This Week I...
Watched- Ford v Ferrari on DVD, the Bold Type on TV and College Behind Bars on Netflix. I wanted to see Ford v Ferrari when I first saw the trailer, but I didn’t particularly feel drawn to see it in theaters. This week I rented the DVD and watched it. I thought the movie was just ok. There were parts of it that I really liked but overall, I felt like it was pretty slow, which is really ironic considering it as a movie about auto racing. The Bold Type came back this week and I couldn’t be more excited. It is probably one of my favorite shows. It’s so smart, well written, and inclusive. The characters are full people, figuring their shit out. The three best friends (the three main characters) are the people I want to be friends with. Plus, it’s set at a magazine in NYC, so it’s the dream. Last week, I stumbled upon the show College Behind Bars on PBS. I watched the first episode and was interested in it. I was bummed when the other episodes weren’t playing on TV right after the first. But then I realized I had actually had the series on my list on Netflix. I watched the remaining three episodes on Netflix. The show reaffirmed my belief in restorative justice. In the show, they mention that mass incarceration in America costs 80 billion dollars a year. There is so much more that could be done with that money. However, some money does have to be spent on people who are incarcerated, I believe that money should be spent on rehabilitating the HUMANS that are incarcerated.
Read- Do You Mind If I Cancel and The Boy in Striped Pajamas. Do You Mind If I Cancel? is a book by Gary Janetti; Gary is married to Brad Goreski, who I absolutely love. I have listened to Gary on Brad’s podcast, and I have liked Gary well enough. I did not however like his book. The subtitle of Gary’s book is “things that still annoy me”, this should have tipped me off, but I really did not think the memoir would be filled with rude, bleak, bitter comments about his life. I kept reading thinking there would be something positive in it; maybe about how he became a successful writer or how he met and married Brad, but there was none of that. This week, I listened to the Boy in Striped Pajamas by John Boyne on audiobook. The book is about the Holocaust, specifically Auschwitz; therefore it is not a happy topic, but the book is fantastic. It is from an interesting perspective- that of a nine year old boy who does not understand what is going on. I am almost finished with the book and I can not figure out how the story will be wrapped up. I know what happened historically, but I’m not sure how it will play out in the story.
Listened to- the 1619 podcast. This podcast is from the New York Times and was originally broadcasted in fall 2019. The podcast talks about systemic racism in America through stories. It is a good listen. The episode about music was my favorite one. It is sad that all of these black musicians have not been celebrated or acknowledged for their contribution to the industry, but through this podcast, maybe they will finally get some of their much deserved appreciation.
Celebrated- checking off some of the requirements for the summer reading program at my local library.
Visited- goodwill! Thrift stores have been closed foreverrrrrr because of corona. This week goodwill finally reopened. I expected the store to be overflowing with good stuff. It seemed like everyone was cleaning out and getting rid of stuff while at home, but the store was actually pretty empty. I found a couple of good things, but I will definitely have to keep checking back.
Ate- lots of takeout. Chinese food, noodles and co, Pizza Hut, all the goodies!
Wore- face masks. I think with everything else going on (#blacklivesmatter) people have forgotten about COVID-19 or they (incorrectly) think it’s over just because some restrictions have been eased. THIS IS NOT TRUEEEEE! Keep wearing a mask people! Safety first! Just because restrictions are being eased does not been the pandemic is over, it means the ICUs have room for you.
*while rereading this, this week sounds like a real bummer. maybe it was, but there was still some good in every day. find the good, be the good*