Welcome to the second of three LWON end-of-2023 lists. This time, we look back at the film, video, and television that has moved us this year. For further view-spiration (viewspo?) here are the lists from four previous years: 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 Ann: Britbox’s Desperate Romantics: it’s a series that knits into a single feature […]
Miscellaneous
Welcome to a longstanding LWON tradition: our end-of-year recommendation lists. The idea is to provide our beloved readers with curated experiences to fill the rare moment of silence that is the last week of December. Below is a list of top-notch reading material we’ve discovered this year, and if you’re looking for further inspiration, do […]
Earlier this week, I found myself scrolling through photos on my computer, reminiscing semi-fondly on the year that was, when I stopped short at a series of pictures from a reporting trip I took this summer to Nome, Alaska (story still TK, alas). Like many of my reporting trips, this one also doubled as an […]
I first wrote this November 29, 2021, but I could have written the same take-home many times since and I could write it now. I mean, Elon keeps putting his Starlinks all over space, plus OneWeb and Planet and Jilin-1 keep putting all their satellite constellations all over space, plus the National Reconnaissance Office just […]
A place is set at a lavishly decorated table. The drape of the tablecloth is just so. Light twinkles off fine crystal goblets. Two nicely-dressed people take their seats. One of them pours wine into his companion’s goblet and passes it to her. She takes the cup, takes a sip, and smiles. Cut. The elaborate […]
Sometimes a photo from the past calls out, demanding a story. In this case, no one is left to tell it. My mom (right) died in February 2006, tragically of a brain tumor at 67 years old, and her older sister (left) followed in 2010, her heart failing her (plus, dementia). Here they are, the […]
A few years ago, I decided to buy a Christmas tree. I’m culturally Jewish, conceptually agnostic, and ritually a bit of a witch, but a lighted tree is a lighted tree no matter what you believe. I drove to my local big-box store and examined probably 30 or 40 different options in every size and […]
Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor died on Friday. This essay regarding her influence on American educational standards originally ran on May 12, 2011, but today it may be more timely than ever. Specific temporal references (e.g., “seven or eight years ago,” “last week,” “the current”) remain the same as in the original post. […]