The Staircase is a multi-episode documentary which follows the trial of Michael Peterson after the death of his wife under suspicious circumstances in 2001.

There exists countless murder-mystery documentaries, but what grabs my attention about this film is the fact the even after watching the full series, I am completely torn about whether Michael Peterson is guilty. Throughout episodes 1-8, I was led further and further towards believing that Peterson was guilty. His remarkably odd behavior and lack of remorse, along with quite damning evidence, seem to prove his guilt. However, once the verdict is read in episode 8, my opinion almost immediately flipped. Episodes 9-13 suddenly show Michael Peterson in a completely different light which points towards his innocence.

After finishing the last episode, I have no idea how I should feel about the case. The fact that I could assume such strong feelings of both guilt and innocence is remarkable. In the end, I am left with feelings of sorrow about how the tragedy affected the lives of a family.

IMDB
Netflix

Every morning when I sit down at my computer I engage in the same routine of checking websites and my email to bring myself up to speed with what is occurring in the world around me. Reddit and the Washington Post provide a view of the larger world, but when it comes to California news nothing beats the California Sun email newsletter.

The California Sun is a daily weekday newsletter written by two men, a former correspondent and a former staff editor for the New York Times. They compile a list of the most important news articles about California and provide the list in a format that is easy to quickly digest. Each newsletter follows the same format: The first section is called The Lede and focuses on the most important California story. Next comes statewide news followed by a section with Northern California stories and another section with Southern California stories. The final section usually contains three stories that do not fit neatly into other sections of the newsletter. Several subjects are summarized in each section and each summary comes with a link to a media outlet for the full story. When relevant, subjects will contain links to multiple media outlets which provide different views.

I have a remarkable appreciation of the California Sun because it is comprehensive and well built. The newsletter allows me to both quickly bring my understanding of the news up-to-speed as well as dive deeply into topics I want to know more about. After reading 6 email newsletters and listening to 7 news podcasts every day, I feel that removing the California Sun would have the largest impact on my understanding of current events.

Give the California Sun newsletter a try for one or two weeks. They won’t send you anything except the newsletter and unsubscribing is as simple as a single click if you want the subscription to end. I promise that you will not be disappointed.

The California Sun

Update 8/27/18: I stumbled across an episode of the podcast Friends and Citizens which features Mike McPhate, one of the two people behind the California Sun newsletter. The conversation covers news media in California, subscription based journalism, and other interesting topics. It’s worth a listen. [Episode 8 – Newsletters, Journalism, and California Tomorrow with Mike McPhate]

This documentary provides a fantastic look at the life of Robin Williams. I was quite surprised to learn that while he attended the Claremont Men’s College, now renamed to Claremont McKenna College, Williams spent a good portion of his time chasing the girls who attended Pitzer College. This struck me as odd given that CMC is closer to Scripps College, an all-girls school, than it is to Pitzer. I suspect that Pitzer’s drug-loving, hippy reputation had something to do with it.

IMDB
HBO

Sortem for Amazon is an extension for Google’s Chrome web browser which provides an additional sorting option when looking at search results on Amazon.com.

To find the best products, one might think that sorting by product rating (avg. customer review) is the best way to find the highest quality products. After all, if people like a product they will rate it highly. However, that sorting method does not consider that products with fewer ratings are more likely to be rated higher than products with many ratings.

For example, if product A has a single 5-star rating, it will be ranked above product B which has 1,000 4 and 5-star reviews. This is because a single perfect 5-star rating is ranked above 1,000 reviews which average out to a 4.5-star rating.

While sorting by the number of reviews doesn’t magically display the absolute best product as the first result, it does provide a useful sorting option that can be used in conjunction with filtering by product rating.

Sortem for Amazon – Chrome Web Store

The Queen of Versailles

While this documentary film was released all the way back in 2012, I did not learn about its existence until this month. The film introduces the Siegel family and their extravagant billionaire lifestyle as they begin construction on their dream mansion, which is inspired by the Palace of Versailles.

However, their plans soon come to a halt as the timeshare empire they built crumbles during the 2008 financial crisis. The family proceeds to engage in ever more ridiculous behavior as their budget tightens. You will want to tape your mouth shut for this film, otherwise it will spend a lot of time dropping to the floor.

IMDB
YouTube
Amazon Video

 

Generation Wealth

The Baader-Meinhof Syndrome was alive and well this week as I browsed Reddit. Having watched The Queen of Versailles only a few days ago, I found it remarkable to see an image from the film in my Reddit feed. However, instead of taking me to The Queen of Versailles, the post was about a new film and project titled Generation Wealth.

The film comes from Lauren Greenfield who also directed The Queen of Versailles. Her new project consists of multiple mediums: a museum exhibition, a photographic monograph, and a feature documentary film (July 20th, 2018 US & UK theatrical release). This work examines society’s increasing obsession with wealth over the last 25 years.

With her new film, Generation Wealth, she puts the pieces of her life’s work together for in an incendiary investigation into the pathologies that have created the richest society the world has ever seen. Spanning consumerism, beauty, gender, body commodification, aging and more, Greenfield has created a comprehensive cautionary tale about a culture heading straight for the cliff’s edge. Generation Wealth, simultaneously a deeply personal journey, rigorous historical essay, and raucously entertaining expose, bears witness to the global boom-bust economy, the corrupted American Dream and the human costs of capitalism, narcissism and greed.

I probably won’t get a chance to view this documentary until later this year, but nevertheless I am very much looking forward to it.

 

Generation Wealth website