Aliza's 2021
Aliza's 2021
I don’t understand time and it really doesn’t bear any meaning anymore, but it’s a tidy way to remember what happened when, in the event I’m telling a story wrong.
Books
No One Is Talking About This, by Patricia Lockwood: Duuuuuuuuude. This book blew my mind. In general, books about people who are Very Online treat them like ditzes. This protagonist is smart and her inner monologue, presented in third person vignettes, jumps from reference to reference so convincingly. And then halfway through the tone changes ****minor spoiler**** and it represents exactly what happens when you’re Very Online and something cataclysmic happens in your real life. I really really enjoyed it.
Tacky, by Rax King: Could it be? A book by a Twitter personality I actually enjoyed? Ms. King has a remarkable ability to describe feelings in words, and posits that tacky is the antithesis of ironic – e.g. enjoying things fully and earnestly, without guilt. Of course, I also love any discourse that involves trashy pop culture, which every essay in this collection touches on, however tangentially.
Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid: An oral history of a fake rock band is a really fun concept. It isn’t flawless – the conceit is limited by nature, unable to convey certain key descriptions that are missing from the narrative – but I enjoyed this one a lot and I have high hopes that the forthcoming TV adaptation will fix the issues I had with it.
Movies
Don’t Look Up: Do you remember the first time we saw anything about this film? It was a year-end preview of what’s to come on Netflix. Right at the end, they put in shots of Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence staring upward, with no context. God, what a badass flex. While I could have done without any of the low-hanging political satire fruit (yes – the movie could have been a full hour shorter), I’m in love with the editing choices of this movie. Perfect decisions for our times: slow nature/human life documentaries to show the value of life, juxtaposed with the ADD smash-cuts of our generation. The scene of them sitting at the dinner table was lovely, especially with the intercut scenes from mission control. Of course I got weepy about Timothée Chalamet’s character.
Dune: Hello again, Timothée Chalamet!
Tenet: Actions scenes only. Best actions scenes all year. Great stuff.
Television
Foundation: When I tell you there was only one moment on television this year that took my breath away. And a second scene that was just so glorious; if only they’d had the self restraint to not show the scene again as it really happened. That robot lady is just … ugh. Amazing. Obviously, the muzh liked it because it’s about superhero mathematicians saving the world.
Physical: Hello, all the self-bullying inner monologues of the women of America.
Hacks: The things the characters care about aren’t about life and death – they’re about ego and pride. They know who they are and what they want to accomplish, and the stakes of getting what they want versus not getting it is about their own self worth. BUT BACKWARDS AND IN HEELS!
Red Oaks: BOYCHIK!
Mare of Easttown: No words.
The Big Leap: Say it with me – METAFICTION IS MY FAVORITE KIND OF FICTION!
Yellowjackets: If only I weren’t such a wimp, I could actually watch it instead of reading the recaps.
Music
I guess Olivia Rodrigo? Did anyone new pop up? Doja Cat is dominating everything, but we been knowing.
So … lofi girl?
YouTubers:
I never used to like cooking shows. Why watch something that you can’t eat? Then I had a baby. The number of cooking videos I watched postpartum … far too much. I have no explanation
Epicurious’s “4 Levels Of” Series: Step by step instructions, in increasing levels of difficulty. Love when the chefs roast each other.
Alvin Zhou: The calmest cooking videos. No talk, no measurements – just muzak, subtitles and delicious-looking food.
Micarah Tewers: Overly simple DIYs I’d never do. A life-sized Christian Barbie who sews and talks fun. I stop what I’m doing for new videos.
Christine McConnell: Overly complex DIYs I’d never do. A gothic neo-Victorian who keeps her husband in the basement. I support her on Patreon.
Man of Recaps: How the hell else am I supposed to keep up with Marvel, Matrix and Star Wars?
Lessons from the Screenplay: The only channel the muzh and I agree on.
COVID Victims:
BECAUSE THERE’S NO JUSTICE IN THIS WORLD
Mary’s Attic in Andersonville
Barnes & Noble in Evanston
Barnes & Noble in Old Orchard
Century 12 Evanston / CinéArts 6
Whiskey Thief in Evanston
Publications:
And of course, this ongoing Substack.
Thank you for continuing to support me by reading my work.
It means so much to me.
When the adventure novel with sad, sassy people is a reality,
Happy New Year!