One of these things is not like the other

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If you look real closely, you'll find a masterpiece of lasting genius buried among these fresh comics for kids.

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043) Urban Legend Hunters: The Dreaded Mr. Snipe by Joel McKerrow and Wayne Bryant, finished July 23

Honestly, I didn't care for it. It's trying so hard to be funny and clever and I found it tiring. HOWEVER. The 9yrold read it and loved it and insisted I read it which is why I read it. And, honestly, if you find all the scatology and "wit" entertaining, this was a terrific series launch. So I suspect we'll be seeing these around the house for a while.

two or three days 

☞

044) The Firelight Apprentice by Bree Paulsen, finished July 23

The 9yrold finished this and declared it excellent and I thought I recognized the author's name. Sure enough I've read her Garlic books for kids and her vampire tale for adults so I figured I'd take an hour and knock this one out as well.

It's good. Paulsen does seem to have a strong need to push certain concepts forward (which is fine) and this books seems to borrow a plot choice from Frozen (which is fine) but somehow.... Little things like the child looking like a dwarf and some pacing issue kept me from really loving this one—I just couldn't settle in. Anyway, I'm sure her next one will be no less charming and maybe more satisfying. 

one night 

☞

045) The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary by Robert Alter, finished August 4

I absolutely loved reading this version of the Torah. Although I certainly will continue reading other translations, I'm sufficiently persuaded by Alter's translation goals that I may well spend the first half of 2030 reading it again. I felt so educated in terms of literature and history and archaeology and theology by his voluminous footnotes (I'm certain they're longer than the Torah itself) and I happily shared recently read ones with all I talked to but! they were so many that I couldn't possibly hold onto them all. I must read this book again!

 

The best twenty dollars I've spent on a book? Maybe. Certainly I've zero regrets. And I heartily recommend Alter's work to each and every one of you. There's a certain magic that only someone who has spent their entire life mastering one realm of knowledge can impart, and this book offers that magic.

the year so far 

☞

046) Surfside Girls: The Mystery at the Old Rancho by Kim Dwinell, finished August 6

Daughter o' Mine continues making me read comics from the library but I really liked the first of these and I liked the second too. I hear it's now a show on Apple+, which makes sense. Could be a modern Scooby-Doo? It has sort of a utopian view of both California's rancho/mission era and modern politics, but it's okay for kids to believe the world is good. That should be part of their diet.

one sit 

☞

previous books

A bevy of Amys

The world has need of willing Amys
Who wear the worker’s seal.
Come, help the good work move along
Put your amys to the wheel.

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In a Utah Deseret Industries last month I picked up a cd just because I liked the look of it and because, let’s be frank, it was a woman.

It wasn’t until a few weeks later, enjoying the album for the first time and googling this Amy, that I learned I did know who she was. I first learned of her husband thanks to the appearance of a song of his in a beloved movie. Eventually that song went from new to me to really really liked which led me to investigating him which led to me discovering his wife which led to me discovering the albums they made together which led to consumer paralysis and sort of forgetting the whole thing.

(Incidentally, I have a known interest in married couples who make music. I have a Buddy Miller album and a Julie Miller album and a Buddy and Julie Miller album, as well as albums by music-making couple-bands Haun’s Mill, Shovels and Rope, Low—although when we count music-making couples beyond They the Couple Are the Band, we could go on and on; Tori Amos, for instance.)

My wife, as you can see, likes Tori Amos to the tune of 1,251 files. I like Tori but maybe not that much.

Anyway, back in June when I was quarantining in the woods, I spent a lot of time with our owned-music collection and one of the things I noticed is how certain names are more common than others. I mean, even three Alisons is a lot, right? (1,2,3) I already knew we had a statistically unlikely number of Kaceys (actually, just one Kacey…but also a Kacy and a Kasey), but what else? Since I had nothing else to do, I just wandered through the collection, counting.

Incidentally, whenever possible (unless I have written about a person before and am linking to that), I am linking to artists’ Bandcamp pages today because today is Bandcamp Friday. On Bandcamp Friday, Bandcamp gives its share of all proceeds to the artist. On any day they give a larger percentage to the creators than other streamers/sellers but Bandcamp Friday makes it even better. Good on this Oakland Business! (If you’re wondering, I’m thinking I’ll probably pick up work from free cake for every creature and Snocaps.)

