Reflections on films, politics, and everything else.

  It seems like no matter what I search for (sweaters, shoes, kitchen items), I begin feeling like I’m being stalked later on by those products, while looking at other websites. After browsing sweaters on Talbots’ site, I suddenly see the same sweaters appear on the side of a Washington Post article about impeachment. I keep wishing some clever coder could come up with an algorithm to stalk members of the GOP with non-stop videos of “real people” suffering due to these politicians’ inaction and stupidity. My hope is that seeing what has happened to citizens in this country, through no fault of their own, would somehow open the eyes of these politicians, and shame them into doing something to help them. Our country is so utterly broken, and I feel accountability should force these politicians to have to fix what they broke. Of course, I know that is unlikely to happen. Right now Mitch McConnell thinks Biden’s economic recovery plan “missed the mark,” while ...

    Perhaps the upside to a year of a pandemic is that there were less New Year’s resolution articles. Normally there would be tons of tips on how to choose and how best to keep your resolutions. There have been a few, but they are far gentler in their approach. After all, just surviving this year is accomplishment enough. Beating yourself up for not writing every day or losing more weight (or even keeping the weight off) just feels cruel right now.       Maybe these thoughts were what caused me to become so annoyed listening to a recent podcast where a writer talked about how important a particular teacher had been in her life. This is a common story – the teacher who saw in you what you couldn’t see, gave you the necessary tools, and then sent you forth to live your dream life. Mostly, I don’t think it’s true, but I am a pessimist.      For me it’s always the most negative comment or abusive teacher who stays in my mind, not the kind o...