March 29, 2024 Newsletter

It’s spring in Texas…

ENTERTAINMENT

1. Steve Martin, then and now.

Has Steve Martin mellowed? That “wild and crazy guy” who had us all cry-laughing around the TV set every Saturday night is 78. Now known more for banjo playing and his role in Only Murders in the Building, Martin is the subject of a new biopic premiering today on Apple TV+. The two part series gets good reviews as an intelligent, thoughtful portrait of the comedian.

The first part, Then, documents Martin’s rise from struggling standup comic to superstar- which surprisingly took 15 long years. Now, the second segment, reveals a more introspective Martin, who has transitioned to actor, musician, art collector and family man.

For those not familiar with the young Steve Martin, it’s hard to imagine just how popular he was in the 70’s. “Perhaps you really did just have to be there to watch him capture lightning in a bottle,” writes Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian. “His live show reached its nirvana when he would lead the audience out of the theatre into the street, improvising wacky alfresco events… and on one occasion getting everyone to climb into an empty swimming pool and let him crowd-surf overhead. It was surely one of the great moments in comedy history.”

More on Steve Martin

• Classic SNL skits: Two Wild and Crazy Guys, King Tut, and more.

• Recent CBS Sunday Morning segment on the comic.

• If you aren’t familiar with it, Only Murders in the Building, is a humorous and innocuous series, starring an inter-generational cast (Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez).

• Reviews of the Apple TV+ documentary, STEVE(martin) a documentary in 2 pieces, in Deadline and The Guardian.

FITNESS

2. How to sustain a fitness plan

After 20 years, Wall Street Journal reporter Jen Murphy published her last column on personal fitness. Having interviewed countless athletes, both famous and not-so-much, she came up with ten take-aways for an effective, sustainable fitness regimen. You’ve probably heard them all before, but they bear repeating. Here are our three favorites and one we’re not so sure about.

Our favorite three and one more

Make sure you look forward to your workout. In other words, if you hate to swim, don’t even think about it. Play tennis, golf, pickle ball (or whatever) instead. Love being in nature? Find hikes and views accessible to your location, be it city park, lake or remote mountain top. Extra points for any exercise you can do with a group. You’ll be accountable to them and the sociability makes it more fun. (That’s our suggestion.)

Set high goals. You don’t have to break a world record like 100 year-old Charlotte Sandall. Work to best your own record. If cycling’s your thing, aim for a 10 mile bike ride, instead of 5. Better yet, train for a century ride. Even if you don’t end up participating, your fitness level will improve and you’ll impress yourself and friends.

Older doesn’t have to mean slower (or being worse) at a sport. Murphy writes about a marathon runner who’s faster at 49 than 35. And a 75 year old woman who trains with her local high school team. If you take up a new sport (Think pickle ball which was off the radar 5 years ago.), you’ll automatically be better than before.

But we’re not so sure about the observation that Early risers stick to their routine. Murphy extols Skip Bayless who exercises daily, sometimes as early as 2 a.m., and a former NFL coach who regularly gets up at 5:00 to train. Then again she’s a person who likes a 5:30 a.m. alarm and early workout. Not all of us do, Jen…Please remember your first takeaway above.

GEAR

3. Toe spacers are having their moment

At a Deep Stretch workout recently, our instructor spent several minutes on the importance of toe span. Specifically, she explained, our toes should be separated, providing a wide tripodal base which is optimal for walking as our ancestors did. As she lectured, we sat on a chair, one leg crossed over the opposing knee, and pulled on our toes, one by one. We then entwined the fingers of one hand between each toe and sat there, allowing our shoe-cramped feet to expand to their genetically-predisposed spacing.

It was an interesting stretch. And sure enough, afterwards our toes were separated (somewhat). Don’t stress about it, though. These days, of course, there’s no need to manually manipulate your tight digits. You can buy a contraption to help with this!

Athletes like Novak Djokovic and pro surfer Skylar Lickle believe using toe spacers gives them a competitive edge. “It makes sense,” Lickle says. “In surfing, we use our toes a lot. When I tried to spread my toes, they were unresponsive” until she wore the spacers regularly.

And there’s a benefit for regular folks, too. According to Dr. Dennis Cardone, a  sports medicine specialist at NYU Langone Health in New York City, wider toes provide better balance, important for both sports and everyday life.

• Wall Street Journal: What If Toe Spacers Were Enough to Boost Your Fitness

• Where to buy toe spacers

TELEVISION

4. Caption this, luv.

When watching a movie, who hasn’t had trouble discerning an unfathomable Glaswegian accent or with a mumbling American? Evidently everyone has, so we’ve all resorted to reading along.

Like toe spacers, captions are having their moment. And they may be here to stay, even for those of us not hard of hearing.

CBS Sunday Morning recently had a segment on this phenomenon:

IN SHORT

Books: We’ve heard good things about The Women and quite enjoyed the quirky Remarkably Bright Creatures. Sam Bankman-Fried being sentenced yesterday, reminds us we binge-read Going Infinite, the fascinating chronology of his downfall. (Recommended if you’re interested in crypto currency and fraud.)

Random trivia: Hidden Valley Ranch dressing is taking over the world; a third Downton Abbey movie begins filming this summer; Life Magazine is being relaunched by Jared Kushner’s brother and sister-in-law.

That’s it for this week. Next time we’ll have more about the eclipse, plus our regular health, fitness and other news. In the meantime, hope the weather’s nice in your neighborhood.

Have a great weekend!

The Chomp