Reflections on films, politics, and everything else.

This time of year the film awards talk begins, as well as anticipation for the remaining contenders to be released. This is usually a time when I feel out of step with society. Perhaps not every year, but most, I feel another film captivated me more than the film that wins all the trophies. A Star is Born has certainly been set up as the film to win all, and, once again, I’m not excited about it.   I don’t want to dismiss the film, as I think the acting, the chemistry between the actors, and the directing were all top notch; it’s the story that just didn’t do it for me. It could also be the timing. It’s not only the twenty-first century, but also the height of #me too and post-Kavanaugh hearing. Is an updated Cinderella story really what we need right now? Lady Gaga’s character is magically seen and heard by this great man/prince and plucked out of obscurity, making her dreams come true (at least for a little while). It’s obviously messier and more dramati...

I will admit upon hearing today that Kellyanne Conway says that she was a victim of sexual assault, my first thought was that it was a lie. It’s easy to believe that it’s a lie due to just how much she does it. The fact that she made this admission on CNN, which Trump claims is fake news, makes it all the easier to deny later. Of course once I calmed down, I realized that no woman would get any sympathy at Fox News for admitting to being sexually assaulted. I also realized that I had to believe her. My response to every woman who’s so far come out against Kavanaugh is to believe the victim until evidence says otherwise. I know there are people who say that these women just want attention, but there are far easier and less harmful ways than coming forward to besmirch the reputation of a white, privileged man. After listening to Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh, it was pretty obvious to me who I believed, and also obvious who had the temperament to be on a court of law (and it ...

There are so many new words and phrases that have been popping up over the last two years that I dislike, but I think none more than tribalism. Last night I was watching the PBS NewsHour , and while I generally appreciate the commentary of Shields & Brooks , I really wanted to throttle David Brooks when during the show he chalked up much of the problems with this week’s hearings to tribalism. At times he is able to rise above his political party affiliation, but to me this just showed that he’s another white guy that just doesn’t get it. Wikipedia says tribalism is the state of being organized by, or advocating for, tribes or tribal lifestyles . In my opinion, that is not the problem because what we’re mostly seeing is differences between how women see things (and what they’ve experienced first hand) and how men (especially white privileged men) see them. We’re also seeing angry men striking back at women for the MeToo movement and for their chipping away at the long...

There are so many issues around this Kavanaugh situation that it’s hard for me to pinpoint just one. Anita Hill of course comes to mind, along with Joe Biden’s recent pathetic excuse that he wished he "had been able to do more.” Just a reminder, he was the Chair of the Judiciary Committee during that hearing and knew other accusers of Clarence Thomas were willing to come forward under oath, yet he didn’t call them, which means he could have done more, but chose not to. That’s a very different statement. Of course, with all the stories about Kavanaugh’s friend, Mark Judge , who was also, according to Christine Blasey Ford, in the room at the time of the encounter, it’s hard not to think about another drunk and privileged white male – Brock Turner . Orrin Hatch has actually stated that even if Kavanaugh committed this act against Ford that he thinks his colleagues should focus on the man’s more recent accomplishments, as if this one mistake happened so long a...

I’ve had a bad few weeks of late. I took a much needed break after going back to school these last three years, but had assumed I would have found at least some freelance work by now. No such luck, but then I’ve never been great at networking or selling myself. I thought I found the perfect part-time job, but they thought otherwise. Lately I’ve only been seeing jobs I either don’t want or couldn’t even begin to deal with (reading a job ad that says the company is looking for “a rock star” makes my head hurt). The depression of the summer ending without me having really done anything hit hard near Labor Day. That was when I took a very stupid and nasty tumble on a stone courtyard. Luckily nothing broke, but my knees are still sore and bruised and my left ankle almost twisted, and it has not quite unwound yet. Then to add insult to injury (quite literally) – the Kavanaugh hearings began. I’ve already been dreading every day since Trump/Pence took office, wondering ...