The White Lotus, Season 1: I kept hoping for this to cut a bit harder against the “the rich”, but that was probably the point: when you’re rich, you don’t get cut
Currently reading: Extremely Hardcore by Zoë Schiffer 📚
Napoleon: there’s something about these type of historical biopics that just can’t clear the bar. It may have something to do with trying to fit an entire lifetime into a three-hour runtime
On a better note: I knew Napoleon was a weird dude and I appreciate the lengths this movie went to show that
Napoleon, 2023
there's something about these type of historical biopics that just can't clear the bar. It may have something to do with trying to fit an entire lifetime into a three-hour runtime
On a better note: I knew Napoleon was a weird dude and I appreciate the lengths this movie went to show that
Happy New Maggie Rogers Album Day to all who celebrate (which should be everyone)
Completed a coffee run* this morning!
*doing Wordle, Mini Crossword, and Connections in the time it takes the coffee to brew
Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season 12: today is Julie’s birthday and our next door neighbors brought her some cupcakes…and a doormat. A doormat they’ve already put where doormats normally go. A doormat that I do not like. But what do I do?! I can’t take it off! They live right next door! They’ll know!
Got a bit lucky with the clouds and the tinted roof of our car that I was able to take some pretty great pictures of the eclipse with just my iPhone. Taken at max coverage for Washington DC– about 89%
I have pretty vivid memories of learning about eclipses in first grade. It was 1990 and I was already very into space in general and Star Trek: The Next Generation specifically. Ms. Cruce taught us that in August 2017 our school would be in the path of totality of a solar eclipse. I remember being so excited! I would be 34 and definitely (probably!) be old enough to see it.
I don’t want to say that I constantly thought about that eclipse for the next 27 years, but I definitely occasionally thought about it: even though I’d moved from my small town in Kentucky to my college town in Kentucky and then to Florida and then to Washington DC– my parents were still in my hometown. I could go back and stay with them.
Then in late 2016 we found out we were pregnant with Vale. Her due date? August 21, 2017. The exact day of the 2017 eclipse.
I don’t quite remember being bummed– it’s hard to be bummed about the birth of your first kid– but I did think about all the times over the many many years I’d been excited about seeing the eclipse. And now I wouldn’t.
Vale was born two days early and so eclipse day was the day we brought her home. We went outside to see it and I remember being new-parent-crazy worried about a two-day old baby looking up at it. It was neat, but not as neat as the pictures my family were sending me from my hometown.
I’m writing this right as we’re reaching 89%– the max it will reach in Washington DC. Vale is–funnily enough– in first grade, the exact age I learned about eclipses. I never really considered going to the path of totality for this one. Too much disruption in our daily lives. Too much to do today at work. I’m still absolutely awestruck at space and nature and these cosmic coincidences. But, life got in the way today. That’s OK. My life is also a pretty great thing.
There’s a part of me that wants to plan a trip to Alaska in 30 years to see the next one. Maybe I will. But probably I won’t.
Showing Up, 2022
Reichardt has this way of letting her audience in on the joke while completely respecting her characters that makes you feel so smart and welcomed.
Michelle Williams knows how to inhabit Reichardt's characters better than anyone. It's so rare that actor/director are this in sync.
Showing Up: Reichardt has this way of letting her audience in on the joke while completely respecting her characters that makes you feel so smart and welcomed.
Michelle Williams knows how to inhabit Reichardt’s characters better than anyone. It’s so rare that actor/director are this in sync.
First time at the White House Easter Egg roll on Monday. Kids were weirdly very into the actual egg rolling part!
Ugh, Letterboxd needs to allow five favorite movies on your profile. I keep going back and forth between having Alien or Raiders of the Lost Ark as my fourth!
Some of our fall plans are coming a bit more into focus: Julie’s brother confirmed his wedding for late November in the Palm Springs area. I’ve been to Joshua Tree a few times– looking forward to Julie’s family being able to see it too!
(oh yeah, also congrats to the newlyweds)
Constellation, Season 1: I mostly liked this, but I constantly found myself writing a better show in my head which is never a good sign. Still, there’s a lot that’s done well and no problem that can’t be fixed in a Season 2.
Current Things: April 2024
Currently Reading
- One of these days I’m going to start reading again. But today is not that day.
Currently Watching
- Constellation, Season 1
- Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season 12
Currently In Queue
Currently Listening
- Apple Music recently released a new daily mix– Heavy Rotation– that captures what you recently have been listening to. Sounds like a perfect addition to Current Things! Looks like this web embed is automatically updated as the mix is updated, so that’s less work for me!
- I always try and listen to the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack during Holy Week. There’s a lot of division on the quality of this musical, but I’m definitely on the masterpiece side. I find most of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s compositions to be a bit maudlin (which isn’t always a bad thing!! Especially for big crowd-pleasing Broadway musicals!), but JCS is his absolute best.
- I’ll still and try highlight entire albums that I’m listening to. In March, I’ve dug back into Maggie Roger’s Surrender…
…and one of my all-time favorite albums, The Avett Brothers' Emotionalism
Currently Planning
- April: Disney cruise for Julie’s mom’s 75th birthday
- July: Kentucky to visit family and drop off kids for two weeks
- August: West Coast: Portland, Bay Area, Los Angeles, Disneyland (and maybe Yosemite!)
- November: Palm Springs for Eric’s wedding (maybe Vegas on the front end?)
- December: post-Christmas trip to Kentucky
Concurrently
- It’s not often that my favorite movie of the year lines up with what the Academy picks! Feel like I gotta highlight that one again!
It’s time again for my 100% correct ranking of this year’s Oscar best picture nominees:
Finished in March:
The Marvels: equal parts nonsensical and weird. Weird is good. Nonsensical is not. At least it was under two hours
Dune: Part 2: Sometimes movies transport us to places that just aren’t possible. Other times they shine a light on us that we couldn’t normally see. And then there are times they do both and they transcend
Dune Part 1: Rewatched before our showing of Part 2 on Friday– there was a LOT of this movie that I’d forgotten in the haze of COVID.
As he did with Arrival, Villeneuve does a superb job of tying grand epics to the personal.
The Holdovers: There are periods of the year where time gets a little hazy. We need those times to find meaning
Killers of the Flower Moon: …it’s the inevitability of it all. There were people to be exploited, so they were.
Previously, in Current Things…
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
The Marvels, 2023
equal parts nonsensical and weird. Weird is good. Nonsensical is not. At least it was under two hours
Had a meeting in New Jersey this morning, so yesterday took the NE Regional up to Penn Station and then MNE out into NJ.
Doing the reverse now and pretty sure I’m going to chance leaving Penn Station to get a slice of pizza before taking the Acela back to DC. An hour is more than enough time!
Complete list of people getting royalties from the Bible:
- Esther (had the foresight to close deal in early 300 BC)
- King David (leveraged his position to get a profit share, but lost half in torrid affair)
- Gutenberg (can’t sell the Bible if it’s not printed)
- Donald J. Trump (had idea to sell the Bible for a markup)
- Jesus (duh)
- Solomon (wrote the book with the most DAUs)