Being the Ricardos (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes

Being the Ricardos (2021): It's an Aaron Sorkin movie, so more dialog than action. Even the explosive Desi/Lu marriage is more talk than passion. If you want to know what made "I Love Lucy" so significant, or you don't know what the Hollywood Red Scare was, this is for you. B-

TIL: MLK on Economic Justice

Minimum Wage by State

Today, our country honors Martin Luther King, Jr. Normally the focus is on his movement for voting rights. It's tragic that today, more than half of a century after his death, the voting rights secured in MLK's day are under threat in America. In 2021 alone, "19 states have enacted 33 laws that will make it harder for Americans to vote." But voting rights are not what I want to focus on today. Instead, I want to turn to a speech by MLK that ties voting rights to economic justice. In it, MLK makes an observation that explains a feature of that map above showing the minimum wage laws by state. The connection MLK drew between economic justice and segregation is what I learned today.

Licorice Pizza (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes

Licorice Pizza (2021): Southern California, 1973. Teen boy and mid-20s woman, independent go-getters, both too busy hustling to connect. Movie is a series of good standalone scenes that lack a connecting thread. Sean Penn and Bradley Cooper each get a scenery-chewing cameo. B-

Hawkeye (TV 2021)

Rotten Tomatoes

Hawkeye (TV 2021): Clint Barton is on the way out and Kate Bishop is getting started. The crisis surrounding the handoff is crowded with characters and subplots. I would trade a quiver full of trick arrows for a gun. On the plus side, it's Marvel's best Christmas show. C-

TIL: Iran is Winning

"Isfahan is half the world"

From 1977 03 29 Iran

When the United States withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, most Americans barely noticed. We were too busy dealing with Covid-19. Not even the clear and present danger to our democracy could focus out attention. Still, the danger we face in Central Asia and the Middle East is not gone. Who was the big winner from the American experience in Afghanistan? It was Iran. And Iran is likely to extend its winning streak.