We don’t know yet, and I haven’t been asked, but I’m voting for The Banshees of Inisherin.

Set on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, the film follows lifelong friends Padraic (Colin Farrell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson). Of course, something goes wrong.

In fact, they should create a new category: Best Dialogue in a Movie.

One of my favorite pieces:

Padraic’s sister: Maybe he’s just depressed.

Padraic: That’s what I was thinking, that he’s depressed. Well, if he is, he could at least keep it to himself like. You know, push it down, like the rest of us.

I might watch it a third time.

Forgive me if I reproduce a FB post, but I’m still thinking about the email I got this morning: My past is catching up with me. I got a notice from an academic site that someone read my paper, “Inspection Methods for Safeguards Systems at Nuclear Facilities.” Not a NYT Noteworthy.

Here’s photo documentation of that era.

As I’ve also admitted, a book I co-wrote with my boss at the time, “Nuclear Waste Management Abstracts,” was not a best seller.

What else could I do but turn to fiction where I’ve been a “best seller” at least for a cumulative 15 minutes, counting all 25+ novels plus short stories?

Coming soon: another holiday weekend. This one should give us pause about how that dream is working out. Better not to ask me these days.

(The speech is not in the public domain.)

Finally, Christmas is almost over. Hear the pipers piping!

So, one last chance to put that carol in our heads as well as de-mythify its meaning.

https://www.vox.com/21796404/12-days-of-christmas-explained

Next week — 2023 in earnest.