Yes, Pittsburgh is Now the Center of the Political Universe and also, Yes, Pennsylvania Makes History as the First US State to Declare Diwali a Holiday.
Yes, we celebrated Diwali at home (both boys Face-Timed in from college), and of course, also with our dear friends Sonia (and her parents) and Gunjan (yes, it can be a male name as well), and several other couples (and their kids), at their home, with fireworks, sumptuous home cooked food (especially the Bhindi Masala, that I took all the leftover home shamelessly ☺️), and a mouth-watering spread of sweets. (Yes, there was also very good wine. )
But, No, I am not talking about Kamala Harris, who, if she wins on Tuesday, will be much more than that, likely Time’s Person of the Year, and perhaps, with almost a quarter over, a leading candidate for Woman of the Century. Instead:
Woman of the Hour is a 2023 American crime thriller film directed by Anna Kendrick in her directorial debut and written by Ian McDonald. It is based on the true story of serial killer Rodney Alcala and his 1978 appearance on the television show The Dating Game in the midst of his murder spree. Woman of the Hour had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2023, and was released by Netflix on October 18, 2024.
Decent flick, but why it caught my attention was
Anna Kendrick Donated All Her Pay to Anti-Violence Charities: ‘Felt Like the Least I Could Do’
and, one of the two charities mentioned in the article is National Center for Victims of Violent Crime, whose CEO is Renee Williams, an OrganJet advisor for many years, and I wanted to take this opportunity to give her and her organization a plug.
My favorite Anna Kendrick movies:
The Accountant. Pitch Perfect. A Simple Favor. Up in the Air.
Of course, I binge watched Season 2 of The Diplomat (decent, but not as fresh and gripping as the first season), and also watched, over the past few weeks, Slow Horses (Season 4, decent although predictable) and DI Ray (Season 2, which was pretty good, better than Season 1, that didn’t quite hit its stride). I could barely finish watching the first episode of The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh. So slap stick: A missed opportunity.
Talking about South Asian American History, and Philanthropy , let me take this opportunity to also forward an email from Nico Slate (see La Femme Nikki? for the background, and Riches to RAGS for the inaugural Kedia-Tayur Distinguished Lecture in South Asian American History):
I’m delighted to report that Dr. Neilesh Bose, a Canada Research Chair at the University of Victoria, has agreed to give this year’s lecture, which will be on-line at 3:00PM EST on Thursday May 8. Dr. Bose has been a key leader in the field of South Asian history, helping to found the most important scholarly organization, the Society for Advancing the History of South Asia. More recently, he has become an expert in South Asian American history, and is currently writing a book about the remarkable Indian American activist, Taraknath Das. Dr. Bose plans to focus his lecture on Das and his relationship with the American supporter of Indian independence, J.T. Sunderland.
I’m also very happy to note that we will again be collaborating with SAADA. Dr. Bose will be writing an essay that will accompany his talk and will be published in SAADA’s online magazine, TIDES.
