Houston, We Had No Problem
The Covenant of Water, Andersen’s, Steely Dan, Dynamic DBs, Thought Train
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This week’s issue includes five favorite American rock bands of the 70s, an Indian epic, a Danish bakery serving delicious dinners, a jazzy rock band, two defensive backs who made key interceptions in the College Football Championship Game, and someone asking, “how much is that train set in the window?” I hope you like the picks and pics.
Michigan finished the job it started last week by defeating previously unbeaten Washington, 34-13 in Houston to win the national championship. The combination of a powerful running game (303 rushing yards) and an overwhelming defense led the Wolverines to their first title since 1997. Watching the game was fun at the start, tense for much of it, and exhilarating at the end.
Fave Five 67: Houston, We Had No Problem. Literary Legend (The Covenant of Water), Danish Delight (Andersen’s), Bard Band (Steely Dan), Dynamic DBs (Will Johnson and Mike Sainristil), and a Thought Train.
Fave Five List: Favorite American Rock Bands of the 1970s
Steely Dan (this week’s Marvelous Musicians)
Book Best Bet
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
I liked Cutting For Stone, so when my friend Barbara Osher raved about Verghese’s new novel, I bought it. 715 pages later, and what seemed like forever, I finished it today. It’s a demanding novel, requiring the reader to keep track of many characters over a long time, and in multiple parts of India. Many of the Indian words are not translated, so you have to intuit their meaning. The maps could have been more helpful. But despite these challenges, I was rewarded with a lot of knowledge about India and medicine, richly drawn characters, and a thrilling story. Well worth the time.
From Amazon: From the New York Times-bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes a stunning and magisterial epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in Kerala, South India, following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret.
The Covenant of Water is the long-awaited new novel by Abraham Verghese, the author of the major word-of-mouth bestseller Cutting for Stone, which has sold over 1.5 million copies in the United States alone and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years.
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time. From this unforgettable new beginning, the young girl—and future matriarch, known as Big Ammachi—will witness unthinkable changes over the span of her extraordinary life, full of joy and triumph as well as hardship and loss, her faith and love the only constants.
A shimmering evocation of a bygone India and of the passage of time itself, The Covenant of Water is a hymn to progress in medicine and to human understanding, and a humbling testament to the difficulties undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today. It is one of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years.
Abraham Verghese (born 1955 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) is an American physician, author and Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine and Vice Chair of Education at Stanford University Medical School. He is the author of four best-selling books: two memoirs and two novels. In 2011, he was elected to be a member of the Institute of Medicine. He received the National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama in 2015. He is the co-host with Eric Topol of the podcast Medscape Medicine and the Machine.
Restaurant Recommendation
Andersen’s Danish Bakery and Restaurant 1106 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
This is a favorite place of our daughter Tracy and her husband Matt. This was the scene of their rehearsal dinner, and they dined here right before both of their sons were born. We order the famous Kringle for our family’s Christmas breakfast.
The food is fantastic, as are the baked goods. At a holiday dinner, our family shared two orders of duck and two other dishes pictured below. It all disappeared quickly.
Scandinavian Duck: Tender slow roasted duck, tender meat crispy skin, sweet and sour red cabbage, baked apple, caramel potatoes, port wine reduction. Chef’s signature dish.
Hungarian Goulash: Tender pieces of slow-roasted beef, mushrooms, and onions in a mild paprika sauce, served with garlic mashed potatoes and pickled red beets
Pork Schnitzel: Lightly breaded pork steak sauteed in creamy butter, with capers, lemon, blanc potatoes, and sweet & sour red cabbage
Marvelous Musicians
Today is Donald Fagen's 76th birthday. In 1972 I liked Steely Dan's singles "Do It Again" and "Reelin' In The Years." Later, my friend Nick Robins recommended Pretzel Logic and my brother David raved about Aja. I bought all of Steely Dan's albums and became a great fan. They are my favorite band of the 70s.
From Wikipedia: Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 by core members Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Blending elements of rock, jazz, Latin music, R&B, blues and sophisticated studio production with cryptic and ironic lyrics, the band enjoyed critical and commercial success starting from the early 1970s until breaking up in 1981. Initially the band had a core lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired the band from live performances altogether to become a studio-only band, opting to record with a revolving cast of session musicians. Rolling Stone has called them "the perfect musical antiheroes for the Seventies". Fans of Beat Generation literature, Fagen and Becker named the band after a "revolutionary" steam-powered dildo mentioned in the William S. Burroughs novel Naked Lunch.
