Not that you asked, but I have a few quick recommendations for some worthwhile viewing and listening this week, beginning with my conversation with Jon Erwin, the terrific director of a really good movie called Young Washington, which premiered in theaters on Independence Day. Modesty aside, the conversation is excellent, the movie is thrilling, and I encourage you to enjoy both at your leisure. We say it all the time, but it’s worth repeating – Washington was without question, the most indispensable American to ever live. It’s super interesting to see what shaped him as a young man, and the mistakes he made on the road to his remarkable presidency, especially in the wake of our semiquincentennial.
Also, though I had nothing to do with it, I heartily recommend another very patriotic movie called “Pressure,” that tells the weirdly riveting story of a very unpopular weather forecast from a very disagreeable meteorologist whose instincts might very well have altered the outcome of WWII. I have no idea how this one got greenlit, because the treatment must have looked ridiculous on the page…
“A WWII thriller that takes place almost entirely in a drawing room, wherein two meteorologists of differing opinions argue over the best day for Eisenhower to invade Europe.”
There’s no way this movie should be as good as it is, but it is. And Brendan Fraser as Eisenhauer is terrific.
And finally, I just got around to listening to Marc Andreessen on Joe Rogan. It’s another three-hour marathon that was recorded a month ago, and but don’t be dissuaded. This is a must-watch for anyone who is open to the possibility that data centers and AI might not be the encroaching Armageddon that so many believe it to be. Or at least curious to understand how the genie got out of the bottle, and why it will never be returned. (I listened to it at 1.75 speed, which takes some getting used to, but knocks the running time down to less than two hours. You can also start listening an hour in, and still come away with a lot of useful insight.)
My conversation with Jon Erwin is here. https://bit.ly/TWIHI492JonErwin
Get tickets to watch Young Washington in theaters here. https://bit.ly/TWIHIYoungWashington
Pressure is somewhere on Amazon Prime.
Just google Rogan & Andreessen.
You’re welcome!
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