My new favorite show!

Of course, after finishing a (good) book, I do a Youtube follow-up of related videos, as well as some Google image searches (if the the book is a work of fiction, I search for people that "look" like the characters and make a little Paint collage that I can stare at all hours of the day) and mood-appropriate playlist construction. This time, after finishing Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air," I've started watching a "docudrama" (<-- Netflix came up with this term) called "Everest: Beyond the Limit." It came out in some year, somewhere, and I'm sure nobody watches it but me. Ya'll don't know what you're missing!

The title sequence of the show uses a careful play on words to invoke a feeling of excitement and adventure; a breathy male narrator whispers ominous phrases, then, almost tauntingly, "Don't...rest...ever....rest...EVEREST!" I was amazed that someone was clever enough to notice something this simple. It's like the first time you realize that the word racecar (though it should be separated by a space in the middle) can be spelled the same frontwards and backwards. TUBULAR.

The customary adventure-type music plays in the background all the time, though it sort of doesn't fit with the usual goings-on at Everest Base Camp, which more closely resembles an outdoor North Face clearance sale than a moshpit. There are some heartwarming stories about men beating the odds to reach the base of the world's highest mountain, but even as tears are being shed there is a trickling of acid rock barely perceptible, just around the corner, like hopeful prayers drifting on a bitter wind.

My favorite scene so far involves one American guy (who sold his Harley to get here, wears an LAFD cap at all times, and seems like he enjoys The Fast and the Furious film franchise) and an unremarkable Australian dude who sit down against some rocks for a lunch break.

"I'm eating this high-protein, sodium-rich, artificial space age thing that tastes like [expletive]," the American explains, "and you," to the Australian, "are sucking on eggs." For a minute I thought Mr. LAFD was insulting this guy, but it turns out the Australian really is sucking on eggs. One can hardly believe it. The Ausi laughs knowingly, as if he's been called an eggsucker hundreds of times in the past, perhaps it's even transformed into a sort of endearing nickname. But this Paul Walker impersonator isn't finished yet.

"That's the difference between our two cultures," he says, almost revelatory. "I'm eating this paste, and you're sucking on eggs." He sits in wonderment for a moment, overcome with this most astounding of realizations. "Well," he says finally, "let's try to keep diplomatic relations civil."

THE DRAMA JUST KEEPS COMING!

I'm still on the first episode, but I am literally chomping at the bit for more

high-stakes action. And I have Instant Netflix to thank for it all!