JANUARY RECAP

January has been a bizarre month. I can’t believe that it’s over but, at the same time, Christmas feels like it was five months ago. I was off work for most of the month so I was able to make some progress towards my goal of 240 New Things in 2024. I knocked out 25 new things, including 8 movies. Unfortunately, Ava Duvernay’s “Origin” was the only one that I’d recommend. On the bright side, I was 1 for 1 when it came to theater, as I’d highly recommend “Kate” at the Pasadena Playhouse - it’s a one woman show that satirizes one woman shows (and actors).

Pine & Crane DTLA was the best restaurant I tried out this month. If you’re ever heading to LA live, it’s about a block or so away and worth the extra walk. Hypnotic Escape Room’s Atlantis makes my list of favorite escape rooms - it wouldn’t be near the top of the list but I think it’s one of the better starter rooms for people who have never done escape rooms before. Great set design, everything flows and makes sense.

I re-re-restarted this blog because I wasn’t feeling the New Things-centric approach. Also, I want to go back to Recxpectations (aka Recommended Expectations) when it comes to movie reviews. And I’d like to also add spoiler-filled reactions; I think it’s silly how often we try to write about films but not spoil them. I get it when it comes to reviews but film discussion has to include spoilers or else, how are you really discussing the film? It’s like trying to talk about a sporting event without giving away who won. What’s the point?

January wasn’t my most productive month - I spent way too much time on Threads - so I want to try to write more and I’ll probably start throwing out ideas that I have that I’ll never actually get to on here. I also plan on posting up more random musings, including how to survive and maintain one’s sanity in 2024.

Here’s to making the most of the shortest month of the year!