Book Review: The Vegetarian

From The Vegetarian, by Han Kang:

Amazon

"As far as I was concerned, the only reasonable grounds for altering one’s eating habits were the desire to lose weight, an attempt to alleviate certain physical ailments, being possessed by an evil spirit, or having your sleep disturbed by indigestion. In any other case, it was nothing but sheer obstinacy for a wife to go against her husband’s wishes as mine had done."

TIL: Manufacturing in America is Going Strong

The appeal of MAGA is an imagined past where America used to make things, before globalization took all the manufacturing overseas. Today I learned that the basis for that belief is just wrong. The graph above shows why. America is still making stuff — about ten times more today than we made in 1947, in inflation-adjusted dollars. That's stuff made right her in the USA, not in China. What gives? Why don't we have ten times more Americans working to produce those goods? That's because of a growth in productivity. While we're making ten times more, the number of Americans working in manufacturing has stayed pretty much flat from 1947 to 2025. Productivity growth through technology, not globalization, is the more important story here.

Nosferatu (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Nosferatu (2024): Remake of the 1929 Gothic horror classic. Faithful to the original, meaning it won't be scary enough for modern audiences. A dark, soulless story that marches relentlessly to its inevitable conclusion. Beautiful noir cinematography. C+

Peacock

Fountain of Youth (2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

Fountain of Youth (2025): Big budget, treasure hunt, adventure movie in the tradition of Indiana Jones, but with only a fraction of the wit and charm. Ignore the plot details stretched beyond plausibility and just go along for the ride and it can be fun. B-

AppleTV+

Saturday Night (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Saturday Night (2024): Dramatization of the chaos before air time of the first episode of SNL. Somehow, the show made it to air. Some actors nail their original cast roles. Lorne Michaels is portrayed as having no control. Probably best for big fans. So-so or worse for the rest. C+

Netflix