Hi Bestie!!

My Very Wise Friend (™) asked me to keep an eye out for things of "awe." To keep my heart and mind open for the wonder in the world around me. I was pissed. My depression and disappointment run parallel to my gratitude and compassion, and I am renowned for having a good eye. "I WOULD LOVE TO SEE LADYBUG," I wailed furiously, before we both laughed.

Things feel shitty for everyone. I took a six-mile walk last weekend, even though it was 8 degrees; my plan was to read under every blanket I own for several hours. (I do not need the blankets, my apartment is very warm.) Yesterday I was going to prepare for the craft market but puttered around and cleaned instead. Halfway through I wondered if I should go for another six-mile walk, but kept cleaning instead (hockey was on ABC).

I thought this might help, or you could save it until you feel like the tide has risen and carried you further out than you had anticipated. As much as you wave at your friends on the shore, the tide never carries you back in, and your friends, ankle deep, smile like fucking idiots and wave blissfully in return. Oh well. I love my idiot friends. (Sometimes, I am your idiot friend.)

Nothing I send is a waste. I have probably been gently chided again by my My Very Wise Friend (™) because I thought the tide was carrying me back to shore, but it has carried me out again. It's what tides do. It will spit us back out, eventually.

THINGS THAT GIVE ME A FLUTTER OF HOPE

• A thin band of blue on the horizon during the all-grey 8 a.m. sunrise.

• I was awakened Monday morning by two small birds chirping. They gossiped for hours, just as they do for the duration of spring and summer.

• Dogs that turn back after they've passed to get another look, desperate for your affection.

• 12 a.m. text messages (any time is fine) from a friend — especially a smart, wise one — that they found this thing you already know, and now you can share it together.

• Marguerite de la Roche survived alone on the Isle of Demons for several years.

• The chief baker on the Titanic survived its sinking because he was so drunk. (I'll link to the My Favorite Murder episode about Charles Joughin in the sources.) He died in 1956 at the age of 78, outliving two wives.

• Violet Jessop survived TWO sinking ships. She died in 1981 at the age of 73.

• Our friend Richard Proenneke couldn't have lived in Alaska alone without help from friends.

• The Internet Archive backed up more than 73,000 pages of scientific and informational content, effectively ruining this administration's attempt to keep us in the dark.

• This USPS employee is heckling ICE. Is he single?

• Despite everything, people continue to make art. They write novels (silly ones and serious ones), paint, draw, make stained glass, form pottery, write and perform jokes…

• This Instagram carousel of New Yorkers helping each other.

• Hudson Williams, co-star of Heated Rivalry, was seen at a bar/club covering a woman's unattended drink.

• Writing by hand for 10-15 minutes a day vastly improves cognitive function as you age.

• Beverly Glenn-Copeland has a new album coming out next month WEEK!!!

• My friends with kids are raising wild, wonderful, weird, brilliant, and kind kids just like them. They're funny, brave, creative, and unique individuals whom I adore so, so much.

• It is Girl Scout cookie season, and everyone knows someone who has a kid selling cookies. And if they don't, I have several links to send you.

Movies You Should Watch This Week (Katherine's Film School, Part 1)

Last week, you read Heated Rivalry (well, I did) and cleaned (I did, and then by Tuesday, I uploaded a Zoom background because all I saw was absurd clutter). Take a break. I have two back-to-back NHL games on ABC Saturday, so the couch ("under every blanket I own") is where you will find me. Watch a movie, bestie.

Dr. Zhivago

I prefer this romantic epic during the height of July's heat, in a big, empty theater, with popcorn. But I have seen it many times during blizzards and various plagues with my parents. It doesn't have a happy ending, so prepare to be devastated. Available for rent on various platforms, likely to float to the surface on streaming eventually; will eventually screen in theaters at some point.

Past Lives

A perfect, beautiful modern romance shot on film, with the ending filmed at Holiday Cocktail Lounge. As far as I'm concerned, Celine Song can do anything she wants as long as she lives. Streaming on AppleTV+, Amazon, and Max.

Before, Now & Then

A woman survives war by marrying (and being kidnapped by) a despotic warlord, only to 1) befriend the butcher he's having an affair with, and 2) find out her deceased husband is ALIVE and HAS RETURNED. Also sad but has a hopeful ending that devastated me. I'm looking forward to Kamila Andini's career; I hope it looks like Celine Song's and Chloe Zhao's. Streaming on Kanopy.

