This Week's Haul, Nov. 13: Did that even count as the first snow?

And: James G. Blaine gets his pop culture due

Good morning from eastern Maine, where this week, compared to the firehose of news last week, it was very, very chill. The big news was that a bunch of Democrats (including Angus King) caved on the shutdown, which, to put it mildly, sucks. It’s also not surprising, is it? Disappointing, yes. Surprising, no.

• The other big news was that, even though it was gone the next morning, it did snow on Tuesday evening. I am not a fan of snow this early. I mean, I’m a fan of winters being normal, and not too warm or dry. I’m just not a fan of not being able to wear slip-on shoes sans socks outside anymore. And shoveling. That’s all! Don’t come at me, winter people!

• And anyway, it’s not actually winter yet. Right now, it’s Gigantic Burning Trash Fire Season. Last year, the celebrations were in Orrington. This year, Bangor was the lucky town. Don’t forget to leave discarded vape batteries and dirty diapers out for Garbage Santa!

• One year ago, the Hope House, Bangor’s low-barrier homeless shelter, was on the verge of closing. Now, it not only has new operators (Preble Street), but this week it broke ground on an expansion. The city council also voted this week to fully fund warming shelters for the winter. If you keep up the pressure, you can make things happen, people!

• Longtime Maine resident - specifically Winter Harbor - Capt. Rick Hauck died last week. He was an astronaut! He flew the space shuttle during Sally Ride’s historic mission! Cool!

• I really enjoyed this clip of the great filmmaker Edgar Wright talking to Seth Meyers about his new movie, a new adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Running Man,” and how he came to Bangor to talk to King about it. Edgar Wright is one of the my favorite directors currently working - he’s never made a bad movie! - and the idea that he and Stephen had dinner together somewhere in Bangor makes me very happy. I wonder if any of the people gathered outside the West Broadway house had any idea who he was when he rolled up in a taxi.

• The Queen City Expo is set for the Cross Insurance Center this weekend, and while I can take or leave people like Bam Margera (I adore Jackass, but man, he seems like an asshole), the most important special guest for the three-day comic con is TOM KENNY who is SPONGEBOB. And all the cool vendors and artists and what not! And the homegrown pro wrestling from Limitless Wrestling.

We’re a few days late for Veteran’s Day, admittedly, but this clipping in the BDN from 80 years ago this week caught my eye. It notes that Lieut. Edward C. Dahlgren had finally returned home to Aroostook County after receiving the Medal of Honor in Washington D.C. a few months earlier. Dahlgren was the first Medal of Honor recipient from Maine since the Civil War. During World War II, he was personally responsible for keeping an American platoon out of danger during an enemy counterattack in Oberhoffen, France, and capturing about 40 German soldiers during the skirmish on Feb. 11, 1945. His heroism saved many lives, but rather than bask in the glory, Dahlgren chose to live out the rest of his life quietly, in the tiny County town of Blaine.

Music & Dance

Nov. 13: Bangor Symphony Orchestra chamber music series, noon, Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness, Central Street, Bangor

Nov. 14: Songwriters’ Special, feat. Joshua Read, John Bustine and Justin Jones, 7 p.m., Marshall Wharf Brewing Company, Belfast

Nov. 14: Pure Intention, East End Redemption, The Gubs and DJ Risin Son, 7 p.m., Old Town Theatre, Old Town

Nov. 14: Waterfall Arts’ Poets & Fools Costume Ball, feat. live music and more, 7 p.m., American Legion Hall, Belfast

Nov. 15: Songwriters in the Round, feat. Louisa Stancioff, Tom Peabody, Katherine Perkins and Cilla Bonnie, 6 p.m., Fogtown Brewing Company, Ellsworth

Nov. 15: Metal bands Viqueen and Dead In Your Eyes, 7 p.m., Starboard Lounge at Hey Sailor, Searsport

