Current Spins

LATELY | 01.13.21 by Karl Magnuson

HAPPY NEW YEAR?

Well. This year didn’t take long to resemble last year. As someone who lives in Washington DC, I’m extra disheartened about the violence and insurrection at the US Capitol. I’m glad it seems most people see this as a bad thing (from what I can tell). I found this article helpful as far as articulating what I see as the Christian perspective on the situation.


CURRENT SPINS

Last week I dropped a New Year playlist (Spotify | Apple Music) which, personally, I really love. This week I’m dreaming of international travel with a “Postcards From Far Away” inspired playlist. With everything going on, I just decided to make it myself this time. Each song title is just a single word representing a city or place.

2020 by Karl Magnuson

2020 WAS A YEAR

I wasn’t planning on writing a recap of 2020 but this morning while I was in that still-waking-up phase I saw a nice and succinct recap by my internet-friend / guy-I-went-to-highshool-with Sam, and I felt inspired to do the same. Following his approach, I’m not trying to comprehensively recap everything I thought or experienced much less everything that happened in the world (everything from the impacts of COVID-19 to the US presidential election). 2020 was a lot of bad but that shouldn’t erase the good. To quote Tolkien: “The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”

JANUARY

After a nice quiet NYE with my sister in Louisville, I started the year off by building my first Instagram filter on a whim and year-to-date it has 7.7 million impressions, 2.9 million opens, and 1.9 million captures, making it by far the most viral thing I’ve created. At that point in the year I didn’t cringe at the word viral.

I also started out 2020 reading two of the best books I read in the year: a book on building habits in an age of distraction and another book on the science and importance of sleep, which IMHO you must read and abide by. I also got back on skis for the first time since breaking my leg in 2017.

FEBRUARY

We can agree that the first two months seem to belong to a different year, right? Hard to remember what happened that far back before life changed. February stand outs include getting to see my friend Donald in a new really good musical “Gun & Powder” in a DC-area production, traveling to Florida to shoot a wedding (my first one primarily shot with 35mm film), getting into stocks on Robinhood with a couple guy friends (very good or bad timing depending on how you look at it…), and a solo trip to Lake Tahoe for some of my favorite skiing I’ve experienced.

MARCH

Took a work trip to San Diego and continued weekly Instagram posts of wallpapers and “color theories” as a way of trying to be consistent with content. One more quick ski weekend to maximize my epic pass on my way to a work conference in LA resulted in a fairly bad concussion. That mid-March week was notable because each day in the hotel in LA my concern about COVID-19 grew exponentially (a few hours of CNN each day will do that to you). I moved my return flight to DC forward out of concern that airlines might shut down. I contracted the virus at LAX (I was one of the first in DC tested when I got back and the results came two days after my just-to-be-safe isolation period ended). Big early adopter, I guess.

I also turned 30 in quarantine. My sister gave me one of the best gifts I’ve received - a two hour compilation of birthday wishes from friends. The messages encouraged me as I was stuck by myself in the early days of the pandemic but more than that I knew how much work she put into learning to make it, which really made it meaningful.

APRIL

Before DC completely shut down my friends Sara and Marco rescheduled and rearranged their wedding and I took photos for them. The socially-distanced event caught the attention of the media as we all were trying to figure out how life had to adjust, and it was a little surreal to see my work on BBC, CBS, etc.! I decided to master cast iron steak recipes. I ate a lot of steak. A lot. Like, 16 oz steaks for dinner 5-6 days a week. No regrets.

MAY

Looking back, I have a certain fondness for late March - late May quarantine. I took late night walks and connected with old friends over long phone calls. My extended family established weekly Zoom calls, partly to keep my grandmother company since her living situation prevented her from nearly all in person human contact (a particularly dangerous aspect of the pandemic in my view - we need human contact and love in person). Most evenings I joined a zoom call with some friends and we just talked and played games like Dominion. It felt like a virtual college dorm experience - time spent together online without specific purpose.

I dove deeper into film photography, trying medium format on a Hasselblad I bought on eBay, and learning to develop and scan my film on my own. Extremely rewarding.

