The Saturday List — March 21, 2026

What I'm Watching, Reading, Listening to, and Rediscovering

We’ve returned for another week…it’s our (checks notes) 20TH CONSECUTIVE EDITION OF THE SATURDAY LIST. It’s also our 30th since we started last July. Let’s get rolling!

Watching: Sam the Cooking Guy and Sip and Feast

We like to root for the good guys over here. And two of them are Sam Zien, who is known on YouTube as “Sam the Cooking Guy,” and James Delmage, whose foodie empire is called “Sip and Feast.”

First, there’s Sam. He’s based in San Diego and what’s fun about his approach is that it is both bougie AND accessible.

One of my favorite videos of his is his take on Birria Tacos. Yes, I’ve made it multiple times. Yes, it was delicious. Yes it required a slight step out of my comfort zone — that would be the packaged chili peppers in the Mexican food aisle — but I felt semi-invincible after the first time making it. And I may have overeaten.

Most-recent video that popped up on Sam’s YouTube Channel: how to use your air fryer correctly.

Next, James. He works with his wife, Tara Boerum, on a channel that is mostly Italian-focused and does a great job of making the complex simple.

But…and I said “mostly” Italian…one of my favorite videos was his Beef Bourguignon from a couple years ago.

His most-recent video: Watch as he makes a chicken dish that is sorta like shrimp scampi, but with chicken.

Both gentlemen have channels with 7-figure subscriber numbers on YouTube, but they have both put in the sweat equity to get there. And you’re bound to be inspired to try something new in the kitchen.

Reading: The Prize, by Daniel Yergin

The full title is The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power; seems tremendously a propos as there’s a war in the Middle East and we’re all looking at gas prices and trying — most often, unsuccessfully — to time the market. Originally released in 1992, then rereleased in 2009, Daniel Yergin studies the history of Big Oil like no one else.

He’s written a couple more recent books, too: The Quest: Energy, Security and the Remaking of the Modern World (2011) and The New Map: Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations (2020).

The Prize was my introduction to Yergin’s work, and it served me well as I was just beginning a communications stint in the Oil & Gas industry.

The photos within the book are a fun throwback, too…Hey, there’s Gamel Abdel Nasser! There’s George H.W. Bush, an oilman!

Worth reading any of Yergin’s books to understand how we got where we are.

Listening to: Three Dynamite Alternative Rock Songs from the 90s

The 1990s hit different. “A vibe.” No wonder Gen Z seems to be discovering all the things that made Gen X great.

Like the music. Alternative rock was especially amazing, as bands that used to be relegated to college radio ended up going mainstream.

I could share some of those songs here, but I’m going to go with Three Deep Cuts.

Brother Cane. “And Fools Shine On.” It was number one on the rock charts for six straight weeks in 1995.

BONUS NEWS FLASH: Brother Cane is releasing new music in April.

Next up, Dovetail Joint. In 1998, this Chicago band got picked up on a local compilation by the radio station Q101; they ended up with a decent amount of Chicago airplay — though not enough to break through nationally, it seems — and have remained on this reporter’s playlist since.

Finally, Salt. Not Veruca Salt. Not Sault. Not even the French brand with the same name.

This version of Salt is Swedish. “Bluster” didn’t totally put the band on the map, though it did hit #21 on the US Modern Rock charts in 1996.

The entire album, “Ausculate,” is quite good.

Rediscovering: No Country for Old Men

Okay, let’s get this out of the way right now: No Country for Old Men is the Greatest Movie of the 21st Century (So Far).

Based on the novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy, adapted by Joel and Ethan Coen, it’s also on the short list of quite a few Movie Mt. Rushmores. And it’s definitely on the Mt. Rushmore of Coen Brothers Movies.

Released at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007, it instantly got rave reviews; the Coens would win three Oscars — Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay — and Javier Bardem won Best Actor for his chilling performance as lead character Anton Chigurh.

How chilling? Here’s a clip of the famous “Coin Toss” scene.

It appears to be available on Paramount+, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. (I say “appears” because these things change all the time and YMMV and all that.)

But as we lament the current State of Hollywood, it serves as a reminder of when movies were movies…not that long ago.

Have a wonderful Saturday and try to get outside…It’s Spring!