That's too kind about Thatcher's inadvertent historical impact, Kevin, thanks.

I'll definitely look for those films you listed. You haven't steered me wrong yet. I have very little exposure to or knowledge of Korean movies, but the ones I've seen I've liked a lot. There's used to be a cool venue called ImaginAsian in midtown that screened Asian films exclusively, mostly Japanese, Korean or Indian, that I used to frequent. The actual theater was a crappy old retread, but the films were occasionally exceptional. I remember a cracking Korean war epic about two brothers and the whole Korean family duty ethos, unfortunately not the title.

...

So, I'm sitting at lunch with five of my favorite 90-year old ladies and the topic turns to air conditioning, perhaps understandable in light of the unseasonably hot day we enjoyed today, with temperatures nearing 80 in April. Marilyn, who loves to tell anecdotes, informed us that she didn't have air conditioning in her house because it was in the woods, but she did have central vacuuming. This caused hilarity round the table, deadpan inquiries about the mechanics and design of the apparatus, speculation about whether small household items might need to be nailed down, how large the bag holding the dust might be, how long it would last before exploding and who would empty it.

I said I had never heard of such a concept, whereupon Marilyn said, "That's because you're a peasant."

"Oh yes," I colluded, "from a long line of peasants."

Adeline, on whom I have a crush, jumped in: "Russia's full of peasants and you never heard of central vacuuming over there."

To which Bernice added, "Central committees, but no central vacuuming."

Lenora, usually the model of serene silence, replied, "Well, they both suck."

...

Football: This is not a football thought I expect anyone to take seriously, but it did occur to me just now, as I glanced at an ESPN article about the Patriots' options should surgery knock Gronkowski out for most of the season, that one thing they might do is sign Terrell Owens as a tight end. There was a report a few days ago that Tom Brady was throwing to Owens this offseason, so you never know...