1. Read The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
ARCHER PARQUETTE, MANAGING EDITOR
I don’t excel in a lot of things: athletics, relationships, wealth, the ability to maintain basic hygiene standards, etc. Yet I’ve always considered myself quite well read. The only real gap in my literary history is what might be termed “The Big Classic British Novels.” I admit that I struggle to get through Austen, Bronte, Eliot, Dickens – all those intensely detailed British social works and novels of manners.
So I wasn’t all that excited about Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day, a 1989 novel written in a distinctly British idiom – the voice of a butler. Yes, it’s a modern novel, but the style was right in line with the kind of story that makes my eyes glaze over. Despite my misgivings, a few incredibly positive reviews convinced me to give it a shot, and boy I’m glad they did.
This is one of the most affecting novels I’ve read in recent memory. The older butler who narrates the story, Stevens, is a tragic figure, a man out of time, who introduces the reader to his fading world of proper manners and fastidious service. The plot is deceptively simple – Stevens takes a country drive while the owner of the house is out of town – but the emotional core is deeply complex. Ishiguro does an amazing job of creating an undercurrent in his prose. The real story, the humanity, often lies in what Stevens doesn’t say or the peculiar way he recounts certain events. As the story unfolds, his regrets, his little triumphs, and the questions that haunt him come to the fore as this aging man approaches “the remains of the day.”
2. Eat Moo Goo Gai Pan at DanDan
ANN CHRISTENSON, DINING EDITOR
Every time I go to DanDan (360 E. Erie St.), there’s one thing I always order (the smashed cucumbers, which are crisp, juicy, herbaceous and sometimes spicy). And I try to also get something that I’ve never ordered there before. This time that was moo goo gai pan, a Cantonese dish I loved when I was a kid, influenced in no small way by an episode of “The Bob Newhart Show” (circa 1970s) that I think of whenever I see moo goo gai pan on a menu.
In the episode, it’s Thanksgiving, and Bob and Emily Hartley, their neighbor Jerry, and psychiatrist Bob’s patient, Mr. Carlin, watch football and get completely bombed – so drunk that they can’t cook dinner. The turkey is still frozen. So what does Bob do but try to order Chinese food over the phone. The funniest part of the whole episode is when Bob is ordering moo goo gai pan (“More goo to go!”). If you can find the episode, watch it. It’s brilliant comedy. And moo goo gai pan is a classic Cantonese dish done very well at DanDan, with lots of vegetables – mushrooms, snap peas, carrots, baby corn, bamboo shoots in a mild brown gravy. And the crispy chow mein noodles spoke nostalgically to me.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
3. Play a Round of Slay the Spire 2
AMRITA THAKKAR, DIGITAL EDITOR
Fortunately or unfortunately, I’ve stumbled onto video games rather late in life, and it really is interfering with my (supposed) goal of cutting down on the time I spend on various forms of technology. At least I can convince myself that this one does lead to socialization of some sort, as the second iteration of this beloved franchise is a co-operative, multiplayer game.
Slay the Spire is a deck-building game (not to be confused with a card game) where you collect cards that allow your character to fight a series of increasingly more dangerous enemies. The catch, of course, is that you’re dealt a hand of your cards randomly during your turn, and you may or may not receive what you need to defend yourself against a particular monster’s attack. Multiplayer allows you to fight monsters with your friends and adds a layer of starategy, though often that strategy consists of my friends and I throwing our different cards and hoping for the best. Your mileage may vary, but it’s certainly a good way to while away a weekend during the upcoming cold snap.
4. Indulge in a Pour Over at Idyll Coffee Roasters
EVAN MUSIL, ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR
My coffee shop routine looks something like this: I walk in, stare at the menu, ooh and ahh at drinks like Lavender Elderberry Spritz and Pistachio Saffron Latte, and order a drip coffee. I can’t help it; after years of chugging java to keep myself running, the straightforward substance has become my beverage of choice. Still, that doesn’t mean I settle for sludge, and if I have the chance to elevate my selection, I’ll take it. Enter the elegant pour-over. Because the manual process of steadily pouring hot water over grounds, like a human coffee machine, is slow on purpose to maximize flavor extraction from the beans, not every cafe offers it. But the new Idyll Coffee Roaster in East Tosa does. When I tried their Colombia roast, the finer notes of tropical fruit were crisp and soothing. And when I know the barista took time to make my drink special, I want to take the time to truly appreciate it.
