Out & About

Judas and the Black Messiah: FBI and the Black Panthers

Judas and the Black Messiah

?Directed by Shaka King?
?Written by Will Berson & Shaka King?

The review:

I first learned about Fred Hampton in Ava DuVerney’s 13th and so I knew how this film was going to end.* But it was interesting to watch Daniel Kaluuya’s evolution of Hampton as he gained skills as well as the dance between LaKeith Stanfield and Jessie Plemons as FBI informant and agent.** I would have liked Dominique Fishback to have a bigger role, but she was great with what she was given in this movie that’s gonna kick you in the stomach right before the credits roll.***

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: I paid Matt $6.00. He’s the one paying the HBOMax fee ($12.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Not well for Fred Hampton.
**It’s interesting how we forgive the FBI for their many sins, but so often the Black Panthers are portrayed as the lawless party.
***If there’s an award for best after-movie text on screen, this film will sweep that category.

Questions:

Should they have bothered with the makeup for Martin Sheen?
Fred Hampton was 21 and William O’Neal was 17 during this film. Should they have cast younger actors?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

With both LaKeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya receiving Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor, Judas and the Black Messiah becomes the first film to have multiple black performers nominated in this category for the same film.

Other reviews of Judas and the Black Messiah:

Selome Hailu, The Austin Chronicle
Karne Han, Slate

SKS Postcard: The Far North Coast of California

Another great postcard from Humboldt County. I hope the next place Sara lives has such excellent postcard offerings, but in the meantime, I’m enjoying these.

Sara reports that she’s about to teach her Friday double class via Zoom and sends me good wishes for my week.

Last Day in the Office

I stopped by the XRAY office to meet with the person who is taking over for me. While my tenure has been brief (a little more than two months) the current pandemic circumstances mean this is only my fourth time in the office. And one of those times I wasn’t working this job, I came down to do a different job because I had no internet at my house.

So I never got to use this calendar. But it does have some fun things. Color coding. The list of things we did at the 11:11 check-in, which became the 10:10 check-in. The P.O. Box and physical addresses. It even has a little placard saying the whiteboard’s name, a vestige of a past fundraising drive.

My favorite part is the month, though. It’s been a very long Global Pandemic.

American Utopia Will Get You in the End

David Byrne and cast members of American Utopia.

David Byrne’s American Utopia

?Directed by Spike Lee?
?Written by David Byrne?

The review:

It’s not yet been a year since I watched Jonathan Demme’s movie of the Talking Heads’ concert Stop Making Sense* and I was looking forward to this David Byrne/Spike Lee collaboration for which there was much gushing about among the critics. For three-quarters of the film I found it very striking visually and musically, and I wondered what all the gushing was about, but then there was his cover of “Hell You Talmbout” and I, too, could be counted among the converted.** I found that Spike Lee and I sometimes disagreed about what I wanted to be looking at on stage*** but since I couldn’t be there in person, I thank him for letting me see his vision.****

The verdict: Good

Cost: Monthly HBOMax charge ($12.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*And was more than dazzled.
**It was one of this, “Oh, holy crap, this is incredible” movie moments.
***Demme knew better what I wanted to see.
****At times, this felt a little like watching a very talented marching band, in all the best ways.

Questions:

Who was your favorite performer?
What was your favorite song?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

If you look carefully, you will notice small spheres on the shoulders of all of the suits. These are tiny BlackTrax infrared transmitters which enable the lights to automatically track performers as they move around the stage. When they leave the stage to march through the theater, you will notice some of these trackers glowing slightly.

Other reviews of American Utopia:

Beth Webb, Empire
Karen Han, Polygon

Hitting the Nail on the Head

Tony Carrillo, author of F Minus has a biting humor, but often it hits just right.

Microgreens for the Win!

I signed up for an email course, put on by Oregon State Extension Service, about growing microgreens. Just as I figured, the course was basically “get the supplies, plant them, wait, harvest, eat.” But it did motivate me to do all those things.

And microgreens are delicious, especially in February. They add a pop to whatever they are added to. I also think they would make great gifts, given that grocery stores charge five to seven dollars for them and they are easy to grow.