brendan halpin

Welcome to my annual “best of” roundup! Which is of course actually “favorite” of 2024 because there are no objective criteria for art!

Art really is a balm for the soul in dark times. (I’m not going to try to convince you that pro wrestling is an art form, though it definitely is, because I don’t need to justify my love for it by trying to elevate it.) And so I went once again to the Sons of Italy hall in Watertown, MA, for a Chaotic Wrestling show on Friday night.

I try to stay away from the NYT editorial page, but today someone linked approvingly to a piece by David Brooks (I’m not linking to it because the hell with David Brooks and the New York Times. If you’re interested, it’s not hard to find) in which he tiptoes right up to the point and then misses it entirely.

Being Broke

Because I was a broke kid who went to rich people’s schools, I wound up with a kind of complicated class identity. There have been times when I’ve had money and there have been times where I was broke. And it’s become apparent to me recently that a lot of people who are not broke have no idea what this reality is like and how it affects people. So I’m writing this not because all of it is my experience (though some if it definitely is) but because I really don’t think middle class people with money who hang out with other middle class people with money have any idea of what being broke is like.

Though Wicked has a cult following, I’m not part of the cult. I read the book at some point in the late 90’s, didn’t like it, and never saw the musical.

So I went into this movie with no expectations, except that I thought it was going to feel way too long. It didn’t, and more on this later. Also: it knocked me out.

On Sunday, 11/10, I relived part of my youth by traveling from Cincinnati (where I was visiting) across the river to Newport, KY to hear live music.

Here in the good old USA, we will soon be ruled by a collection of clowns, villains, and villainous clowns. I think it’s time we started taking the idea of protecting our data a little more seriously. Even though it’s a pain in the ass and you probably feel like you have nothing to hide.

When you have the opportunity to see a legend, you gotta go. And so I went with my younger daughter to Chicago to see Stevie Wonder.

I’ve been reading a fair number of posts on social media from people who feel that a vote for either presidential candidate is an endorsement of horrifying crimes they don’t want to be associated with. What these folks are wrestling with, I think, is a question that plagues everyone with a conscience: how do I live a moral life in a corrupt world?

Wow, have I been watching a lot of movies recently! Here are some brief thoughts!