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Teenage Rapper, Rooted in Mapuche Identity, Roars for Indigenous Rights
MC Millaray, 16, an emerging music star in Chile, uses her fierce lyrics to convey five centuries of struggles by the country’s largest Indigenous group against European colonizers.
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Eurostar, Symbol of a Connected Europe, Is Plagued by Brexit Hurdles
The high-speed train service under the English Channel is leaving many seats unfilled, rather than risk delays caused by more rigorous passport checks for Britons.
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Mrs. Catherine Stovall (1919-2023)
It is with a heavy heart that I report the passing of Catherine Stovall this past Tuesday, January 24th, at 2pm. She was 103 years old and lived her life as an inspiration to her family, her church and her community. Mrs. Stovall, or “Queen Stovall” as my Crane High School Reunion group called her, is the mother of…
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Sundance 2023: Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, It’s Only Life After All, Judy Blume Forever
It wouldn’t be Sundance without a half-dozen or so profile docs. It’s a form of non-fiction filmmaking that often drives me a little crazy as filmmakers too commonly dismiss form to plant a camera down in front of someone willing to tell anecdotes about somebody they used to know. Often called a “talking head doc,”…
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Close
“Close,” about two small-town Belgian boys who are as tight as brothers, is a devastating movie. But to what end? I can’t say what I mean by that question—not at this point—because “Close” is critic-proof, perhaps discussion-proof, if the reader or listener hasn’t already seen it. A pivotal early plot development makes it impossible to discuss at length or in detail, lest the writer…
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Sundance 2023: The Persian Version, Mutt
Maryam Kesharvarz’s “The Persian Version” is an ebullient rule-breaker, and it does so in the name of the many women it wants to celebrate. With complete control of its tone and an ambitiousness in telling two parallel life stories, Keshavarz’s latest film (having previously won a festival audience award for “Circumstance“) was one of the most…
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Sundance 2023: Shortcomings, The Accidental Getaway Driver
“Shortcomings” is an amiable comedy about an asshole, as directed by someone who has built an on-screen reputation of being a nice guy. Randall Park (of TV’s “Blockbuster” and “Fresh Off the Boat”), making his debut here as a feature filmmaker, introduced the movie by talking about how he wrestles with wanting to be liked by…
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Hive ransomware servers shut down at last, says FBI
Unfortunately, you’ve probably already heard the cliche that “cybercrime abhors a vacuum”…
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I’m held captive by the sound
I’m held captive by the soundOf the birds singing so loudI’m in a trance, hypnotizedBy the beauty of a summertime sky I feel so alive and so freeThe sun is shining down on meA gentle breeze is blowing byMaking me want to fly The trees are swaying in the breezeAs if they’re dancing to the…
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Shining red A single life so brief and sweet red
A single life so brief and sweet,A moment here, a moment gone,A life begun, a life complete,A candle lit, then out and done. The joys of living, days of care,The sorrows of loss, the bitter tears,The moments shared, of love and prayer,The moments of treasured years. A life lived out, a life remembered,Of moments both…