books, TV

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

Rick Mc

A story of date rape.

Jon Krakauer wrote a book that much influenced my thinking:

Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town

The book follows several case studies of women raped in Missoula, Montana, many of them linked in some way to the University of Montana. 

Many of the rapists were football players, protected from the justice system.

In Beartown, the 15-year-old daughter of a small town Swedish hockey team general manager is raped by the 17-year-old star of the Beartown junior team.

Fredrik Backman is an excellent writer. This is an important book, as is the Krakauer.

Themes of family, friendship, loyalty. Ethics.

I recommend Beartown.

I also read the sequel, Us Against You. Not nearly as good.

The book was adapted for TV and is available on HBO.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

McCharles family, movies

My DAD in Hitchcock’s I CONFESS (1953)

Rick Mc

Just last night Dad told us the story of how he was an extra in an Alfred Hitchcock film called I Confess.

It starred Montgomery Clift as Michael William Logan, a Catholic priest, Anne Baxter as Ruth Grandfort, and Karl Malden as Inspector Larrue.

Filming took place largely on location in Quebec City with numerous shots of the city landscape and interiors of its churches and other emblematic buildings, such as the Château Frontenac.

Dad was in the Canadian military. Ann Baxter entertained the troops as part of the gig.

Here’s the scene. He (must be) soldier #17. 😀

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

humour, TV

Never Have I Ever – season 2

Rick Mc

“Never Have I Ever‘s fresh take on the coming-of-age comedy is hilariously honest, sweetly smart, and likely to have viewers falling head over heels for charming newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.

There are a LOT of things I like about this comedy. 

Great music. For sure.

The dialogue includes a lot of contemporary slang. And funny one liners.

Lily D. Moore as Rebecca Hall-Yoshida, too.

Lily was born with Down syndrome, but that hasn’t slowed her career in film, television, and national commercials. 

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is a natural comic. She plays Devi, an Indian American, overachieving teen struggling to find her place at High School.

Best of all is the voice over narration of John McEnroe and other celebrities. 

Hilarious. 

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. 

ethics, human rights

“Be a warrior not a wokester.”

Rick Mc

Professor Galloway — like many of us — is turned off by out-of-control political correctness.

People are increasingly afraid to say what they think for fear of online backlash.

Similarly, I’m embarrassed by people outraged that William Shakespeare (for example) was racist. You shouldn’t judge people in the 1500s by today’s standards.

Instead of complaining, take ACTION.

Do something REAL.

Be a warrior for social justice.

Listen to Professor Galloway‘s podcast here.

… Structural racism is real, and our economic system is tilted, if not rigged.

The most accurate predictor of your opportunities isn’t your intelligence or work ethic but where you’re born.

But playing the victim decreases your capacity to be a warrior against these injustices. …

Reacting to every slight and demanding satisfaction from every insult is what the system wants you to do. Joining a Twitter mob seizing on a hapless middle manager or an out-of-touch English professor may feel like justice, but it’s just a cheap drip of dopamine ….

Be a warrior. 

Advice to Grads: Be Warriors, Not Wokesters