#481. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (reread)

Offers a fantasy scenario in which a rich person grows a conscience and is able to change for the better, very interesting.

#480. New Hampshire - Robert Frost

Poems that make me yearn to collect firewood, or to take a stroll by a river which divides Pennsylvania from New Jersey, or to see the city's Christmas tree alight at night. Or all three.

#479. Sula - Toni Morrison

Might be my favorite Morrison so far, slthough I seriously need to reread Beloved. Morrison has a way of writing about sexuality, and even sex scenes, that’s both candid and with a hint of the Christian symbolism she’s so fond of.

#478. The Colours of Chloë - Eberhard Weber

Kinda ghostly and spooky, but also serene. Those dueling pianos on the final track... mmmm.

#477. Complete Poems - Marianne Moore

As Moore puts it, “Ecstasy affords the occasion and expediency determines the form.”

#476. Barry Lyndon (rewatch)

You watch a guy con his way to the top for 90 minutes, and then eat shit for the next 90 minutes. What's not to love?

#475. A Charlie Brown Christmas - Vince Guaraldi

What do you even want me to say? It’s a perfect soundtrack for a perfect TV special. The vocal rendition of “Christmastime Is Here” gives me chills. The ending of “The Christmas Song” makes me ascend. Perfection.

#474. A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra - Frank Sinatra

For some reason I was expecting a vocal jazz album, when actually this is closer to a gospel album. The religious Christmas songs are given priority over the Santa songs, which is fine!

#473. 3 Godfathers (1948)

I'm not a Christian, or all that into Christmas, but I do like Christian-themed Westerns that involve Christmas! Not sure there are many of those.

#472. A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector - Various Artists

Why is it the greatest Christmas album ever? Because no matter what time of the year it is, this shit will get you in a festive mood. That we got Pet Sounds out of it also helps.

#471. Stray Dog (1949)

Maturity is realizing Akira Kurosawa really was one of the best to ever do it.

#470. Train Dreams

"The dead tree is as important as a living one."

#469. Train Dreams - Denis Johnson (reread)

Any story can have a happy ending, or a sad ending, or something in between. Really it depends on where you decide to end it.

#468. Howl and Other Poems - Allen Ginsberg

I always kinda wondered why I never got through all of “Howl” itself until now. Turns out the reason for that is that it sucks. Edgy nonsense, along with most of the other poems here.

#467. The Actor (2025)

An absurd neo-noir that's kinda whimsical and also kind of an existential nightmare. It's sort of like Lost Highway's less evil nephew, is how I would describe it on the unlikely chance I can convince someone to watch it.

#466. Él

Buñuel really likes to shit on male insecurity across his movies, but Él might be the scariest and least funny example of the bunch. Here he connects dots (problematically, but interestingly) between toxic masculinity and untreated mental illness.