John probably won

while Dave, I thought, underperformed

and Dan overperformed

but, as you may have guessed, Amy did very well indeed.

So lets talk about Amys!

Note: we’re just talking about acts that go as Amy, so perhaps my favorite Amy of all, Amy Gileadi, is excluded. But let’s go! Starting with the new girl, Amy Rigby.

 

This is the first track on the album and thus the first I heard. And it’s a pretty great introduction. She’s a literate and witty lyricist whose music is simple, genre-fluid, and fun. Comparing yourself to Rasputin in a positive way is a cognitive dissonance I’m not quite over but, while I may not be over it, I’m into it. Plus it’s a tight two and a half minutes, just like rock and roll was always meant to be. Welcome to the club, Amy!

Like Amy Ribgy’s album, my Amy Cooper album is vintage 2005. (Literally. Did you know many antiquers define vintage as between 20 and 100 years old?) I don’t remember exactly when I got Water/Fire, but it wasn’t vintage years ago. Yet, alas, this Amy has vanishingly little presence online in 2026. This is the ghost of her old website and happily she’s on Bandcamp, but otherwise…what?

“Hurried Steps“ is a good taste of what Amy’s up to. I quite like the Amy Cooper songs I know, but I bought so many albums from the midnineties to the midaughts and this fits so comfortably among them it could never quite stand out sufficient to move into regular rotation and thus become a go-to favorite. But listening to “Hurried Steps” is pretty solid evidence that she would hold up to closer attention. Maybe someday.

Where are you, Amy?

The Amy I own the most of is, tragically, not an Amy at all. Yes. We are discussing Aimee Mann.

 

I know it’s a little obvious to pick “Save Me” but it’s been on my mind lately because it lost the Oscar. I would be okay with it losing had it lost to the correct song, but egad, Academy voters! “Save Me” is integrated so well into Magnolia, but the entire movie is a tour-de-force of one-artist-soundtracking-a-movie. In my opinion, her take is superior to Simon and Garfunkle’s (The Graduate) or Badly Drawn Boy’s (About a Boy) and equal to Cat Stevens’s (Harold and Maude). (All four, of course, are great.)

(Incidentally, I’m fascinated by this genre. What other movies/soundtracks fit into it? Please tell!)

“Save Me” is a beautiful song and turned Aimee Mann into the icon we know and love today. Not even Red Vines and cigarettes could do that. Congrats, Aimee.

Our next Amy is an Amy my wife…does not care for. See if you can guess why.

 

Ladies and gentlemen: Amy Allison. Who—this is exciting—is not only our fourth Amy but she is also our fourth Allison! How many people get to say that?

I really dig Amy Allison. But I can understand why her voice…might not be everyone’s cup o’ tea. (Metaphor in honor her latest album, as so London it is.)

“Sad Girl” might be the most on-the-nose–possible usecase for her pipes and I recommend listening to the song three times in a row so you can adjust and thus appreciate. I know one thing I appreciate: an artist who can lean right in to self-parody and come out the other side unscathed. Well played, Amy.

 

Back to Black had five charting singles and I had no idea we owned it until I was in quarantine. Where did it come from? I honestly do not know. Maybe Lady Steed bought it? She’s why we have a Lady Gaga album from around the same time, so maybe? Dunno. Anyway, out there in the woods I listened to it for the first time and you know what? It’s really good.

I chose this particular track because it leans even deeper into pop’s past and I love that. I’ll never cease to be amazed that Amy Winehouse purely through the power of her performance brought back the Sixties (and earlier) for a brief shining moment when “Rehab” was inescapable. I’m glad to finally did a deeper dive. Requiescat in pace, Amy.

On the opposite side of Amydom we have this:

 

I liked Amy Grant’s pop music when I was in my early teens but she’d probably be nothing but a vague memory now had I not heard this Christmas album over and over on my mission, and then bought my own copy my first or second Christmas home. I’ve probably listened to this record hundreds of times. Not so often these days, but no one can tell me “Breath of Heaven“ isn’t one of the great holiday numbers.

