(Off-topic: Can you imagine trying to disseminate this kind of information pre-internet? Or even pre-Wikipedia? I couldn't find out the names of TV episodes before the internet.)

I always think of this comic: [link]

Like how "I read it on the internet somewhere" is generally shorthand for "I cannot verify this information" but actually, you totally can! You can look it up on the internet again and see almost immediately if your information was correct or from a reliable source! The pre-internet version "I saw it in a magazine/newspaper/bus stop advertisement/bar napkin somewhere" is way less verifiable!

I always think of this comic

I was very fortunate that the libraries of the schools I attended from sixth grade onwards all had complete copies of the Encyclopædia Britannica -- the Micropædia, the Macropædia, the Propædia, and, of course, the Index.

I would bring a couple of keywords with me to the library to get me started and then get carried away as one topic led to another and another and another....

Can you imagine trying to disseminate this kind of information pre-internet? Or even pre-Wikipedia?

The usual skeptical precautions still apply, of course. There are fourteen Wikipedia articles in my watchlist which I monitor for vandalism.

After a heavy dose of socializing and house guests in late June, with not as much movie watching as a result, I took in two new releases today: No Hard Feelings and Past Lives. Oddly enough, they both involve Montauk.

No Hard Feelings was quite fun and not quite the movie trailers would have you believe. The two leads have great chemistry and there is a killer scene about halfway through that makes it all worth it.

Past Lives is fantastic. A great script and exceptional performances. A bit of an Umbrellas of Cherbourg vibe but no singing. And in Korean. Really, I can't recommend it enough.

I saw the new Indiana Jones movie yesterday. It was fun—way better than that Crystal Skull thing. An excellent use of an afternoon.

I went on Monday - agreed! Some very fun details and overall enjoyable

Both of those are showing at my local theater, megan, and I didn't know anything about them other than so that's super helpful. The blurb for Past Lives said it was heartrending and I don't know if that's something I want, but I probably do want to see something you recommend so highly

The blurb for Past Lives said it was heartrending and I don't know if that's something I want, but I probably do want to see something you recommend so highly.

I'm not sure I would say "heartrending" but I did tear up a bit. But I've also been dating someone (mostly) long-distance for the past 10 years so it probably hit a bit differently than it might otherwise.

I think this quotation from the director is a good summary of how Past Lives hits on an emotional level:

"My wish if you go and see this movie is that it takes you on a journey within yourself: to all the places you might have gone, or the places you’ve been without even realizing it, or the places you feel maybe, perhaps, inexplicably, you’ve been in another life."

In a shocking third-act twist, I went out to the movies yet again this week. This time to see Joy Ride (the directorial debut of Adele Lim, who co-wrote Crazy Rich Asians among other things). I found it extremely entertaining if a bit too raunchy/raucous for my taste and it has some issues with tonal shift. In any case, I'm glad I saw it in a theater as it's just that sort of movie. The elderly ladies sitting near me obviously enjoyed it. Make of that what you will.

New Blue Beetle trailer: [link]