Entering a new era

Only 2 weeks into 2025 and the world is already burning. The subject line of this post is from a comment made by Al Gore about the LA fires. I'm in the middle of The Parrot and the Igloo, an excellent book on global warming ('climate change' was a marketing term invented to make it seem less threatening). Learning how generations of corporations have worked to cast doubt on the practice of science, while the news carries footage of entire neighborhoods wiped out overnight is infuriating to say the least. GoFundMe has a centralized hub of verified fundraisers to help victims, and if you're in the area, here's a spreadsheet of mutual aid needs.

Now let's get into some frivolity.

🎥 Train to Busan (Peacock, Kanopy, Tubi)
Zombies! Y'all know I'm a sucker for zombie movies and this is a great one. I love it when a movie depicts the onset of an apocalypse in its first few moments, and this one is a knuckle-biter (sorry) from beginning to end. Much like another South Korean thriller, Snowpiercer, it is set on a high-speed train. Trapped on a train with zombies! Doesn't get much better, or bloodier, than that.

🎥 Conclave (Peacock)
I don't think anyone who watches this expects to like it as much as they do, but to a person, everyone I've talked to loved it. It's about the appointing of a new pope — wait where are you going? — and it's full of intrigue and lies and gossip. Who knew cardinals could be such shady bitches? The acting is phenomenal, and the cinematography is breathtaking. Even my teenagers loved it.

📖 My Year Abroad
My first novel of 2025. This is a weird one, narrated by a 21-year-old man-boy living with an older woman and her son in witness protection. The writing is unusual—dense but not in an academic way and witty at times. It also captures certain sentiments very aptly. Check out this passage:

"Val encounters life and persons as they come to her, this total acceptance of the fact that you’re here, that you belong to the space you’re taking up, that it’s all and only yours. A rare thing, IMHO. If you think about it, most persons, including many of those who say they love you, can’t help but question your particular coordinates in whatever you’re doing or thinking or hoping for, then want to realign you to function more smoothly in their eyes and thereby calm their fretful souls."

Isn't that great? It's a wild tale that will hold your attention.

One last thing: my friend Allyson isn't much of a movie watcher, so she asked me to make her a list for 2025—one to watch each month. She's going to share her reviews as she watches them and personally speaking, I can't wait to hear what it's like to watch Casablanca for the first time. Play along if you want and send me your reviews too (must be first timers!). I'll share the best ones here.

Have a great week, friends.

xoxo,
Carla