What made American Fiction (2023) such a delight to watch isn’t so much the stellar acting or the clever writing, but Cord Jefferson’s stunning ability to weave together irony and sincerity. It’s not often that I see the nuance in smart, unstereotypical Black characters who are hilarious, and who at the same time fill my heart with tenderness.

Over the weekend, I fleshed out this website’s library; a page that will hopefully soon be a living overview of all the media and culture I consume. It’s populated by a library.yml data file, which I appreciate for its ability to store my information regardless of the website or software. Sure, I have a Goodreads profile and an IMDB account, but this is more sustainable. If you’ve been on this website before, you’ll know that’s important to me. (Continue)

Yesterday, I attended the very first gathering of FC de Filmfanaten, a brand-new film club that my friend Jolien started. There were four of us, and we discussed the movie I was proud to have suggested: Talk To Me. I love speaking about films with others, and particularly with this diverse group of people. Everyone brought a completely unique perspective to the film, one brought film industry insights while the other had thoughtful ideas that I hadn’t considered. (Continue)

Cooler temperatures! After the hottest week I’ve experienced in months, things were back to comfortable Summer weather. By the time I’m writing this the sky is gray and it’s raining, but this week’s weather was cheerful and moderate. On Tuesday and Wednesday I gave two big UX workshops at week to help coworkers understand how they can use UX in their daily work. I’ve been giving workshops for well over a decade, always trusting my instinct to figure out what a particular group or context required. (Continue)

This week, I attended my first Gerimedica party. It’s great to know I can expect a big celebration every year, and not just for the company’s sweet sixteen. It confirmed what I already know: great vibe, great taste, great people. I went to Bar Bario on Saturday for a meet-up called Hair Haven, which fosters connection between people with curly hair. Again, I was struck by how welcoming the space is. (Continue)

January flew, flew by, I tell you. We started with “wow, 2023 already, let’s have a chill time this year, hey what’s on Netflix?” and at the time of writing everything is different: Things are not chill, because we’re preparing ourselves, our lives, and our house for our first-ever puppy Both our work lives are unexpectedly bustling and busy We cancelled Netflix I’ve been saying for years that I’d be willing to pay 100 euros a month for a single, all-encompassing international streaming platform. (Continue)

We had two friends over today. They’re dear to me specifically because we got to know each other intimately during our eating disorder recovery. We promised we’d one day get together and watch Love Actually, much-beloved by each of us. I’ve developed a habit of watching this film at least once a year. Despite its soft romcomness, homogenous cast, and general lack of depth it has taught me volumes on relationships. (Continue)