Tag: recommendations

Storytelling invites understanding. In particular, a real-life narrative, such as a memoir, asks for attention and comprehension. Recently, I enjoyed reading three disparate memoirs, appreciating their interesting information and separate points of view. Tig Notaro, Juan Thompson and Pat Summitt each tell different stories with distinct voices in memoirs published not long ago, and all three volumes are worth reading.

When it was announced last fall that Gilmore Girls would be returning via Netflix, with four new 90-minute episodes, the jubilation was resounding – pretty impressive for a show that ended nearly a decade ago, and was notoriously snubbed repeatedly for Emmy nominations (as most WB/CW programs were wont to be).

When two cinephiles realize they’re in the company of a fellow addict, it’s hard to shut them up. They compare favorite movies, quote lines of dialogue, reenact scenes. And then the moment invariably comes when one is forced to admit having not seen a particular movie; he’s been meaning to, he just...never got around to it. And if he’s lucky, the other cinephile will receive this information with excitement rather than derision, saying, “Oh you’ve got to see it, you’re going to love it!”

You can never truly know another person’s interior life, and once a suggestion has been planted in your brain, whether it be fact or fiction, it cannot be unthought. These are the deep ponderings of 45 Years, a film that wraps its lofty intentions in a seemingly simple package.

If you’ve seen the recently released film The Nice Guys, you were treated to a clever, funny, and offbeat tale of a couple of sad sacks (one a hired enforcer, the other a private eye) navigating the bizarro land of 1977 Los Angeles. And while this twist on the buddy-action-comedy is a good time, it’s hardly new territory for writer/director Shane Black.

tUnE-yArDs – "nikki nack"

As the year comes to a close, I'm sharing my favorite albums of 2014. Between comeback records and notable debuts, it's been a great year for music. I've linked albums available in Anythink's catalog, as well as the occasional YouTube video for an introduction. 

What are your favorites from the year? In no particular order, here are 15 of mine:

Evidence

Spring has many poets. I hear birds, wordless and articulate, building nests among new leaves. I listen to people, speaking with delight about warmer winds and greener trees. Here, I hope to add a slightly different note to the seasonal chorus – not as resistance to the emerging season, but in order to harmonize with these voices. I wish to speak in praise of trees that are green in every season: evergreens. These trees steadily replace their needles and thus remain green all year. Their constant color provides me with ongoing pleasure.

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