Merry Christmas, Amy.

 

Our final Amy might be my favorite of this baker’s half dozen. Pretty sure I learned about her on NPR but neither of these two contemporaneous reviews seems to include this track which I feel certain was the hook she set to pull me in. So maybe it wasn’t NPR. Who knows.

The point is this: while I love “Damn Love Song,” the fact is this is a perfect album; I love every single song on it for related but nonidentical reasons. Her voice is incredible, running the gamut from aggressive to vulnerable, and her lyrics are easy to access but rewarding of attention.

In short, Stranger Me is one of those albums artists should never record because they are so perfect I can never tire of them or even desire more. To this date, it is the only Amy LaVere album I own. But you know what? It’s Bandcamp Friday. Maybe I should pick up another…?

Maybe that it was this essay was always about: talking me into more Amy LaVere.

Well played, Amy. Well played.

 

artists mentioned in this post and on bandcamp but not linked to in the substance of the post: Shovels & Rope, Low, John Linnell, Urge Overkill, John Prine, Dan Mangan, Dan Zanes

 

Top Five X of 2001–2025: Explicitly Religious

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This was the first-begun of my Top Five X posts (the others, in order of When Began, are romcom—horror—superhero), and you may pick up on that order as I write on.

Incidentally, I have no others partially written at this point. I have a couple thoughts on what else I could Top Five X about but no firm plans to do so. If you have suggestions, I’m open to hearing them.

As is always the case, some of the best films were shorts (“The Angel” is on my mind as a recent example, though I could list a dozen more), but (also as always) I will be ignoring them. Features only, I’m afraid. (Though one could easily argue it’s shorts that require some extra attention.)

Some of the (imo) most significant religious films of the past quarter century (mother!; Eephus; The Tree of Life; Barbie; A Ghost Story; Moroni for President; Won’t You Be My Neighbor?; Lady Bird; Hail, Caesar!; Children of Men; The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) were not, in fact, “explicitly religious.” But this claim is very much a judgment call. I look at my lists now, months after I first drafted this post, and wonder how I can consider The Northman “explicitly religious” but not Jallikattu—and I really have no good answer. This is a tricky set of lists, for sure.

I decided to split into two lists, one Christian and one not-Christian, because why not celebrate twice as many movies? But also because I had a muuuuch longer list of Christian options to choose from. In fact, I had to yank one movie from the not-explicit list in order to fill out that not-Christian topfive. That film might (might) be my favorite of its five but, alas, it has to take the fifth spot. Participation trophy, in other words.

I’m a bit embarrassed I have so few not-Christian films to choose from. When I first sat down, I assumed I’d have a Christian list, a Jewish list, and an Other list, but not so. I’m stunned I watched so few Jewish-themed movies. I never would have guessed.

Let’s start with that list, shall we?

[ 0=letterboxd | 1=thutopia | 2=thubstack]

 

#1 ||| Whale Rider (2002)

It’s been a looooong time since I’ve seen Whale Rider but it retains a powerful hold on my emotional imagination. This story of a young girl coming of age in a patriarchal culture denied access to her tradition’s most visibly potent spiritual rituals resonates (for obvious reasons) and the heroic resonances echo through the years. We own the dvd. I’ve no excuse not to revisit.

 

#2 ||| The Northman (2022) [1,2]

It’s so easy to forget in these time of political turmoil that, in fact, the world is unusually safe, historically speaking. The Northman is essentially a pagan Hamlet. People want peace and love—same as anyone ever has—but their world is violent and fragile in ways we can hardly imagine. And a world this violent requires violent understanding. And this film explores what that could be and why it would then mean what it means. Thought-provoking, enormously moving, and chockablock with gore.

 

#3 ||| A Serious Man (2009) [1,2]

Astonishing to think that three Job movies are mentioned on the page and this is probably my least favorite, even though it is made by the Coens who rank among my absolute favorite filmmakers. Of course, this isn’t just a Job movie. It’s also an ironic David movie. And it’s a delicious slice-of-life re the American Jew. Even though this isn’t near a top-ranked Coens film for me, I think about it all the time. Images. Attitudes, Tones of voice. I suspect this film is actually much more important to me than my conscious mind will admit.