JUNE

I spent much of the summer in Louisville at my parents’ house. I’ll look back on June as a turning point in how I recognized and thought about issues of race, police brutality, and how we care about other people and their experience. My friend Isaac and his work with United? We Pray have been one of the places I’ve gone back to again and again. I also started reading specifically to understand these things more and get outside of just my personal experience. The Color of Compromise was a very good starting place for me.

Our neighbors’ house burned down in a literal raging fire one morning. It felt like a metaphor.

JULY

It became apparent at some point during the summer that most of my family would likely be moving to Arizona this year. One last summer “at home” in Louisville became all the more precious to me. I ordered a lot of Momma’s BBQ and Simply Thai. Things began to try to awkward lurch into a semi-recovered state (like being able to order food to go from restaurants).

Most frustrating, I think, was the lack of certainty about the virus - do antibodies last long, and do they make you immune? How is it really spread? Can neck gaiters work as mask replacements? And why do so many people resist the recommendation to social distance and wear masks?

AUGUST

Finally got around to watching The Last Dance (MJ documentary) with my Dad. Incredible. Began packing and helping my parents move in earnest. Took a couple carefully considered trips over the summer including driving home to KY, and photographing two weddings for friends who had to re-plan everything for small, socially distant ceremonies.

SEPTEMBER

A perfect metaphor for 2020 - I had to say goodbye to my childhood home as my parents finally moved, but in a stroke of good fortune my friends (and college roommate) ended up buying and redoing the house, and have been so gracious to let me stay with them while I’ve been in Louisville. I helped out with one more wedding, and I met someone there and went on a proper date for the first time in a long while. A bright, bright spot in an increasingly dismal year.

Drove one final car load of stuff for my parents out to Phoenix, stopping at a few National Parks in Texas and New Mexico on the way (including White Sands NP, my 42nd National Park on my way to see all of them).

OCTOBER

October started on the heels of a terrible end to September. I was with my sister and my brother and some of his friends out near Flagstaff, AZ, and one of the guys collapsed out of nowhere while I was talking to him. My incredible sister (a nurse) coordinated over an hour of CPR / chest compressions to keep him alive until the helicopter / paramedics could reach us. He ended up dying. We still don’t have answers, medical or otherwise, on what really happened or why a seemingly healthy 20 year old kid full of life and promise would be taken from us so abruptly.

I drove back to DC and stopped through Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (number 43!) One blessing of being back “home” was that my church had begun to meet out in a field and I finally got to see (masked up and at a distance) people I hadn’t seen since March. But, this also revealed how many friends had permanently moved because of the pandemic. COVID-19’s impacts are deep and wide.

NOVEMBER

The aforementioned date in September grew into a relationship by November. I cut my “quarantine hair” and decided to spend the Nov - Jan period with family in Phoenix, partly because the area I live in DC has had a year of gang violence and shootings, some fatal, and many of my friends and roommates have moved. When I go back in January it will be to pack and move to another house or apartment in DC. But in the meantime, nightly hikes in the backyard mountains of Phoenix served as restorative blessings.

DECEMBER

Which leads to this last day of December, this last day of 2020. I won’t take for granted the through-lines of the year - the ability to be with family, the blessings of technology to talk to and “see” friends, a job that allowed a smooth transition to almost full time remote work. New seasons of The Mandalorian and The Crown to watch with my siblings and parents. Figuring out day by day how to pursue friendships and a relationship during an ongoing pandemic. Using unexpected “margin” to consider how to care for and understand people better.

These are just a few touchpoints of the year. I grieve for the losses, especially the loss of life to the pandemic (and other unconscionable deaths like Chadwick Boseman, Kobe Bryant, and our friend Jarod). After today 2020 is past, and I hope that 2021 is a year of hope that begins to reverse the worst of what we experienced in the past 12 months.


CURRENT SPINS

In the spirit of this 2020 recap, here’s my 40th shared playlist of the year with some favorite songs of the year. Some of these are my favorites, some are picks from friends, but I really like the whole thing. Here’s to more good music (and hopefully more live music and concerts!) in 2021!

LATELY | 12.22.20 by Karl Magnuson

MERRY (ALMOST) CHRISTMAS!

