The Lady in the Van is the archetypal British indie film. It focuses on a small group of eccentrics who live in an artsy and fashionable neighborhood of Camden Town. Their placid and refined existence is invaded by an unseemly new arrival. The “lady” in the van is at first a kind of bag lady who drives when she’s not parked at the curb, living in her van. She’s eccentric and evasive about her affairs–even when people go out of their way to do her kindnesses. A local playwright (Alex Jennings), feigns disaffection but is slowly drawn to assist her and wonder about her past. British Maggie Smith is captivating in her role as “Mary” and you feel as though she has to get a

Shadows, Holes and Silence by William Hecht   THERE ARE some situations that can only be described by what is missing or absent, some things that are best explained by what they are not. Shadows, for instance, are regions marked by a quantum lack of illumination. Or take holes, spaces amid surrounding matter that imply a vacancy of a specific kind. Then there is silence, so often given physical characteristics for its ability to demonstrate what is not taking place. Other examples abound; Hell is a place of no hope, Heaven, one of no fear. My favorite is apathy, the state of not feeling. Apathy, not hate, someone said, is the opposite of Love. But the point of this expose’ is to convey my experience.

About four months ago, it became clear that very low oil prices and much cheaper gasoline were not a good thing for the stock market. Now, the world’s largest commodity and the global indexes are trading in a near lock-step with correlations over 90%. This is close to cats and dogs living together—until you look at it a little closer; then it only seems slightly bizarre. [pullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The most important concept is that of oil as collateral. Borrowing (and lending) for energy has exploded in the last couple decades[/pullquote] For most individuals and many economists, a higher oil price appears as a tax on the consumer because transportation, heating and energy-sensitive food costs represent a meaningful part of the monthly

As I contemplate the Oscar winners, I find myself confronting a modern irony. The nature of today’s politics is more like entertainment, and today’s entertainment has become political. Donald Trump is now the star of the largest reality TV show ever, and Hollywood (along with TV content) is being driven by race and gender issues of equal representation and compensation. Heaven forbid that the politics and entertainment are converging and we will soon be unable to distinguish between them. But the more likely truth may be that we are too easily bored today, and need to be entertained while we consume our politics, and are willing to digest some political cod-liver oil with our entertainment. And so back to the Academy Awards. . . Some