Worthy Distractions: Tribe, Westworld, Zadie Smith & Jenga

A weekly sampling of the things we do instead of doing the things we’re supposed to do.

 

In heavy rotation

We have a theory that the aliens from Podesta’s hacked emails are taking all the good folks. So we’re channeling our heroes the only we way know how, through our earbuds.

• We Got It From Here…Thank You 4 Your Service, A Tribe Called Quest: This release marks the group’s first collection of new music since 1998’s The Love Movement and represents Phife Dawg’s posthumous gift to us all. It’s classic Tribe with some maturity, excellent guest artists, and one final reminder that onstage, he was Dynomutt!

• You Want It Darker, Leonard Cohen: The Canadian singer/songwriter’s 14th album and the closing notes of a 50-year career, You Want It Darker reveals Cohen still devoted to exploring relationships, spirituality, connection, and isolation. This time, aptly, he’s pondering the ambiguities within the inevitability of death.

 

On the small screen

We’re willing to face reality when it’s mediated by music, but we want our TV escapist, dammit! How convenient that both HBO and NBC had queued up otherworldly offerings for us this season.

• Westworld, HBO: Our spoiler free, 100% accurate predictions for what is going on: REDACTED has been REDACTED again and again, thus creating several REDACTED REDACTED. Meanwhile, REDACTED and REDACTED are actually REDACTED and on their way to REDACTED. REDACTED is certainly a REDACTED. You can take that to the bank, or to the center of REDACTED.

• The Good Place, NBC: The happy companion to Westworld, where at least the dead people know they’re dead. It’s got some mystery, but it’s lighthearted. And Kristen Bell’s Eleanor wins this season’s award for person who seems cool but only so they can sell you an underweight bag of pesticide-sprayed cannabis.

 

Between the covers

Not all of our entertainment is digital; the Splimm team still likes to hold books in our hands and turn pages with our fingers. And despite the fact that we live within walking distance of a library, the stacks of books lining our stairwell just keep getting taller and taller.

• The Wasp that Brainwashed the Caterpillar by Matt Simon: This clever, accessibly written examination of some of the more bizarre consequences of evolution will delight you and your kids alike. With a first chapter entitled “You Absolutely Must Get Laid,” though, it’s probably best for you to hold the book and censor as necessary.

• Swing Time by Zadie Smith: The latest novel from one of the most renowned writers of our generation, Swing Time investigates the interplay of identity and relationship as it navigates the shifting fault lines of friendship, ambition, artistic genius, and the tension between being and becoming.

 

From the game cabinet

We don’t care what the schedule says, it’s our turn to choose the family game!

• Jenga: We’ve always loved this one. It trains you to be stealthy and steady and quiet, but there’s just enough noise and destruction for Jenga to feel like a party. The game is also a great reminder that when the world falls apart, we can just rebuild it (as long as we have the stacking sleeve).

• NES Classic: When we were younger, we used the term “playing Nintendo” as a euphemism for getting high in our parents’ basements. Yes, we’re that old. And now we’re psyched AF for Donkey Kong Jr., The Legend of Zelda, and Tecmo Bowl.

 

For phoning

Yeah, we’re all on our phones too much. It’s probably something we should work on, since we’ve heard it makes our kids anxious and our relationships less meaningful. For now, though, how about some ideas that let us enjoy our phones together?!

• Stuff You Should Know Podcast: You know How Stuff Works, right? The go-to resource for elucidating phenomena you don’t understand. Or at least clarifying them so you can explain them to you children. Well, Stuff You Should Know is the podcast version, covering everything from wooly mammoths to sleep paralysis.

• Prankster Joe Biden memes: We know these should not be this funny. We know we should stop searching Twitter for them. But we just can’t. And we still laugh out loud. Is it better if we claim it’s our way of dealing with grief?