Songs My Brothers Taught Me

A sad but stunningly beautiful film set and shot in the Badlands by Chloé Zhao. (For rent everywhere.)

Thousand Pieces of Gold

Because we talked about Polly Bemis before, and it's always a good day to watch Rosalind Chao. (You're going to have to rent this one.)

Paddington 2

Why have you not seen the greatest cinematic achievement of all time? It's about everything: found family, the prison industrial complex, the importance of boundaries, the very concept of staying true to yourself despite insurmountable odds, and swimming the English Channel. (For rent from every streaming service.)

I finished Heated Rivalry this week and started Tough Guy. I'm going to read the rest, but I am sorry to say this isn't the genre for me. I sat at Finback with my head in my hands, chanting "KISS! KISS! KISS!" They did not kiss! Anyway, huge fan of the main characters, and Wyatt, and hoping to see them in the second season of Heated Rivalry. 

Also, for like, I don't know, a week, Orange Crush was back at Finback. (It is inspired by the Maryland cocktail.) I ordered it, though I considered an IPA called Compatible. “No,” I thought, “You're in a cult. 

CONTEXT:

Well, I was denied Orange Crush! "We don't have it on tap or even in cans." So, with an abundance of caution, I ordered Compatible, thankfully without an accent.

Always your friend,

Katherine

"PADDINGTON 2 - Trailer." StudiocanalUK, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKORZtVgYsQ. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.

"Beverly Glenn Copeland." Beverly Glenn Copeland, beverlyglenncopeland.com. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.

Bowman, Emma. "As the Trump Administration Purges Web Pages, This Group Is Rushing to Save Them." NPR, NPR, 23 Mar. 2025, www.npr.org/2025/03/23/nx-s1-5326573/internet-archive-wayback-machine-trump.

British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry Day 6 Testimony of Charles Joughin, Titanic Inquiry Project, www.titanicinquiry.org/BOTInq/BOTInq06Joughin01.php. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.

Caughey, Nicole. "#348 Old Biscuit." My Favorite Murder, My Favorite Murder, 14 May 2024, www.myfavoritemurder.com/episodes/348-old-biscuit.

Caughey, Nicole. "#513 Best of the Year (Part II)." My Favorite Murder, My Favorite Murder, 17 Jan. 2026, www.myfavoritemurder.com/episodes/513-best-of-the-year-part-ii.

"Charles Joughin." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Jan. 2026, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Joughin.

"Dismissed on Instagram: 'Me and the Mailman 🤝.'" Instagram, www.instagram.com/reel/DTy2UGdAEGE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.

Hill, Katherine M. "An Unreasonable Fantasy Part II." RSS, Too Loud and Too Old, 17 Feb. 2024, buttondown.com/KatherineMHill/archive/an-unreasonable-fantasy-part-ii/.

Hill, Katherine M. "Don't Tell Ryan Murphy about Marguerite de La Roche!!" Too Loud and Too Old, Buttonown, 6 May 2024, buttondown.com/KatherineMHill/archive/dont-tell-ryan-murphy-about-marguerite-de-la-roche/.

Hill, Katherine M. "Polly Bemis, Woman of the West." Too Loud and Too Old, Buttonown, 13 Oct. 2024, buttondown.com/KatherineMHill/archive/polly-bemis-woman-of-the-west/.

Lambert, Jonathan. "Why Writing by Hand Beats Typing for Thinking and Learning." NPR, NPR, 11 May 2024, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/05/11/1250529661/handwriting-cursive-typing-schools-learning-brain.

Marano, Giuseppe, et al. "The Neuroscience behind Writing: Handwriting vs. Typing-Who Wins the Battle?" Life (Basel, Switzerland), U.S. National Library of Medicine, 22 Feb. 2025, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11943480.

MIFFIN. "Hudson Williams Covers Girl's Drink At Club; Praised For Being A Gentleman." YouTube, youtu.be/yW53KreLlQk?si=rWQiKs8fjWIzWbh_. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.

"Orange Crush (Cocktail)." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Oct. 2025, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Crush_(cocktail).