Tag Archives: Austria

For International Women’s Day: Ladies I Love

I post edited versions of this every year. I add names. I take names off if I feel like it. I enjoy compiling it. It’s not just about enjoyment. As women’s rights are up for grabs more than ever, like … Continue reading

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2024 Books Read

1. Brotherhood of Tyrants: Manic Depression and Absolute Power, by D. Jablow Hershman I was talking with the doctor who helps me manage my bipolar. He saved my life back in 2013. Well, it was a group effort. He knows … Continue reading

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2024 Year in Review

Here’s a roundup of most of the things I’ve written this year: here on my site, for Rogerebert.com, for my newsletter, and for my new column at Liberties Journal. Every year it’s the same thing. I spend so much time … Continue reading

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“I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute.” — Rebecca West

It’s her birthday today. It is hard to talk about her without referencing the generations of writers she inspired, all of whom admit their debt. Robert Kaplan is the most open about it (in Balkan Ghosts, which launched his career, … Continue reading

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June 28, 1914: “But if ever a man went anywhere of his own free will, Franz Ferdinand went to Sarajevo.”

June 28, 1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie – setting out in their motorcade in Sarajevo that fateful morning, as the assassins, unseen, move into position. Here are two excerpts from Rebecca West’s towering Black Lamb and Grey … Continue reading

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March 2024 Viewing Diary

Conspiracy (2001; d. Frank Pierson) I went down a little Wannsee Conference rabbit hole so figured I’d re-watch this chilling nasty little movie. Lured (1947; d. Douglas Sirk) I had never seen this. I love discovering new Douglas Sirks! This … Continue reading

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Review: Club Zero (2024)

A creepy unnerving movie about fanaticism and … eating disorders, basically. Jessica Hausner’s films are really interesting. Definitely recommend this one, as difficult as it sometimes is. I reviewed for Ebert.

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2023 Books Read

I think I might have read more books by non-American authors than American this year. Countries represented below: Austria, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Croatia, Ireland, France, Russia, Colombia. I revisited some old favorites, which I will continue to do in … Continue reading

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December 2022 Viewing Diary

The Whale (2022; d. Darren Aronofsky) I thought it was appalling, and not for the obvious reasons. His body is viewed as literally a movie monster, with all these horror-movie shots of his gigantic ankles, etc.) It felt tired and … Continue reading

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Movies I Loved in 2022

It is the month of Top 10 Lists. I’ve submitted a few to different sites. And … each list is slightly different. Because I’m not a list person and I don’t rank things and I really don’t like to argue … Continue reading

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