CULTURE | DIGEST
BURIED IN TIME If you even casually follow the latest discoveries being made at ancient Egyptian archaeological sites, including big ones this month, some revelations of Netflix’s new documentary Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb won’t be totally new. Even so, the film showcasing an Egyptian team working at the Saqqara necropolis outside Cairo has plenty to offer. Cameras closely follow as the experts decrypt fragmented hieroglyphs and bones inside one family’s tomb, giving an up-close look each time something new emerges from the sand. Where the film truly shines, however, is through the raw, emotional connections made by the archaeologists as they work to uncover the life stories of their ancestors, lying untouched and unknown for thousands of years. (CHEY SCOTT)
Five Stages of Cats Adjusting To Work From Home
F
BY WILSON CRISCIONE
irst came denial. My two cats, Walter and Lola, couldn’t believe I kept staying home all week. I’ve been home before on weekdays, but because I’m sick and in bed or on the couch. That’s not so different from a weekend, as far as my cats can tell. This was different. Every day, I got out of bed, took a shower, sat at the dinner table and stared at a screen. My cats didn’t understand. They didn’t want to. So they ignored me. They curled up in their favorite spots and pretended I wasn’t there. This went on for weeks. Then they got angry. I was always there, and wouldn’t stop doing stuff that annoyed them, like my constant pacing while talk-
THE BUZZ BIN
THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST Some noteworthy new music hits online and in stores Nov. 20. To wit: JIMMY BUFFETT, Songs You Don’t Know By Heart. A live home-recorded set of fan requests. NICK CAVE, Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace. Cave, solo at the piano, and mesmerizing. THE DIRTY KNOBS, Wreckless Abandon. Can’t wait to hear this new quartet led by guitar ace Mike Campbell of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers. Campbell is a monster musician. (DAN NAILEN)
ing into that thing in my ear. I could feel their irritation: Won’t I just shut up? Who am I talking to all day? And wait — why wasn’t I giving them attention? The cats rebelled, a two-pronged attack. Lola would puke on the rug as much as possible. Walter would jump onto my computer table, knock over whatever was in his way, and start rubbing his face against the edge of the screen until I’d finally acknowledge his existence. Then they had another realization, and it was a game changer. If I’m going to be home at all hours, why don’t I feed them more? Thus the third stage: Begging. For what felt like hours, they sat next to their food bowls, stared at me and waited. If I made any motion, they’d scream a warning that all hell would break loose if they weren’t fed. (Keep in mind, these cats are, uh, heavy.) If I went into another room, they’d follow me, scream again, and then run back to their food bowls in a desperate attempt to lure me back. Eventually, an automatic feeder relieved some pressure because it meant that if they’re hungry, they don’t blame me. They blame the robot feeder. At this stage, decompression, all of us took a deep breath and thought, you know what? Maybe this can be something like normal. And there it was. Acceptance. More than six months in, my cats figured this is probably going to last awhile. And they enjoyed the perks — taking turns on my lap when they feel like cuddling, bringing their toy over and convincing me to play with them. It’s not a bad life! And I guess I like having them around, too. After all — in the midst of a deadly pandemic forcing me to work from home and avoid friends and family — I do enjoy the company. n
A TIMELY FASHION You’ve probably run across Sarah Cooper in the past few months on your social media. Her TikTok videos lip-syncing to Donald Trump speeches and rants have made her a pandemic star, so much so that the comedian landed a Netflix special dotted by guest appearances from the likes of Helen Mirren, Megan Thee Stallion and (arguably funniest of them all) Jon Hamm doing his version of the My Pillow guy. Sarah Cooper: Everything’s Fine is a sketch show fully formed and produced in the COVID age. It’s worth an hour of your time for sure, and while some of the jokes (hopefully) won’t still resonate in a few years, Cooper’s talent just might. (DAN NAILEN)
MOVIN’ ON UP Circling Raven Golf Club made the ranks of the country’s best casino golf courses, rising to No. 19 this year, the third straight season the folks at GolfWeek have recognized the course owned by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe in Worley, Idaho. The Kalispel Tribe’s Kalispel Golf & Country Club course in North Spokane also made the list, landing at No. 31. (DAN NAILEN)
APOCALYPSE WHEN I tore through Rumaan Alam’s new novel Leave the World Behind in just a couple sittings, getting sucked into its beautifully written domestic drama as it’s gradually overwhelmed by an unshakeable sense of foreboding. It begins simply, with an upper-middle class family heading to an isolated country home for a week of relaxation. But then there’s a knock on the door in the middle of night: It’s the house’s owners, fleeing from a freak blackout that seems to have blanketed the East Coast, and their home has inexplicably avoided the power outage. Things get weirder from there, and Alam’s chamber piece develops into an allegory about race and class in America, and of human nature cracking under the pressure of impending calamity. (NATHAN WEINBENDER)
NOVEMBER 19, 2020 INLANDER 27