Checking out more of Richard Linklater’s work is also highly recommended.

Waking Life (2001)

Philosophy and dreams combine for an enlightening journey. It’s a good rewatch if you’ve not seen it in a long while.

Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), Before Midnight (2013, I haven’t seen this one)

Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have beautiful explorations of love and the human condition.

Arlington Road (1999)

Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, Jeff Bridges in a taut, pre-9/11 domestic terrorism thriller. I’d pair this with the much better known Denzel Washington film The Siege (1999). Last I checked, this film is not on any streaming platform. Good luck!

Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)

This Inuit story captivated me. An all-Inuit cast portraying a fable from thousands of years ago. The nearly 3h run time will challenge many. The National Film Board of Canada

Brick (2005)

Fans of Knives Out should really see Rian Johnson’s first feature film. Smart and steeped in film noir, with a fantastic and unique script, this flick starring Joseph Gordon-Leavitt.

An indiscriminate attack on an unsuspecting population using planted explosives and does not differentiate between civilians and enemy combatants isn’t a “terrorist attack.”

What is it then? A “police action”? “Self-defense”?

From AP

A booby trap is defined as “any device designed or adapted to kill or injure, and which functions unexpectedly when a person disturbs or approaches an apparently harmless object,” according to Article 7 of a 1996 adaptation of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, which Israel has adopted.

The protocol prohibits booby traps “or other devices in the form of apparently harmless portable objects which are specifically designed and constructed to contain explosive material.”

Now, as far as a legal distinction, the jury is still out. But, morally, this is indefensible to the point of being state-sanctioned terrorism.

I’d really like to see this done without having the ensemble cast of the Avengers films all claim the same income.

You should read a few good books as well. Might I suggest:

On Palestine by Noam Chomsky, Ilan Pappé, and Frank Barat

The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

A Dying Colonialism by Frantz Fanon

Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman

Actual journalists like Mehdi Hasan at Zeteo and Amy Goodman at Democracy Now! are doing excellent work on this issue.

1000 Days. 19 November 2024.

Act to honour and recognize all humans as human. This is Said’s Law.

Act to sustain human security. This is Cura’s Law.

Act to accept responsibility for each action, especially where it guides future actions. This is Sartre’s Law.

Doppelganger by Naomi Klein.

The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby

These books really helped me to see how and why some of these people go this way.

Compared to all of the other ones, Mission: Impossible 2 was the absolute worst of the bunch.

John Woo tried — he really did — but that script was brutal.

Humanity may be forced into radical openness.

This is, as far as I can tell, tangentially related to this form of dialectical behavioural therapy (RO-DBT).

Bought the book. It’s the only dictionary I’ve enjoyed reading.

Throne of Blood (1957)

It’s Macbeth, but in feudal Japan. One of the best films I’ve ever seen. I’m constantly reminded of it while watching Shōgun.

Battle Royale inspired Kill Bill Vol. 1. If you’ve seen one and not the other, it’s worth the view.

Also, Battle Royale is basically the Hunger Games, but earlier and grafted onto Japanese economic outlook.

Everyone should see this film.

Inequivocal yes! Grew up with Batman:TAS.

Legit question. Wasn’t that episode 1?

e. Indeed, it was, and Newsweek was talking about last New Year’s.

I have never ridden a horse.

Here is the full text of the letter that Obama left 45. I’d never thought to read it.

Dear Mr. President -

Congratulations on a remarkable run. Millions have placed their hopes in you, and allof us, regardless of party, should hope for expanded prosperity and security during your tenure.

This is a unique office, without a clear blueprint for success, so I don’t know that any advice from me will be particularly helpful. Still, let me offer a few reflections from the past 8 years.

First, we’ve both been blessed, in different ways, with great good fortune. Not everyone is so lucky. It’s up to us to do everything we can (to) build more ladders of success for every child and family that’s willing to work hard.

Second, American leadership in this world really is indispensable. It’s up to us, through action and example, to sustain the international order that’s expanded steadily since the end of the Cold War, and upon which our own wealth and safety depend.

Third, we are just temporary occupants of this office. That makes us guardians of those democratic institutions and traditions – like rule of law, separation of powers, equal protection and civil liberties – that our forebears fought and bled for. Regardless of the push and pull of daily politics, it’s up to us to leave those instruments of our democracy at least as strong as we found them.

And finally, take time, in the rush of events and responsibilities, for friends and family. They’ll get you through the inevitable rough patches.

Michelle and I wish you and Melania the very best as you embark on this great adventure, and know that we stand ready to help in any ways which we can.

Good luck and Godspeed,

BO

A few notes:

Obama forecast 45s disregard for “rule of law, separation of powers, equal protection and civil liberties”. He KNEW 45 would fuck that up.

The role all Presidents, since Reagan, have played in “sustain[ing] the international order that’s expanded steadily since the end of the Cold War, and upon which our own wealth and safety depend” is a warning about fomenting or courting instability. It is also a tacit admission of the Military-Industrial complex and its attendant supports in entertainment, energy, and finance that projects American values and superiority worldwide. He KNEW 45 would fuck that up, too.

Finally, and from the start of the letter, “we’ve both been blessed… Not everyone is so lucky” is a reminder that the office is meant to support the less fortunate. We all KNEW 45 would fuck that up.

I can see what you were going for there. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.

My parents took us to see The Passion of the Christ. That sucked a lot.

But, my actual answer to this is watching A History of Violence with my aunt and uncle at their house. It was their choice. I knew what was coming, and I didn’t strategically exit the room before the staircase scene.