Motivation, Letters, and Glass Onion
I don’t know if there’s a psychological component to the pain, and I’m just bummed about not being able to protest, but my sciatica seems back with a special vengeance. Of course, not having a second car makes it difficult to find time to go see a doctor.
My last letter hasn’t shown up anywhere yet. There are probably a number of reasons for this, but the fact I’ve been too lazy to localize my submissions doesn’t help. I’ve been struggling to find the motivation recently.
Anyway, my next one will make the environmental case for increased public funding for cultivated-meat research. If you’d like some tips about writing your own letters, check this out:
Let’s do (Cell) Culture Talk. Here are some of the things I’ve been watching lately.
Movie — Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. This is a sequel to Rian Johnson’s 2019 film. I believe Daniel Craig’s detective is the only returning character. In addition to being a murder mystery, it’s a funny satire of Silicon Valley billionaires like Elon Musk. I enjoyed it a great deal. I hope they make a bunch more entries in this series.
Movie — Emily the Criminal. I mostly know Aubrey Plaza from Parks and Recreation, so I’m not sure if I’ve seen her in a serious role before. She’s really good here as a young woman pulled into a fraud scheme to pay off her student loan debt. It’s grimmer than I hoped, but this is an impressive debut from writer and director John Patton Ford.
Sports — Knicks lose to Nets, 122-115. Brooklyn dominated the game, even with Kevin Durant out. Still, credit to the Knicks for never giving up, which they had plenty of opportunities to do. They cut the lead to three points in the final few minutes.
Sports — Knicks lose to Lakers, 129-123. Despite the overtime defeat, Jalen Brunson continues to perform so well under pressure. He’s calm, cool and collected. As someone with basically the exact opposite temperament, I really appreciate it.
Sports — Knicks beat Heat, 106-104. New York managed to hold on, with Brunson out due to illness and, of course, Mitchell Robinson still recovering from injury. Congratulations to Julius Randle for making his second all-star team! He’s had a rollercoaster Knicks career.