She is Winter      by William Hecht Deep December night and she is spent. She is consumed–like the fields after a greedy harvest. She slumbers—as does the world. Only her essence is sentient, aware. It is a spell: cast in the light of the great moon, it will break with the first rays of the equinox sun. Her hair is black. It is a wave of boreal night that flowed through the glass, swept down her  cheek, and spilled on a pale shoulder.  Things made of night are smooth–and softer by far than anything made from day. She dreams—as does the world–of light and warmth, of aromas and twitching roots, the launch of dancing sprouts: calls to life. If I could dream with her, I would

STOCK MARKET CHARTS  tell a story. Of course on the surface, most chart styles show a continuous map of prices over a period of time. But what a chart actually depicts is a series of collective (investor) responses to the flow of new information about the earnings potential for the companies involved (e.g. DOW or S&P 500). OK, so what? Well during the evolution of a mania or bubble, there comes a point when prices are driven not by the potential for earnings but by the price action itself. In other words, more emphasis is placed on the rising prices than on the reasoning behind them. Perhaps my favorite definition of a bubble is purely psychological – as it should be: a bubble happens when

About 30 months ago, I left Arizona after having lived there more than half my life. I had grown up in Racine, Wisconsin, and when I left for Arizona to go to graduate school, I had just turned 26.  A marriage, a divorce, and a couple careers later I was 55; my work-life was changing and my father’s health was failing. The decision to move back to Racine was made easier through a series of ever-longer visits back “home,” to the same house I grew up in, the nearby Great Lake, the change of seasons, the mix of industry and farming, and the community that somehow still knew me. Twenty years ago, in conversation with  Karen P______, an AA friend, I heard some words that

  SOME FRIENDS TOLD ME it was great and gave me the book that provides the basis for the show. It was great.  So imagine my delight when I saw Ewan McGregor, a favored actor of mine, cast as Count Alexander Rostov, who survived the purges of the aristos by the Bolsheviks only to be confined for life within the walls of a fine Moscow hotel–and not in his formerly capacious suite, rather in a dusty space just below the roof. This show–and the other series I  review this month, Sugar–sustain me with a total of 90 minutes of viewing ecstasy each week. I am no longer surprised at how the British can play Russian elites without adopting a Slavic accent. After Sean Connery as

  I HAVE ALWAYS enjoyed watching Colin Farrell act. Favorite movies of his come to mind such as In Bruges, Minority Report, and Banshees of Inisherin. Apple created an original  noir detective series called “Sugar,” after the main character: John Sugar, private investigator and played by Farrell. It is set in present-day LA and after four episodes, I am dazzled. There are other mysteries beyond the driving theme: the missing granddaughter to an ultra-famous movie producer.  He’s part of a larger service, but it’s not clear how that works (at least not to me, yet). He’s also got some personal psychological/physical symptoms that are starting to get more attention as the series progresses; all which build the tension and make it more compelling. The style,

[Author’s Note: Mom went to her rest on Dec. 14th 2022 at 90 years of age. I composed a tribute to her shortly after that; here’s the link: https://www.moviesmarketsandmore.com/paean-for-a-country-girl-or-faith-family-community-learning-and-little-baseball/ This piece, Mercy, is one of my favorites and Mom was the main character and the inspiration. Early this month and inspired by her example, I went to the nursery, inexpertly selected flowers,  drove to the cemetery and planted them  behind the stone for my parents’ grave. My grandmother and grandfather got some, too. At the time, her date of death was yet unmarked.  It wouldn’t bother me if it stayed as it is] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IN MY MOTHER’S kitchen, and taped to the door of a cabinet where cups and plates are kept, is a laminated

[Note: This material is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It does not recommend investments of any kind. Use a professional and licensed advisor or broker when making investment decisions]   In the last few days, I have read articles on marketwatch.com, a Wall Street Journal site, that have done well to explain why stocks are where they are. We are into uncharted territory again–well it can’t be “again” and “uncharted territory” at the same time, but it’s new so perhaps “everything old is new again.”In order to make sense of the current market environment, I have to reflect back on the environment of the Tech Bubble in 2000. I was working a trade desk and right in the middle of the mania—the insanity of

True Detective Season Four: Night Country  I haven’t watched Jody Foster in a movie or series since perhaps Safe Room and certainly before that in Silence of the Lambs.As part of the True Detective series, this time the story is set in a remote part of Alaska where it’s dark for an entire month during winter. It’s also in a small coastal town where many of the townsfolk represent First Peoples. When mystery and mayhem visit a group of researchers who sequester themselves in a nearby compound, Foster plays local law enforcement, and compares notes on the case with a native American woman, a state trooper.At first, this  one reminded me strongly of Dark Winds, a series I reviewed that took place on reservation  land

I haven’t seen all of the nominated films–there are too many (ten) nominated films this year anyway. But I can talk about what I have seen. The Holdovers This one could also have been titled “The Throwback” in the sense that it’s an old-fashioned dramatic film: no CGI, no crazy special effects, no aliens, ghosts, monsters or supernatural beings, etc. It’s simply about a handful of people who encounter one another more acutely because they’re tossed together almost randomly like “leftovers “ that result in a surprisingly good goulash.  Like most good films, it’s unpredictable but credible. As a teacher, I was a little more engaged, perhaps, because the setting is the holiday break at a New England boarding school where the main character (Paul

[Note:  This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Investment decisions should be made with the help of a professional.] In my most recent “Markets” post (https://www.moviesmarketsandmore.com/the-boy-who-called-wolf-was-right-just-when-everyone-stopped-listening), I offered two different charts and trendlines as  key support levels. The second level (5-yr chart) held, and the resultant bounce from the 4100 level sparked the market’s greatest November rise in decades, driving indexes near to the old highs of a year ago (see 6-month chart below). There are at least three reasons for the “upward crash”: Many sophisticated market players had bet on the market to go down and sold short (“buy low, sell high” but first borrow stock then sell it. They then buy later—-and preferably lower–to return the borrowed shares and pocket the

[Author’s Note: I wrote this a little over a year ago.  Dec 14th, 2023 will be the one-year anniversary of her passing.] In Memory of Mary Helen Duren Hecht In the earliest memory I have of you, I woke to the music of your voice; my eyes opened on your smiling face. A young mother, you roused me from sleep with the softest, sweetest lilt you could produce. You knew how children’s dreams, their souls still bright, are visited by cherubs—in whose presence there can be no fear or need. You eased the harsh stir from soft bliss to garish day. And so, as a child, my heavenly dreams ended gently, and earthly days began with your smile and the music of your heart. [

CHRISTMAS REALLY DOES come early at times: I am already into the fifth season and the third season respectively of two of the best recent series I can think of: Fargo and Slow Horses.  Fargo has gone retro and evoked the original film. At first, the Minnesota-speak was a little heavy, though as with some seasonings, you have to err in the direction of a tad too much rather than too little.  In the second episode on FX, I got a glimpse of Jon Hamm’s character and enjoyed the transformation he underwent: Fargo characters are always very nuanced and must be 99.9% original with respect to non-Cohen Brothers characters.  I might mention that Jennifer Jason Leigh creates a compelling new character in this. I reviewed Slow