📝 Editor’s Note
If you drove by our house, you would have little doubt that there are children inside.
I recently embraced my inner protective-parent. I purchased one of the big plastic “slow down” figures, complete with its trusty orange flag. It passive-aggressively tries to get people to slow down, while protecting our Fisher Price water table and various toy cars that are strewn across our front yard.
But the real tell? Our trusty outdoor blanket.
This blanket is awesome. And waterproof, which is great because it accidently gets left outside…a lot.
It arrived at our house as a shotgun gifting approach for my wife’s birthday. It was one of many gifts I gave her that year, hoping at least one would land. Somewhat shockingly, it did. It is a YETI brand, so it is most certainly overpriced, but I think the extra juice is worth it given how well it has held up.
Think I’m just a YETI shill? Well, I think this $30 pocket blanket from Matador is another great option. However, if you don’t want to take my word for it, you can take Eve’s word for it, who wrote this review on the YETI website:
“I'm back for blanket #6. My name is Eve and I'm a Yeti Blankaholic. Seriously, I can't stop.”
Without further ado….
Why Lee?
Our 3-year-old boys are best friends. For months, our son came home talking about his friend August. August has a killer ponytail, and we just knew he had to have cool parents.
One day after drop-off, I saw Lee headed back to his car and I struck up a conversation. I think we initially talked for almost 30 minutes. We had a lot in common and I was super interested to get to know the guy better that worked in a 6th generation family business that makes the rocks that go in the bottom of fish tanks and moonlights as a bass player.
Follow Lee on Instagram: @Lelanjamesmusic (below photo by @steel.string.photo)
Self-Description
Hopeless optimistic, full-time dreamer; dancing between the rain drops of work, parenthood and chasing creativity
Lee’s Recommendations
Written in his own words…
Content
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
Although Bester is not often spoken of in the same breath as Isaac Asimov and Frank Herbert, he damn well should be, and his 1956 sci-fi novel, The Stars My Destination, proves it.
Clocking in at less than 200 pages, Stars is the perfect airport/beach read and follows Gully Foyle, a wholly unambitious man who becomes consumed with vengeance after being abandoned in space.
Such a brief description doesn’t do it justice or acknowledge Star’s influence, but it is absolutely worth the read.
Product
Cologne, like a great piece of art, is wholly subjective-some may even say optional. But when you find one that speaks to you, it suddenly becomes personal. Like it's saying something about you.
The Motely by Palo Santo does that for me. The bottle claims notes of woodsmoke, suede, hops and palmwood but if you ask me, I would describe its scent as “subtle masculinity."
In my imagination, it is what Indiana Jones wore when teaching at Oxford…ya know, before the whip and fedora came out.
Well Being
Mindfullness
If there could be a single defining feature of the last 7+ years of my life, it would be the need to 'switch gears' as quickly and efficiently as possible. Because I work from home, I juggle a full-time job, day-to-day housework, running around for our kids, and working as a part-time musician. I take calls while waiting in the car line at daycare, fold laundry and make lunches while keeping up with email, and bring my laptop to shows, working between sets. You get the idea.
To be clear, I love my life, and I’m very grateful for every frenetic moment. Full stop.
It’s also true that years of switching gears have led me to anticipate the next thing more than being present in the moment. Side effects include feelings of being overwhelmed or anxious.
Enter mindfulness meditation.
Even taking just five minutes to meditate with guided audio has helped ground me in the present and made me feel like I’m not just racing from one thing to the next.
I’m not perfect at all — but perfection isn’t the goal. Acknowledging that I’m here, now, and that’s okay, is the secret sauce I needed.
Vice: Cocktails
I’m a frustrated bartender who loves mixing drinks and serving friends at home. When we’re out, I’m always on the lookout for a place with a killer cocktail program.
There’s so much to love about a great cocktail: the balance of flavors, the artistry and creativity on display, the ritual of mixing ingredients. It’s a social experience that engages your senses and sparks conversations and connections.
Is it a vice when they go down a little too easy? Eh, probably. But with the right menu and good friends, it’s a journey well worth taking.
Watch
Obtuse arthouse cinema has its place and a different movie critic - a better one - might offer a deep cut recommendation that blows your mind. But I’m a man of populist film tastes and JAWS is the granddaddy of them all.
Perfectly taut and terrifying with blistering performances, JAWS is all the more remarkable for its well documented production problems that forced director Steven Spielberg to constantly improvise along the way. Somehow, against all odds, he created a timeless masterpiece that laid the blueprint for summer blockbusters as we’ve come to know them.
You’ve probably seen it and maybe, if you are like me, still irrationally check the pool for Great Whites when you are in the deep end.
Food and Drink
Shanghai 21 on Mott Street in NYC is top-tier Chinatown eats and a must stop whenever we’re in the City. All of the expected favorites are here with their perfectly crispy and savory Szechuan style shredded beef a standout. But the real stars of the show are their soup dumplings. Don’t sleep on the black truffle & pork! Crazy delicious.
Oh-and I made best friends with Hugh Jackman out front. It’s a whole thing…
Music
Noah Gunderson is a songwriter that lives rent free in my head with music that has shifted between indie folk, rock, and singer-songwriter over the years. Through it all, his deeply soulful voice and weathered sense of irony shines, often landing to heart wrenching effect.
Check out Robin Williams and Wild Horses from his 2019 album, Lover, as proof. And if you’re still hungry for more (as I was), jump over to YouTube and throw on his “Live on KEXP” performance.
Travel
Provincetown, MA
I have family who live on Cape Cod, and it’s become a yearly tradition for my wife and me to throw our kids in the car and drive halfway up the coast to visit them. Over the years, we’ve had the good fortune to explore much of what the Cape has to offer, and Provincetown holds a special place in our hearts. I proposed to my wife on one of its beaches.
The people are wonderful, and the aesthetic can be described as chic-shoreside, with a main street that’s absolutely bursting with restaurants, art galleries, clothing stores, and souvenir shops.
I could recommend checking out Strangers & Saints (incredible cocktails), Fudge Factory (homemade peanut butter cuts), or The Lobster Pot (best Lobsters Rolls on the Cape), but half the fun is walking Commerical Street and discovering your own reasons to fall in love with P-Town.
Plug
I’ve recently released The Carolina EP and it marks the first time in almost 30 years of playing in bands that I’ve put my own music out into the world. The EP is a huge step for me personally, and I’m extremely proud of the work that’s been done on it.
The Carolina EP hews towards the alt country/indie folk scene and tells a story of love in three parts: losing it, pining for its return, and finding it all over again.
Want to reach Lee? Find home on Instagram @Lelanjamesmusic - “Let’s Talk!”
P.S. from Rambull — Apparently my Oscar list from ChatGPT last week had some errors in it. Thank you to Melanie for the catch and a good reminder to always do a spot check with ChatGPT. Keeping with the theme, this week I’m sharing a graphic for the best TV shows. My number 1 is True Detective S1, which at 47 feels criminal.
S/O to Sean Smith for sending me this graphic from Reddit.