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Hi all! This is Melissa -- thought I'd given my own opinions here.

1. Besides Homeland, I've been going through Mad Men and The Office again for the zillionth time. I've also started "Making The Cut" on Prime, which is a re-done version of Project Runway with Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn. It is more about the designers and their craft, rather than being based on a cut-throat competition. I recently watched "Making It" (also HIGHLY commend to you) with Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman. There's something happening in competition reality shows these days. Great British Baking Show has really had an effect on the genre. Making The Cut is a lot gentler to watch than Project Runway, even though I do enjoy the latest version of Project Runway with Karlie Kloss and Christian Siriano. I also tried "Next In Fashion" from Netflix (hosts Alexa Chung and Tan France) and I just wasn't a big fan. I wish I could read a nice think piece from someone like Alissa Wilkinson on the GBBO effect and how reality shows are becoming kinder and less cut-throat--though not all of them, obviously. We have The Bachelor for a reason.

2. I am going through a YA Fantasy/Supernatural/Dystopian/Science Fiction book about once every couple days on Kindle. I'm not a fan of the fancy contemporary literature that everyone says they like. Give me a clear plot, magic, and a hint of romance, and I'm good. I don't need complicated prose. I actually hate flowery or descriptive writing, even if it comes from one of the masters. Sorry to anyone I am offending right now. ;-) Michael has been practically begging me to read Lasch's book so we can discuss it, so I will be doing that one ASAP too. I don't read a lot of non-fiction unless it's foreign policy, politics, or diplomacy-based, or some sweeping argument on society. Lasch's book fits the bill. We don't often agree on books to read together. *chuckle*

3. I don't cook. You don't want me to cook. Michael is our cook, and he's really talented at it. I made tacos about 5 days ago to help out the monotony for Michael and the seasoning was too spicy, and I forgot to buy sour cream. It...wasn't pretty.

Love to you all! xx

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Apr 21, 2020Liked by Michael & Melissa Wear

What’s up guys? Just recently became a paid subscriber. Looking forward to more content!

1)My wife and I will occasionally watch The Office. We reached the point where you can just turn on an episode and know what’s going on. Could be a bad thing! Lol! We finished Jack Ryan. Thought the first season was stronger than the second. We’re also watching The Last Dance documentary on the 1998 Chicago Bulls. So far, it’s been great!

2) Been reading “Meat Market” by Bruce Feldman. It’s spends an entire year following the recruiting cycle for Ole Miss when Ed Orgeron was the coach there. Which of course it all bizarre to read this now. He was fired from that job but has now won a national title and been named coach of the year.

3) I’m not really a cook. But I will try to help my wife where I can. We’ve been experimenting a lot with spaghetti squash here recently. Not too bad!

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Apr 21, 2020Liked by Michael & Melissa Wear

It's all I can handle to keep up with normal stuff and trying to stay in touch with a base number of family and friends. Work is just email triage and I don't sleep well.

I try to read newsletters and blogs.

I haven't made anything unusual to eat.

But I live in Georgia so it's already over down here, officially on Friday but I'm gonna guess people will basically interpret that as effective immediately. What's in theaters these days? Any restaurant recommendations? Wanna get reservations for bowling? There's one with an ice cream shop next door so we can go for ice cream after 🙄

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Apr 21, 2020Liked by Michael & Melissa Wear

I'm watching Schitt's Creek and the Heist right now. I'm reading the Myth of the American Dream by DL Mayfield and it is so good!! Highly recommend for anyone who likes memoir non-fiction. I love the way she writes essays about her life and thought process that invite me to think more critically about how I live out my values. I'm cooking through my two Allison Roman cookbooks - make a very good and simple roasted salmon, asparagus, potatoes with browned butter peas and green herb-y sauce. and a great foccacia pizza!

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Apr 21, 2020Liked by Michael & Melissa Wear

1. I’m not a huge tv show person anymore, but I am a BIG fan of Daredevil and Jack Ryan. The latter took up any free time I had for about half a week. I couldn’t stop myself. My daughter and I are currently watching Ken Burns’ documentary on the National Parks.

2. I’m 2/3 of the way through Taylor Branch’s trilogy on the Civil Rights movement. I get the feeling that I’m only taking in a small portion of the actual events, but it is fascinating to read about everything that came together to create the greatest human rights movement in the country’s history. Most convicting to me are the countless individual acts of sacrifice.