 

#4 ||| Sita Sings the Blues (2008) [0,1,2]

This film introduced me to one of my favorite singers but that’s not how it made this list. There are a few different stories interlaced here and while I get why some right-wing Hindus hate how this white American lady is using their stories, the manner in which she did it and her purpose for doing so seems worth giving some grace to. Sita had a hard life. But there are lessons there for us. There were lessons there for her.

 

#5 ||| An American Pickle (2020) [1,2]

A fan falls into pickle brine and comes out miraculously alive decades later. Starring Seth Rogan and Seth Rogan. Sounds stupid. But it’s kinda beautiful—a meditation on identity and America and what keeps generations apart…and what might bring them together.

 

Now on to the Christians.

 

#1 ||| A Hidden Life (2019) [1]

I’m not sure a post-film epigraph has ever made me cry before or since A Hidden Life. Anyway, it’s hard not to compare this to another Malick film, The Tree of Life, possibly my favorite film, fullstop. Both films will stun you with beauty and grandeur, but while The Tree of Life leaves its Texas family to grapple with all of eternity, A Hidden Life only proceeds deeper into intimacy, into is observation of one good man who will only do what he thinks is right—no matted the cost.

 

#2 ||| The Testament of Ann Lee (2025) [0,1,1,2,2]

I’ve written about the soundtrack before, but you can’t imagine how much I have actually listened to it. A lot more than you’re guessing. And that includes not touching it at all over the summer. But this movie is a terrific movie for a Latter-day Saint to watch because Ann Lee’s history shares so many points with Joseph Smith and thus defamiliarizes this man and his journy such that we can see revolution and revelation and restoration anew. It’s violence reveals the universality of evil. It’s ecstasy the universality of good.

 

#3 ||| Brigham City (2001)

Few movies have stunned me as deeply as Brigham City—and rarely so deeply on two entirely different fronts. Brigham City forced to me recognize my own capacity for evil. And, in the same 119 minutes, explained to me better than I had understood before the meaning of the sacrament. The powerful combination of those two opposites ranks this film among the greatest I know.

 

 #4 ||| Silence (2016) [1,1,1]

If you’d told me when I started this list that Silence would end up at number four I would have laughed in your face. This is a powerful movie and deeply important to me. While almost impossible to watch once, I’ve seen it five times. And every time I suffer. Which probably doesn’t sound like a recommendation but oh, it is, it is. Like some other powerful art, Silence questions whether our own righteousness should be our highest goal. How vital is it to be godly versus how vital is it to be like Christ. Such a dangerous question.

 

#5 ||| Wake Up Dead Man (2025) [0,1,2]

This one slid in just under the wire. Luckily Netflix put it in theaters December 2025 and I was able to see it. Rian Johnson has been can’t-miss with these movies. I dealy love Knives Out and I declared Glass Onion my favorite of its year. That Wake Up Dead Man might be the best of the three and, the first to address religion, makes this list should alert you to my high opinion of its excellence. The primary tension may be between the good priest and the bad priest or it may be between the devout accused and the atheistic investigator or it may be between quiet acceptance of the unknown and an angry demand to know. These are key aspects of any life of faith but Johnson has given them existential weight and melodramatic momentum that underlines and emphasizes aspects of life that, when merely lived, often go quietly unnoticed.

 

Honorable mentions:

Adam’s Apples (2005) Job with violence! [1]
Conclave (2024) The Holy Spirit via bureaucracy! [0,1,2]
Don Verdean (2015) Keep your faith safe from zeal! [1,1,1]
Electrick Children (2012) Don’t say he’s not a god of miracles! [0,1,2]
Truth & Treason (2025) Nazis bring out the best in yet another pending martyr! [0,1,2]
WWJD (2022) Why won’t Jesus ever behave like people think he ought? [1,1,2]

Second-tier honorable mentions:

The Fighting Preacher (2019) Yeah, I know, but it’s funny and moving. [1,1,2]
One Man’s Treasure (2009) Yeah, I know, but I really like these people. [1,1,1,2]