“The widest gulf in the world is the distance between getting by, and not getting by.”
― Charles Yu, Interior Chinatown

I keep trying to write this and then more terrible things happen in the world and I despair on the point of writing a newsletter that hardly anyone reads. I hope you’re taking care of yourself. Drink water and fuck ICE.

Welcome to 2026!

I feel like this year has been pedal to the metal thus far. I keep a running list of chores and tasks I need to accomplish, and then the stuff I want to actually do keeps getting pushed down. Which is quite the shift from the previous 12 months where my responsibilities kept getting more and more nebulous, and what I wanted to do keep bubbling up to get priority.

I’m still shaking out how I want a routine to look, and incorporating getting my fitness routine aligned with my filmwatching desires, and keeping up workshop projects, along with regular demands of life and all THAT incorporates in the between hours of sleep and a busy new job.

We’ll see by the end of 2026 how well I can find how to weave all this together without feeling burnt out.

Every year I join the Film Independent community and we come together and vote on a big selection of categories. I’m going to take the next few weeks to highlight a few favorites

Peter Hujar’s Day - A recently discovered recording between Peter Hujar and his friend Linda Rosenkrantz give birth to this movie describing life in 1970s New York Art Scene. I didn’t know much about Peter Hujar before watching this, but this movie is a delight. The definition of a hangout movie and such a great time to experience through this movie.

The Secret Agent - This movie is getting a lot of awards season buzz right now. Also set in the 1970s, it’s a tale of a Brazilian man fleeing a past and hoping to find relief in his hometown but dealing with government corruption and secrets in his past make it difficult. I struggled a little with the story telling here, but its a captivating tale and kept me interested enough throughout.

Good Boy - I usually do ok with horror/scary stories but this was too much for me. The movie is shot from the dog’s perspective and does a great job (too good imo) at building suspense.

Thanks for reading!