Nov. 15: Vanity Crisis, Terfstomp, Befri Stends and Enemies to Lovers, 7 p.m., Red Rabbit Bazaar, Bangor

Nov. 15: Studio Two, Beatles tribute band, 7:30 p.m., Grand Theatre, Ellsworth

Nov. 15: Singer-songwriter Jacob Augustine, 8 p.m., Barliman’s, Bangor

Nov. 16: Bangor Symphony Orchestra Masterworks Series, “Symphonic Glory,” feat. works by Dvorak, Wynton Marsalis and more; 3 p.m., Collins Center for the Arts, Orono

Theatre & Comedy

Nov. 13-15: Brewer Youth Theatre presents “9 to 5: The Musical, nightly at 7 p.m., Brewer Performing Arts Center, Brewer

Nov. 14-16: New Surry Theatre presents “Conscience,” play about Margaret Chase Smith, Blue Hill Town Hall Theatre, Blue Hill

Arts, Books, Film and & Culture

Nov. 13: Artists roundtable talk with Pamela Elias, Richard Keen, Buzz Masters, and Marc Swartzbaugh, 7 p.m., Blue Hill Public Library, Blue Hill

Nov. 13: Author talk with Carol Woolman, “The Ecology of Grief,” 6:30 p.m., Jesup Memorial Library, Bar Harbor

Nov. 13-14: Screening of “Lost on a Mountain in Maine,” Grand Theatre, Ellsworth

Nov. 13-15: Screenings of “The Wizard of Oz,” Criterion Theatre, Bar Harbor

Nov. 15: “Taproom Tales: Science Through Storytelling,” storytelling event featuring local scientists, 7 p.m., Fogtown Brewing, Ellsworth

Nov. 15: Storytime and signing with children’s author Chris Van Dusen, who will sign his new book, “If I Built A Town,” noon, Bookspace, Columbia Street, Bangor

Nov. 15: Screening of noir film “Dark Passage,” 2:30 p.m., Blue Hill Public Library, Blue Hill

Nov. 18: Finding Our Voices book club with Booker Prize-winning Irish author Roddy Doyle, 2 p.m., Ellsworth Public Library

Nov. 18: “Darn It! How to Repair and Mend Your Clothing By Hand,” 6 p.m., Bangor Public Library

Nov. 18: Reading and signing with author Suzanne Carter, signing her book “Flight Path,” 6:30 p.m., Bookspace, Columbia Street, Bangor

Nov. 19: Derry-Free Horror Book Club reads “Widow’s Point” by Richard Chizmar, 7:30 p.m., Bookspace, Bangor

We’re watching “Death by Lightning” this week on Netflix, a four-part miniseries about the unlikely election of James Garfield as U.S. President in 1880, and his assassination by Charles Guiteau the following year. It’s fun and zippy; historically accurate where it needs to be and not at all when it can get away with being thoroughly contemporary, in the way that “Deadwood” took great liberties with its colorful language. And, of course, it has resonance with the unhinged political landscape we’re currently smack dab in the middle of.

Matthew MacFadyen is a live wire as Guiteau, Nick Offerman is having a delightful time as Chester Arthur, and the great Michael Shannon is Michael Shannon-ing as Garfield. Betty Gilpin is tragically underused as Garfield’s wife, Lucretia. There’s lots of exuberant facial hair and hats. It’s a better-than-average piece of historical TV.

It also brings to life an important Maine political figure: James G. Blaine, who was a U.S. Representative and Senator from Maine in the 1860s and 70s, and eventually became U.S. Secretary of State twice in the 1880s and 1890s. For nearly 30 years he was a major player in national politics, and one could argue he was the model by which future Maine politicians like Edmund Muskie, George Mitchell and, yes, even Susan Collins can be measured - outsize impact despite being from a relatively small state. The Blaine House in Augusta is named for him. He’s played in the show by Bradley Whitford, who you may best know as Josh from “The West Wing.” If you like Maine and American history - and exuberant facial hair - it’s all worth a watch!