As we near the close of the Advent season and approach Christmas, the idea of anticipation is on my mind. I’d like to expound on Advent as a concept and something to observe more fully another time, but for now, it feels appropriate to consider “anticipation”. Immediately I think of the excitement of Christmas presents as a kid. We often opened our presents on Christmas Eve because of travel to see family on Christmas Day. Now I anticipate getting to give presents as much as I do receiving them. I am sure we are all anticipating a fresh start on 1/1/2021, hoping we are afforded a clean break from a rough year. Merry Christmas to all of you, I genuinely hope you find peace and joy in the midst of pain and struggle.

Oh, and here’s a digital version of our family Christmas card this year!

2020 Card Back.jpg

CURRENT READS

John Adams / DAVID MCCULLOUGH

Every year I aim to read one biography on a US president (I’ve done Washington, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and JFK). This year I’m starting late and blitzing John Adams. So far, so good. Adams is an interesting character of the Revolutionary period, and McCullough paints him as unique among his contemporaries. It’ll be work to finish this one before 1/1/2021!

Run With The Horses / EUGENE PETERSON

This is the first book I intend on starting in the new year, but if I finish John Adams I may start it sooner. I have found Peterson’s writing to be so pastoral and comforting and piercing, and I expect this to be the same.

30 Poems To Memorize / DAVID KERN

My only hesitation with books like this is they are applicable to me and I regret that so much of my literary knowledge is still rudimentary. Some of these (so far) I know, some I don’t. But I’m very much benefiting from the selection and analysis / reflections.

Desert Southwest / WILDSAM FIELD GUIDES

As I am with family in Arizona for the foreseeable future it seemed appropriate to pick up this “Field Guide” (not to be confused with Field Notes) to spark some ideas and maybe help chart out a brief socially distanced trip or two?


CURRENT SPINS

I combined last week’s playlist with this week (Classic Christmas songs) to make a 2020 Christmas playlist you can put on shuffle and enjoy (only until December 26th of course, so get listening!)

LATELY | 12.12.20 by Karl Magnuson

HELLO THERE

This is the first in a series of posts recounting what I’m up to / interested in / reading / listening to / inspired by etc. It may vary post to post and I don’t promise any regularity to any of it, but at the very least it is a snapshot archive for my own historical purposes. Any feedback / engagement is definitely welcome! As of the writing of this post, I have just finished extensive reworking of my website and am shopping for Christmas presents. I’d post my recommendations for Christmas gift ideas but I bought most of them for family members and on the off chance they read this I don’t want to tip them off!


RECENT READS

The Glass Hotel / EMILY ST. JOHN MANDEL

In a word: engaging

I read this book quickly and enjoyed it, but if you haven’t read the author’s “Station Eleven”, I’d check it out first.


The Color of Compromise / JEMAR TISBY

In a word: sobering

This book is a must read for Christians especially, and I learned a lot about the history and struggle for racial justice. Christians, based on traditional Christian beliefs, should be the first people to fight against injustice. Sadly, the history this book recounts shows much the opposite in many cases.


A New Dawn / JOHN JACKSON MILLER

In a word: solid

If you watched the show Star Wars Rebels *which you absolutely should* you’ll enjoy this book.

CURRENT READS

The Warmth of Other Suns / ISABEL WILKERSON

I’ve always learned best through reading, so as matters of race and reconciliation have been at the top of attention this year, I’ve been trying to read to fill out my knowledge and understanding. I just started this book about “the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life.”

Note: I am trying to read one book like this every month in 2021 if you are interested in reading along! Let me know!

Waiting Here For You / LOUIE GIGLIO

I try to read a devotional around advent every year - I love the concept and focus of advent and hope and anticipation. This book is simple and short.

Tarkin / JAMES LUCENO

I usually have a Star Wars paperback novel in my current reading rotation.


CURRENT SPINS

Since March 2020 I have been creating a crowdsourced weekly playlist, usually around a song idea or theme. This week and next week are Christmas playlists, and I am just putting the finishing touches on this one. Below are embeds for the Apple Music and the Spotify versions of the playlists so you can add them / check them out!