The Diplomat will return (Netflix)

Kate Wyler (Kerri Russell) huffs and puffs rudely around London as though she was the PM, the President and the very axis upon which the earth rotates—all while sporting flyaway hair and unkempt pant-suits, and, possibly, deficient overall personal hygiene. She’s kind of a mess. She looks like she tried to get dressed while baling hay. Not at all the polished foreign service operative/ambassador/diplomat/tactician she’s purported to be, yet, oddly, I am content to allow her harridan act to cover for a heart of gold and a razor sharp mind, even though this belief doesn’t pan out much. At first. (Trailer link)

She was pulled from a mideast posting in Kabul (where women huffing and puffing get less done than anywhere, but signs of progress are popping up protesting that patriarchal system) and dumped into a hotbed of conspiracy surrounding the possible Iranian (or was it Russian? Or was it home-brewed? Or even us, for crying out loud) attack on a Brit vessel that killed 42 sailors. This is where it gets edge of seatness. And that just grows. No spoilers; it’s worth your time.

I should mention here that Hal Wyler (suavely played by Rufus Sewell), an ex-ambassador and Kate’s husband, is now confined to ambassador’s wife status, but as a master fixer and strategic chessmaster with global tentacles, he’s very much in the game. They actually come to blows over it in a woodsy setting, where her alarmed bodyguards watch through binoculars; it is decided that she is winning and they won’t interfere.

After this epic dustup, she appears before royalty with leaves in her hair. They seem to be getting used to her bedraggledness, so hardly an eyebrow is lifted, but looks are exchanged in her own camp. That group contains actors Rory Kinnear, Alo Essandoh, and Ali Ahn with great performances, and David Gyasi weighs in, handsomely, throughout as Foreign Secretary. For a full listing of actors with pictures, here’s that link.

The women in this thing range from iron-strong to behind the scenes string-pulling devious, and those of us who enjoyed West Wing will welcome Allison Janney as VP Grace Penn in the final crisis episode.

The rest of the casting is also top notch, displaying acting that runs from nuanced to comedic and is thoroughly enjoyable, and the twists and turns are unexpected and, at times, devastating. The ending is as jolting as, say, Kate glammed out in a red, train-dripping evening gown in Paris, which does happen. But wait until the last moments of the final episode—yikes!

I was well entertained by every episode and was sorry to see the last. It could certainly stand another year’s worth. Who knows—popular demand may—wait! I just found out season 3 is now filming! Good news for a smart, crackling series. Meanwhile, Keep Calm, Kate will be back to Kerri on. As will West Wing’s Allison Janney and a host of policymakers and shakers.  

The Kelce Mix Needs Work

Travis and Jason seem to be everywhere these days (look to your immediate left at the top of the list for their entertaining podcast) and Jason’s wife knocked out Joe Rogan for Number One, recently. Some of that stardust, it could be argued, comes via Travis’s girlfriend, but that’s on top of it all; the Kelces are serially talented performers all on their own. Jason retired from the Eagles and has been popping up doing some NFL color reporting, while his wife, Kylie just bumped Joe Rogan out of the Number One Podcast position with her own debut, “Not Gonna Lie.” And, of course, Travis has been helping the KC Chiefs win-by-a-hairsbreadth last few seconds of game after game. After game. Cereally, though, I have to say, the boys need work. I tried their “Sweetened wheat oat & corn cereal with marshmallow” (Reese’s Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Lucky Charms) and went Ptooey. Contains notes of sugar, peanut butter and bioengineered color marshmallows with sugar. Did I say sugar? Contains, um, added sugar. Hey, every great athlete should have their own cereal box, but just put Wheaties in it.

Indigenous Hi-tops by Freddie

 Featured in the last blog for her silversmithing and print production, here she is again; she just did a ZOOM class on beading for groups of people in Chicago, New York and Kansas City through the workplace ERG (Employers Resource Group). I’ve seen her beadwork for years and it occurred to me, hey, I bet the folks who read The View From Wise Acres would like to see some of this. I dug out some Chuck Taylors and gloves she did that I especially liked and here they are. I think the Chucks are in a class all their own and would quite possibly be a sustainable business. Yo, Converse, you reading this? How many you want? What sizes?

For the photographic mindset

I’m recommending two photography books I recently acquired, and think they have a broad appeal to anyone interested in history, and, of course, the discipline of photography itself. Robert Frank’s Trolley—New Orleans is a companion book to his iconic The Americans (introduction by Jack Kerouac), one of the most important photo books of all time, and one, I’m happy to report, that has been recently reprinted in its original form. I’ve been lusting after the original 1950s version, no matter how tattered, on Ebay and Biblio, but it’s a bit out of reach. I will buy the reprint. Both are searing records of something many of us would rather gloss over; they force us to regard racism as it was in the 50s and 60’s. I am jolted anew by these powerful photos.

Photographers A—Z is a compact doorstop of a book, 640 pages of examples of every photographer you’ve ever heard of and many whose work you may not have encountered. A Taschen book, it’s beautifully produced, and a volume to pick up and browse through, over years of ownership. For pleasure, for research, for eye-opening marveling at the creativity on each page, this book was made to open time and time again.

That’s it. I’m done. With this, and with 2024.

No philosophizing. No damn resolutions. Oh, wishes for happy, merry, that sort of thing for all of you. No strings, like in every email that says “Spread joy, buy this” etc. etc. I will now take leave (hear bells in the distance? neither do I, wait maybe I do) of the whole year and odd plane of existence with some music. This is Billy Strings and a guy named Nelson doing “California Sober,” and I hope you enjoy it. See you in 2025, right? xoxx Gman