In addition I’ve got Keller’s book on vocation and Crouch’s on culture.

3. My wife and sister in law have been baking ceaselessly since the quarantine began. My wife’s pound cake with lemon glaze is going to become a permanent staple on our counter once we get students back. I made red eye gravy for the first time which was delicious. I’m now trying to convince my extended family to make a large lemon, chicken, and olive tagine complete with Moroccan bread.

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Apr 21, 2020Liked by Michael & Melissa Wear

I’m watching Veep, Final Table & the new Burns Roosevelt docu. Also watched American Factory & Hillary since this all started ... also Cheers for a nightcap.

Reading ... work email & kids school lessons (wahoo!). But just finished Team of Rivals a couple weeks ago and haven’t had the heart to pick something up because I’m still sad that Lincoln died. The hazards of reading history ... every character you like dies.

Cooking mostly scratch, no-recipe-needed dinners. Did a nice rhubarb & cream cake for Easter and a couple cheesecakes over the last 6 weeks. We just got a grill, so I’m looking forward to starting to experiment with some chicken thighs, sausages, and pizzas, but nothing too fancy. Hoping the weather warms up so I can get a bunch of herbs going, which is basically all you need to make something meh taste great! (+butter)

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Apr 20, 2020Liked by Michael & Melissa Wear

1) Just started Westworld. Intense! Looking forward to seeing how it develops the themes of humanity and autonomy. Also re-watching The Good Place, this time with my wife. We were horrified last night noticing a line Jason says about having a flu virus named after him because he licked a bat. WHAT DID YOU KNOW, MIKE SCHUR?!

2) Rainbows for the Fallen World by Calvin Seerveld. Reading this as part of a cohort of colleagues. Only read the intro, but it’s fantastic, as Seerveld always is. It’s a look at art and aesthetics through the Kuyperian/Dutch Reformed worldview. Wrapping up Jake Meador’s In Search of the Common Good. Really good, really helpful. Also The Water Dancer, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ novel. The man can do everything.

3) Broke out the grill on a beautiful evening for some deliciously marinated chicken breasts and did some sliced potatoes in the cast iron skillet. Simple, but joyful. Also getting a sourdough starter going and can’t wait to bake my first loaf tomorrow!

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Apr 20, 2020Liked by Michael & Melissa Wear

1. We’ve been watching Once Upon a Time - basically fairy tale characters get transported to our world. There are some interesting themes about how love can change someone for the better and what happens when you make love an idol instead.

2. Today I read an essay from Chesterton’s The Well and the Shallows. It was written in 1935, but there was a lot that could apply to social media and the partisanship we see today.

3. I made carnitas a few weeks ago, and if I had known how easy and delicious it was, I would have tried making it a long time ago.

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Apr 20, 2020Liked by Michael & Melissa Wear

I’m watching Homeland too! I’m afraid either Carrie and/or Saul will die. I’m also watching

Better Call Saul and Bosch. Too much tv I’m sure

but high quality. I’m reading a lot of poetry: A small book by N.T. Wright-“Quiet Moments”; also waiting on “Spirits in Bondage” by C.S. Lewis. We’re cooking a lot at home. Nothing too fancy. Today I’m making my dad’s Hamburger Soup and

Chicken quesadillas for dinner. God Bless!

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Apr 20, 2020Liked by Michael & Melissa Wear

1. Watching: "Boy Meats World", "Lidia's Italian Kitchen", and "Criminal Minds." Also just watched Mrs. America and thought it was very well done. Cate Blanchett's voice and mannerisms were exactly like Phyllis Schlafly's.

2. Reading: Reed of God. I started it two Advents ago but want to really dig into it this time. I am waiting to dig into Ron Chernow's Grant once I am finished with my paper for my masters program. Carolyn and I are also reading The Dawn Treader together.

3. As I said via Twitter last December, The Silver Spoon is great. It's simplicity is really wonderful, but keep in mind that its serving sizes are about 1/3 the size of ours. If you are trying to go a long time between grocery trips, I'd suggest really digging into that cookbook. They have so many recipes that do not take many recipes, and weird combos you'd never think of. For example, before our milk went bad I made onion and milk soup. It's good, not great, but we got an extra meal out of something we otherwise may have tossed.

I went through Lidia's book, Silver Spoon, a soup cookbook that I have, and Julia Child's cookbook yesterday to flag recipes that are only a few ingredients that I can test out during the quarantine. I'd be happy to share as I go!

