Texas School District Wants to Replace "The Laramie Project" with "Mary Poppins," Ending of "True Detective" Gets Frostbite, Oscar Isaac sings “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me”
I completely concur about the ending of True Detective. I also agree that it was an excellent season of the show. I am sorry that important plot points were left unexplained. It is disappointing.
I did enjoy the revelation of what actually occurred. I was relieved it wasn't aliens, or some such unbelievable nonsense. I also felt like it was appropriate and rather brilliant. Never underestimate the power of a woman!
Off topic, but needed to share: the church annex building where I got sober and redeemed, Friendship Hall in Piscataway, NJ, suffered a catastrophic fire. The building also housed F.I.S.H. - an organization which provides food, clothing and other items to those in need. This is the saddest moment of my day - there are seldom "bad days" - bad moments within a day, but rarely a day. I'm confident that from the ashes, a Phoenix shall arise. Peace and Serenity to All Who Seek.
Apathy has always generated, either non-voters or vastly uninformed voters. The non-voters just want to complain about the status quo but lack the resolve or belief to do anything to change it. The uninformed voters find themselves believing whatever is repeated most to make their political choices. Both these groups are susceptible to AI messaging; one being told your vote doesn't matter and the other who to vote for. Even knowing all kinds of scams are persistent on the internet, pure laziness prevents them from doing minimal research to get it right. This scenario comes at a time when books are being banned as a total assault on education and individual thinking. People have to realize that depending on machines to supply ALL the information is not such a good thing. No matter the subject, books are informative and challenging. It's how smart people learn and arrive at logical opinions. It is how you offset the questionable and manipulative internet. It takes work to preserve our thinking and consequently our democracy.
I saw the Laramie Project live this past winter and it is a sad tale, but a necessary one to hear. As a mother of a grown Gay man and his husband. I worry for the LGBTQ community. It needs to be taught in schools!
True Detective: Night Country explored the many ways Navarro and Danvers held space for all that exists in the Night Country. It is hard to define all that is the Night Country but these images come to mind: - a crossing point, a threshold, a haunting born of simple betrayals, abysmal darkness and cold. The ambiguity is what guides them forward. Sometimes the gods just play with us that way.
OK, I’m sure I’m about to anger some people. Too bad. Your mention that “…Timber Creek, has adopted policies barring teachers from using transgender students’ preferred pronouns” beckons me to air my major grievance with LGBTQ(etc?) societal requests (leaving the whole restroom thing aside for now): the linguistic demand for referring to one person in the plural.
It is entirely illogical and clumsy, at least in my world.
Furthermore, a couple days ago I was thrilled to watch (binary) USA distance runner Nikki Hilt win the IAAF Women’s 1500M World Indoor Championship. Throughout the broadcast the announcers dutifully used the pronoun “they,” which is Hilts’ preference. Yet, when “they” were (was?) interviewed after the race, “they” referred to “themselves”(?) as “I”, as in “I ran a good race.” That’s right, first person singular. How convenient for her—oops, them—to revert to normal language rules at THEIR convenience. All I can say is, they’re not making themselves any friends by asking us to disregard millennia of language norms. And frankly, I’m not willing to do it. Not sorry.
It never occurred to me that Navarro and Danvers weren’t actually together on the porch at the end. Subject change - what if you and Pete Maravich could have played varsity during your freshman years? Or if there was a three-point line (for Pete’s sake).
I have recently become a subscriber to this newsletter but I have always been a fan of yours Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Your eloquence is right on target and right on time. Sort of like a healthy beating heart. I can’t say enough great things about your voice.
Your quotation from S. A. Cosby cuts me to my core as I have believed that what you focus on grows. I needed to read that today. I could write volumes about your responses to the world in your newsletter suffice to say, it’s like my students used to say, “She gets us. “ You have your finger on the pulse of our nation and I could not agree with you more. “You get us, the sane American people. “
I have to disagree with your thought that every story has to have an unambiguous ending. I think of the movie, Shane, which leaves the hero riding off into the sunset. We don't know where he will go but the ambiguity at the end is more powerful than seeing what might happen afterwards.
Daytime soap opera as art?? it's already artificial and I wouldn't presume to call the writing intelligent.
I think the ending to True Detective makes more sense if you think of it as a horror story rather than a mystery. Lots of haunting!
Kareem: Why did you remove my post from yesterday???
