadly I couldn’t find anything that combines all four, the closest being these three.
See you next time.

Where is the Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay?
Where is the Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay?
The mystery primate—a rhesus macaque—escaped from captivity. Twice. This is an excellent story from Stephanie Hayes, well researched and written, that delves into Florida’s under-regulated monkey kingdom in an attempt to find him again.
www.tampabay.com
Life of the Record
Life of the Record
Life of the Record is a podcast series that sits somewhere alongside the 33⅓ series of books and Song Exploder. Each episode is an in-depth discussion of an album with the people who made it.
A couple of months ago I listened to the episode about Elliott Smith’s self-titled album, and it was great. More recently I’ve listened to three episodes about albums I love: Heatmiser’s Mic City Sons, Grandaddy’s The Sophtware Slump, and Brendan Benson’s One Mississippi. I recommend them all.
lifeoftherecord.com
'90s Dad Thrillers: a List
'90s Dad Thrillers: a List
Max Read on the best dad thrillers, a popular genre of the ‘90s:
The Dad Thriller was a genre of movie made by Hollywood studios in the 1990s, marketed mainly to men and presented sincerely if not always accurately as intelligent and sophisticated entertainment. The Dad Thriller draws on courtroom dramas, spy movies, the conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s, and the action blockbusters of the 1980s. The vibe is “action movie you might be able to convince your wife to see because it’s sort of about politics, science, and/or legal stuff.” 
maxread.substack.com
A Very Big Little Country
A Very Big Little Country
Katherine LaGrave on Westartica, a micronation claimed and founded in 2001 by Travis McHenry that covers 1.6m sq km of Western Antarctica. Like many other micronations, it started as something of a gag, but since 2018 it has been focused on fighting climate change. See also: Ian Urbina on the Principality of Sealand, the micronation a few km off the coast of Suffolk.
www.afar.com
Etc.
Videos
This is the first in a two-part series about Wes Anderson’s use of typography. I’ve already said it here several times but there are far too many videos about Anderson that are extremely shallow, presumably created because there is a large audience who will find and watch them and generate ad revenue for the creators. This isn’t one of those. It’s from Linus Boman, who knows his stuff:
Futura & Wes Anderson: a love story
Futura & Wes Anderson: a love story
I hadn’t realised this was a debate. It’s clearly John:
The Vocal Debate Over A Day in the Life's "Ahhhs"
The Vocal Debate Over A Day in the Life's "Ahhhs"
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Matthew Culnane
Matthew Culnane @coldbrain

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