Letters, Oppenheimer and the Knicks
So far, I’ve seen my last letter appear in Colorado, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Maryland and New York newspapers. I sent another one out yesterday, but I might need to take a break going forward. My Gmail accounts keep getting disabled for spam, including, most recently, the one I use for personal correspondence.
I’m not sure how to recover the address, as I’ve already used my cell and home phone to verify other accounts. Grrrr. I tried setting up a free online number, but that didn’t work. Maybe I need to buy one of those disposable burner phones and then make sure never to send letters from that address.
Anyway, it’s time for (Cell) Culture Talk. Here’s some of the stuff I’ve been watching and listening to lately.
Movie — Oppenheimer. I agree with Spike Lee’s take on Christopher Nolan’s latest. The former director essentially said it was a masterpiece that would have benefited from greater focus on victims of the two atomic bombs the United States dropped on Japan. I assume this and Killers of the Flower Moon will be vying for a lot of awards.
Movie — Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget. I’m not sure it’s as good as the original, but this is a sweet children’s film with strong animal-welfare themes. Thandiwe Newton and Zachary Levi replace Julia Sawahla and Mel Gibson in the central roles.
Music — Santa Baby by Alicia Keys. The ideal listener of the record might be a single person feeling lonely over the holidays. That’s not me, however I still enjoyed it. December Back 2 June was my favorite track. I was surprised to learn the song doesn’t feature a Jackson 5 sample, but instead the voice of Keys’ producer pitched up.
Music — Merry Christmas, Love by Joss Stone. This is a solid album. You’re not supposed to reinvent with wheel with holiday music, however I would have liked more experimentation. I’m most familiar with Stone for her inspired cover of The White Stripes. I was hoping she might deliver something in that vein.
Sports — Knicks beat Raptors, 136-130. Julius Randle led the squad with 34 points. Quentin Grimes was looking good in his new role off the bench. The big news, however, was Mitchell Robinson will be out for at least two months after suffering an ankle injury in the Celtics matchup.
Sports — Knicks lose to Jazz, 117-113. That was the first game this season in which New York was defeated by a team without a winning record. Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett really struggled. Off the court, the front office signed Taj Gibson, a familiar veteran, to help replace Robinson.
Sports — Knicks beat Suns, 139-122. Talk about a bounce-back game for Brunson, who had a career-high 50 points. Poor Phoenix. They had just gotten Bradley Beal back from injury and he went down five minutes into the first quarter here.
Sports — Knicks lose to Clippers, 144-122. I don’t want to overreact to the second game of a back-to-back, but it often feels like New York isn’t able to beat the better teams unless they play near perfectly. There isn’t much margin for error with the current talent level.