Book Review: Their Eyes Were Watching God

From Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale-Hurston:

Amazon

  Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men."

Book Review: Their Eyes Were Watching God: 1937 novel by a too-long forgotten author who was a pioneer of Black, feminist, American stories. Here, she tells the growing maturity of a Black woman, using Black vernacular dialect that recalls Twain's Huck Finn. A-

After the jump, my full review.

Causeway (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Causeway (2022): That faraway look in Jennifer Lawrence's eyes is what this movie is all about. She plays a vet recovering from PTSD. Her plight is touching, but dead. The life in this movie comes from Brian Tyree Henry, who plays a man dealing with his own tragedy. Opposites in every other way, they bond. B+

The Company They Keep

"You shall know the person by the company he keeps." — Proverb

The City of Richardson has two candidates for mayor. If that proverb has any truth to it, it's sending a clear message to us today in those two candidates and the company they keep. It may not be everything, but it's not nothing either.

POTD: Flowers on the River Inn

From 2022 07 14 Passau and Scharding

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Passau, Germany. It shows the banks of the river Inn. In the background is a cruise company's longship, similar to the Viking Gefjon that we were on. Passau is built on the pie wedge of land formed by the confluence of the river Inn with the river Danube.

POTD: Sunset over Passau and the Danube

From 2022 07 14 Passau and Scharding

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Passau, Germany. It's sited where the river Danube is joined by the river Inn from the south and the river Ilz from the north. The skyline and river make for dramatic sunsets, good enough for two photos today.

Bonus photos after the jump.

TIL: Le Wokisme

Source: Ben Hickey.

What can America learn from the French about identity politics? Google defines identity politics as "a tendency for people of a particular religion, ethnic group, social background, etc., to form exclusive political alliances, moving away from traditional broad-based party politics." The Republican Party claims that describes the Left. The Democratic Party denies it, arguing that their party is not divided by identity but organized by an ideology of diversity, equity, and inclusion of persons of all religions, ethnic groups and social backgrounds. And Americans endlessly argue about it.

Poker Face (TV 2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Poker Face (TV 2023): Natasha Lyonne, with her superpower of being to detect when someone is lying, solves a crime a week that the audience sees committed up front. You know, just like Columbo. Throwback fun. Weakness is that superpower allows for lazy writing. B-

POTD: Regensburg

From 2022 07 13 Regensburg

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Regensburg, Germany. Regensburg dates to Roman times. It was the site of a Roman fort at the northernmost point of the river Danube. Long story short, it's seen a lot of history.

Bonus photos after the jump.

POTD: Regensburg's Stadtamhof

From 2022 07 13 Regensburg

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Regensburg, Germany. It was taken on the island of Stadtamhof, which was once a separate village, but now serves as a entry point to the old walled city of Regensburg.

The Wheel Award for Excellence in Motion Pictures

Source: DALL-E.

The Academy Awards will be given out Sunday, March 12, 2023. I've seen all the nominees for Best Picture. That means my opinion means something. Right?

I've ranked the movies in order of my preference for "Best Picture." The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science uses proportional ranked choice voting (RCV) to ensure that the winner has broad support throughout the Academy members. I wish US political elections used a similar system (or perhaps some form of proportional voting system). But that's for another post.

My personal ranked choice of the Oscar nominees is based on the grades I gave the movies immediately after seeing them. In case of ties, I ordered them by my judgment today. Note this is not my prediction of which movie will win, but how I would vote, had I a vote.

The envelope please. The winner of "The Wheel Award for Excellence in Motion Pictures" goes to...