This Sunday, “Past Lives” is up against films like “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” at the Academy Awards. While I don’t think Celine Song’s extraordinary movie will win for Best Picture, I do think she has a great shot at earning an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Of course, “Past Lives” is an American film set partially in South Korea and with half the dialogue in Korean. But this got me thinking about some of my favorite Korean films that I wanted to share with you.

From blocks away, you couldn't miss the crowd in downtown Corpus Christi, Texas. Birders with binoculars and photographers with long lenses were all looking the same direction. When you got to the spot, you could easily see the yellow bird on the curb. It was the first and only Cattle Tyrant ever seen in the United States. It’s a rich lemon custard on the front. A species of flycatcher, it normally lives in South America.

One of the reasons I for years rejected the theory of a conspiracy to kill JFK was that it’s too hard to keep small secrets, let alone an enormous one. “Somebody would have talked by now,” I once told a relative who had read a lot of books on the JFK assassination. “A deathbed confession. Something.” What I didn’t realize at the time was that there had been confessions and near confession from people inside the US government.

In my defense… well, it’s honestly indefensible. So, I guess it’s time to just own it until I get the validation, attention and social media shares I crave. I think this was the first one I made: Those debates can sometimes get a little heated, especially among the extremely knowledgable diehards often referred to as “power pop purists.” It’s usually meant to be fun—we start off loving similar styles of music, after all—but arguing about which bands do or don’t qualify as power pop can be absurdly humorous at times.

Intimate conversations with our greatest heart-centered minds. Hello Beyonders! is now on Substack. How lucky are we! As a gesture toward welcoming Esmé, and because there are so many new subscribers, I’m lifting the paywall on this beautiful interview with her for the week. Enjoy! Esmé Weijun Wang has one of the most brilliant minds and beautiful hearts that I’ve ever encountered. And her writing is breathtakingly graceful whilst also laser sharp.