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Apr 20, 2020Liked by Michael & Melissa Wear

I'll hop in on this, although I haven't been cooking much (unless Trader Joe's frozen Indian food packets count)

1. Watching -- just finished the first season of Mad Men. Going to wait a bit before starting season 2 as I'm finding myself both angry with every character and feeling sad for them, really well done though.

2. Reading -- Rutledge's Crucifixion, recommended to me by a friend. Not far into it yet, but really enjoying it. Stott's Cross of Christ was one of the most formative books in my college years and this reminds me of it in many good ways. Also N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth series, seriously enjoyable and well-written fantasy.

3. Cooking -- ...

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Apr 20, 2020Liked by Michael & Melissa Wear

I am reading a brand new book by my friend Ned O'Gorman, a professor of communication at the University of Illinois. The book is _Politics for Everybody: Reading Hannah Arendt in Uncertain Times_ (University of Chicago Press, 2020). The basic point is that authentic politics is a kind of collaborative human community and that "sustained and widespread public happiness depends on public happiness," i.e., the freedom and flourishing of individuals can only happen in a society where citizens freely come together as equals at all levels of society to speak and act regarding matters of common concern. It is a defense of a republican (small "r)" tradition of politics that informed our founders and that is more public minded than the individualistic turn of political liberalism (small "l"). And it uses the work of Hannah Arendt as a source of its major themes and thus functions as a short primer on the major lines of thought in her work.

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Apr 20, 2020Liked by Michael & Melissa Wear

I'm a big fan of this, though I'm going to hate answering number 3 since my cooking is...weak.

1. Michaela and I have been watching McMillions, the HBO documentary about the McDonald's Monopoly crime. It's a little too dramatic and overly detailed, but it's enjoyable to learn about.

2. I'm reading Thomas Merton's 64&65 journals, which is bound in a book called "Vow of Conversation" and is incredibly good. It inspired me to start journaling. I've also been devouring long podcasts dedicated to societal and structural change and asking how that is accomplished.

3. I've been cooking lots of quesadillas and baked or fried chicken. Earlier this year we decided to remove beef from our regular diet and I'm not a fan of most porks, however we've also been making lots of calzones this year and they're great.

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1. I'm kinda picky and can't find anything on netflix that interests me now, but we had a baby last summer so now we're renting from redbox all the good movies that were in theaters in our early post partum days. Watched Harriet last weekend, and plan to watch eithet Little Women or Just Mercy this weekend. In lieu of a nightly show we've been playing games. Azul, Bohnanza, and Unearth are our favorites.

2. Since my very curious 9 month old is exploring every corner of the house, reading has been squeezed out of my daily routine most days. But I decided to read through my Greek New Testament this year and am keeping up with that routine--so good for my soul. When I do get to read, I started True and False Reform in the Church by Yves Congar. He's concerned with addressing serious moral failings in the church without giving way to individualistic or ideological zeal that tears the body apart. Seems...relevant. And his catholic commitment to institutional unity as he weighs these questions is a healty corrective to my low-church evangelical ecclesiology.

3. So I decided a couple months ago to incorporate more plant-based food into my eating habits, and its actually been just the right thing for me now. When I want downtime on the internet I'm spending more time scrolling through vegan blogs and less time on twitter. Also the challenge of getting plenty of protein while eating only delicious foods in a budget has given joyful momentum to my days. And I still eat meat or creamy, custardy desserts when I really crave them.

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1) Recently finished The Leftovers (oddly comforting during all this). Just started The Wire for the first time, as well as a PBS Masterpiece show about WWII called World On Fire.

2) The Brothers Karamazov (first time!)

3) I'm trying to perfect gluten free biscuits for my celiac wife. It's not going well...

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1. I'm missing football, so in place of spring practice I've been watching old NFL games. I just finished the 2015 Dez Bryant "catch" game against Green Bay in the playoffs. I can't decide if watching these games is more helpful or hurtful! My wife and I started Downton Abbey last week as well.

2. I am currently reading the Chronicles of Narnia. They have been a welcome follow up to American Carnage by Tim Alberta. I found American Carnage to be very insightful. I usually enjoy books on politics and I did enjoy that one, but that one hit me a bit harder than I was anticipating. I walked away longing for the GOP of a different era.

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