I completely concur about the ending of True Detective. I also agree that it was an excellent season of the show. I am sorry that important plot points were left unexplained. It is disappointing.
I did enjoy the revelation of what actually occurred. I was relieved it wasn't aliens, or some such unbelievable nonsense. I also felt like it was appropriate and rather brilliant. Never underestimate the power of a woman!
Off topic, but needed to share: the church annex building where I got sober and redeemed, Friendship Hall in Piscataway, NJ, suffered a catastrophic fire. The building also housed F.I.S.H. - an organization which provides food, clothing and other items to those in need. This is the saddest moment of my day - there are seldom "bad days" - bad moments within a day, but rarely a day. I'm confident that from the ashes, a Phoenix shall arise. Peace and Serenity to All Who Seek.
Apathy has always generated, either non-voters or vastly uninformed voters. The non-voters just want to complain about the status quo but lack the resolve or belief to do anything to change it. The uninformed voters find themselves believing whatever is repeated most to make their political choices. Both these groups are susceptible to AI messaging; one being told your vote doesn't matter and the other who to vote for. Even knowing all kinds of scams are persistent on the internet, pure laziness prevents them from doing minimal research to get it right. This scenario comes at a time when books are being banned as a total assault on education and individual thinking. People have to realize that depending on machines to supply ALL the information is not such a good thing. No matter the subject, books are informative and challenging. It's how smart people learn and arrive at logical opinions. It is how you offset the questionable and manipulative internet. It takes work to preserve our thinking and consequently our democracy.
Hi Kareem, hoping you will comment sometime soon on the unionization of college athletes.
https://apnews.com/article/dartmouth-union-ncaa-basketball-players-2fd912fade62ffd81218a6dc91461962
Fantastic dog!
I saw the Laramie Project live this past winter and it is a sad tale, but a necessary one to hear. As a mother of a grown Gay man and his husband. I worry for the LGBTQ community. It needs to be taught in schools!
True Detective: Night Country explored the many ways Navarro and Danvers held space for all that exists in the Night Country. It is hard to define all that is the Night Country but these images come to mind: - a crossing point, a threshold, a haunting born of simple betrayals, abysmal darkness and cold. The ambiguity is what guides them forward. Sometimes the gods just play with us that way.
You are my daily dose of sanity. Thanks Joyce.
OK, I’m sure I’m about to anger some people. Too bad. Your mention that “…Timber Creek, has adopted policies barring teachers from using transgender students’ preferred pronouns” beckons me to air my major grievance with LGBTQ(etc?) societal requests (leaving the whole restroom thing aside for now): the linguistic demand for referring to one person in the plural.
It is entirely illogical and clumsy, at least in my world.
Furthermore, a couple days ago I was thrilled to watch (binary) USA distance runner Nikki Hilt win the IAAF Women’s 1500M World Indoor Championship. Throughout the broadcast the announcers dutifully used the pronoun “they,” which is Hilts’ preference. Yet, when “they” were (was?) interviewed after the race, “they” referred to “themselves”(?) as “I”, as in “I ran a good race.” That’s right, first person singular. How convenient for her—oops, them—to revert to normal language rules at THEIR convenience. All I can say is, they’re not making themselves any friends by asking us to disregard millennia of language norms. And frankly, I’m not willing to do it. Not sorry.
It never occurred to me that Navarro and Danvers weren’t actually together on the porch at the end. Subject change - what if you and Pete Maravich could have played varsity during your freshman years? Or if there was a three-point line (for Pete’s sake).
I have recently become a subscriber to this newsletter but I have always been a fan of yours Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Your eloquence is right on target and right on time. Sort of like a healthy beating heart. I can’t say enough great things about your voice.
Your quotation from S. A. Cosby cuts me to my core as I have believed that what you focus on grows. I needed to read that today. I could write volumes about your responses to the world in your newsletter suffice to say, it’s like my students used to say, “She gets us. “ You have your finger on the pulse of our nation and I could not agree with you more. “You get us, the sane American people. “
Kareem Abdul Jabbar quoting Bruce Springsteen. Two of my favorites. Awesome.
I have to disagree with your thought that every story has to have an unambiguous ending. I think of the movie, Shane, which leaves the hero riding off into the sunset. We don't know where he will go but the ambiguity at the end is more powerful than seeing what might happen afterwards.