Five Bullets 9.20.24
Dark Winds, Robert Caro, Rivendell Bicycles & more
Good Morning and Happy Friday!
This morning was cool and cloudy here in New York City but sun and temperatures near 80° are expected later today.
Despite all the times I’ve mentioned Robert Caro’s writing, the NY Historical Society’s exhibit on his work, and Turn Every Page - the documentary about Caro’s working relationship with his longtime editor Robert Gottleib - I still haven’t read his books! I promise to change that and will be picking up a copy of The Power Broker soon!
What’s a book you’ve wanted to read but haven’t yet?
Five Bullets:
Bicycles: The Art of Taking It Slow. Grant Petersen, founder of Rivendell Bicycle Works, builds bicycles with a philosophy that encourages comfort over aerodynamics, safety over speed, and just having fun. Petersen is a vocal opponent of current cycling trends which are infused with pro-cycling gadgets which are unnecessary for a leisurely ride. “In the simplest terms, I think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world, or at least make you happy.”
Music: There’s still a few days left in summer to enjoy outdoor concerts! If you’re in the New York City area, this weekend at Forest Hills: psychedelic funk/soul trio Khruangbin hits the stage for two nights on Friday and Saturday and on Sunday, The Marley Brothers - Ziggy, Stephen, Julian, Ky-Mani, and Damian - will be celebrating the music, life and legacy of their father Bob Marley.
NYC: Robert Caro’s The Power Broker turns 50 this month. In the 1,336-page book, Caro deconstructs Robert Moses’s political influence in New York during his 40-year career. A fascinating New York Historical Society exhibit includes Caro’s notes, typewriter, and research from the seven-year long process of writing the book as well as Caro’s biographies of President Lyndon B. Johnson. An interesting fact from the exhibit: after Moses and his associates refused to speak to Caro during his investigation, Caro gained access to an underground parking garage below the Riverside Park 79th Street Boat Basin cafe which held decades worth of Moses’s documents, helping Caro write the book. [For more on Caro’s writing process, check out Noted.]
Science: Over the next two months, Earth will be hosting a visitor from the Arjuna asteroid belt. The asteroid will become a ‘mini-moon’ to Earth as it travels within 2.8 million miles of our planet before returning to orbit around the sun. The ‘mini-moon’ will be too dim for amateur astronomers viewing through their telescopes.
TV: Netflix’s Dark Winds series is a compelling noir thriller set in the Navajo Nation during the early 1970s. Based on Tony Hillerman’s novels, tribal police lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and deputy Joe Chee investigate crimes on the reservation involving murder, corruption and greed. The slow pace, engaging acting and beautiful landscapes take Dark Winds beyond the usual police/western tropes.