Recently: 26 November

26 November 2023

“But billionaires are a menace to the rest of us: their sheer political size warps our public life. Disproportionately older, white and male, they function as unelected powers, a sort of freelance global aristocracy who are too often trying to reign over the rest of us.” Rebecca Solnit.
“‘New York is a place for the dreamers and we all come from somewhere. To leave, and leave your families behind, one would hope that you’d find love and meet people, have a family and maybe not end up alone in a hotel room somewhere.’” The story of Hisako Hasegawa, who lived in room 208 of New York’s Belvedere Hotel for more than forty years without anyone ever really knowing her.
Celebrating one of my favorite book series, which I still reread every year, even in my forties: 100 years of Emily of New Moon.
This website lists all of the places you can see one of the prints of Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa today.

Bloom, by Delilah S. Dawson, is wicked delight.
Craig DiLouie’s Episode Thirteen, is a compelling “found footage” novel that takes advantage of its medium to go farther than film would be able to.
If you follow the drama of the most infamous extreme haunted house, you might enjoy The Last Haunt, by Max Booth III, which adds a satisfying supernatural layer to it all.
I am disappointed to report that I do not recommend Elizabeth Hand’s A Haunting on the Hill. As a standalone book, it’s fine; as a Shirley Jackson follow-up, it falls short and, ultimately, its existence perplexes me.
As an established Christian Petzold stan, I was happy that Afire hit the Criterion Channel this past week. It’s much quieter than many of his other films, but who can resist Paula Beer.
I finally caught up with Passages and what delicious performances it has.
There is a restoration of 1970 serial killer oddity The Strangler going around and I found it entrancing and fascinating.
My beloved television program Wellington Paranormal is back with a podcast.