They have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2001. VH1 ranked Steely Dan at No. 82 on their list of the 100 Greatest Musical Artists of All Time. Rolling Stone ranked them No. 15 on its list of the 20 greatest duos of all time.
Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948 in Passaic, New Jersey) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s. He has also released four albums as a solo artist,
Walter Carl Becker (born February 20, 1950 in Queens, New York City; died September 3, 2017 in Manhattan, New York City) was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was best known as the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter of the jazz rock band Steely Dan.
Reeling in the Years
My Old School
Don't Take Me Alive
My Playlist
Sports Stars
Dynamic DBs: Will Johnson and Mike Sainristil
Leading up to Monday’s National Championship game, many pundits thought Washington would win because of the Huskies’ star quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (the Heisman Trophy runner-up), and his three talented receivers. But Michigan’s defense was up to the challenge. The front line consistently pressured him without blitzing. And the defensive backs did a great job in blanketing the receiving corps.
Two key plays stood out. On the first play of the second half, Will Johnson snagged an incredible interception, holding on to the ball while being tackled by the receiver and staying in bounds. Mike Sainristil sealed the win with an interception deep in Michigan territory followed by an 81-yard return.
Will Johnson, Mike Sainristil and Michigan's stingy D clamps down on Washington's deep passing game by Ralph D. Russo
Will Johnson, Mike Sainristil and the Michigan defense forced college football’s most dynamic deep passing game to dink and dunk its way down the field with a performance that left coach Jim Harbaugh gushing.
“That was a spectacular game by our defense,” Harbaugh said.
William Johnson (born March 29, 2003) is an American football cornerback for the Michigan Wolverines. He was the No. 1 recruit in Michigan for the 2022 recruiting class.
Johnson was born in 2003 and grew up in Grosse Pointe. His father, Deon Johnson, was a cornerback for Michigan in the 1990s.
Johnson played high school football at Grosse Pointe South High School. As a senior, he had 45 tackles, including 31 solo tackles, and 12 pass breakups. He was rated as the No. 1 player in Michigan by 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals.com.
In February 2021, Johnson committed to Michigan's 2022 recruiting class. He also had offers from, among others, Ohio State, USC, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M. He was one of the first Michigan recruits to benefit from new rule allowing players to be compensated for use of their name and likeness.
He enrolled early at Michigan in January 2022 and participated in winter conditioning. He impressed in spring practice and was described as being positioned to play early in the fall of 2022. He became a starter as a true freshman, and at the end of the season, he was named to Pro Football Focus's PFF True Freshman All-America team.
Michael Penix Throws Interception to Will Johnson
Michael Sainristil (born October 3, 2000) is an American football cornerback for the Michigan Wolverines.
Sainristil was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 2000. His father, Carlot, was the newsroom director at a radio station and received threats after the 2000 Haitian presidential election. As a result, the family fled from Haiti when Sainristil was seven months old.
The family settled in Everett, Massachusetts, where Sainristil attended Everett High School. He was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Massachusetts during the 2018–19 academic year.
In November 2018, he committed to play college football at the University of Michigan. He enrolled early and turned heads in Michigan's 2019 spring practice. Michigan's defensive coaches sought to use him as a cornerback, but the offensive staff won out in having him as a wide receiver.
Despite his strong showing in spring practice, Sainristil saw limited time as a true freshman and caught only one pass for eight yards in the first seven games. He had a breakout game against Notre Dame on October 26, 2019, making three receptions for 73 yards and his first collegiate touchdown.
With the departure of receivers Donovan Peoples-Jones, Tarik Black, and Nico Collins, Sainristil played a larger role in Michigan's offense during the 2020 season.
In 2022, Sainristil was moved to defensive back. During the 2022 regular season, he ranked second on the team with 31 solo tackles and also had seven pass breakups, four-and-a-half tackles for loss, and two quarterback sacks.
Michael Penix Throws Interception to Mike Sainristil
Picture Pun
Julian’s train of thought: “I could use a third Christmas Express!”
