Review Day

There are no major spoilers in these reviews.

Barry, Season Four:
The final season of Barry is a misfire. While it works as a conclusion to the story, it leans too far into pathos and loses the careful balance of laughs that buoyed the previous seasons. A multi-year time jump in the middle of season kills most of the momentum.

Final Grade: C-

Jury Duty:
This is Rebecca's favourite show of the year -- a limited series reality show where a juror doesn't realize that all the other jurors are actors. Funny without being over the top, and ultimately pretty positive-spirited as well. On Prime Video.

Final Grade: B+

Quiz Lady (R):
This is a pleasant, throwaway comedy about a woman who goes on a game show to pay off her dog's ransom. The leads work well together and a guest spot by Will Ferrell is surprisingly reined in. On Hulu.

Final Grade: B

ZEF: The Story of Die Antwoord:
Part art show experiment and part interview, this is probably the weirdest documentary I've ever watched. The line between art and fact is wavy and matches the vibe of this South African rap group's shock music. It runs out of steam in the last 3rd, but is very cinematic throughout. On Prime Video.

Final Grade: C+

Easy Photos Day

Eating pizza from Rappahanock Pizza Kitchen in room #151 of the Appledore building at Skyland Lodge.

Visible stars from our area.

Breakfast unicorn. (Maia ate the pancakes faster than any food she's ever been given).

At the top of the 1.3-mile Stony Man hike.

Sunset from one of the Skyline Drive overlooks. Maia is accompanied by her new friend, Snikky Snake (not "Sneaky").

Ian runs amok during our lunch stop at Rady Park on the way home.

Despair Is Not a Long-Term Solution, Part II

I wrote this statement in a post-election essay back in November 2016:

"In Trump, I saw an erratic, ineloquent businessman with no experience in politics. His actions and words showed clear racism and misogyny, and he used fear to gather and excite his voting base. Subjectively, he gave me the impression that I would be wiser to interview the advisors he surrounds himself with to prepare for the day (somewhere in Year Two) when he got bored of governing."

Between his mediocre first term and his subsequent actions in 2021, it was clear to me that Trump did not deserve a second chance in office. I saw a volatile, divisive man with no concrete plans, one who consistently put himself above country and used his dangerous power and reach to erode public trust with falsehoods.

I'm disappointed that so many Americans lived through the same events I did and came away with such a different summation of the man. This dissonance is something we need to fix to be a functioning, united country again. We focus too much on being surprised by other people's beliefs, opinions, and priorities without raising alarms at the mechanisms that are shaping their viewpoints. Internet echo chambers and shortened attention spans (shaped by the modern "infinite scroll" web pattern) have pushed people to accept questionable information too blithely. As a result, two Americans learn about the same events and people with vastly different interpretations that cannot be reconciled.

We need to restore the nuance to every oversimplified "us versus them" story and reaffirm that the US is a united collection of citizens, not divided tribes of paragons and enemies. I don't have a solution for this (let's end racism while we're at it!), but identifying a problem is the first step.

I look forward to the day that the Republican Party puts forth another candidate I can take seriously -- a morally-upright, conservative candidate with real policies and respect for all Americans. In the meantime, I will continue get involved in my local community and exemplify the values I want to spread. I will continue being an ally to anyone that needs an ally. And I will continue voting in good faith for candidates who offer compassionate choices that lift the most Americans up instead of "punching down".