Even before quarantine started in March, I knew I was going to read a lot more in 2020, given that I started the year without a full-time job. What has changed since January is how I choose my books. Before this year, my book choices were primarily based off Reese Witherspoon's book club, or the …
The Silver Screen in Black & White
I spent most of my free time over the holidays catching up on my Criterion Collection watch list. I guess it was to combat my brain turning to mush from too many Hallmark holiday movies? I've always loved older movies, so it was a no-brainer for me to subscribe to the Criterion Collection earlier this …
Southern Squared’s Summer Reading List
School started this week in Georgia, and like quite a few students this year, this 42-year old is learning outside of the classroom from her home. Okay, so my reading assignments aren't quite Catcher in the Rye, the Great Gatsby and Madame Bovary like in Mrs. Tomblin' 10th grade American Literature or Mrs. Epperson's AP …
Championing Juneteenth in Changing Times
I didn't learn about Juneteenth in elementary school, middle school, high school, or college. It wasn't taught in American history classes which included the Revolutionary War, the Louisiana Purchase, the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Transcontinental Railroad, both World Wars, the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, and even the Cold War. Our textbooks didn't include anything about …
Summer Streaming Series
Let me tell you from previous experience... having a few months off with no income (aka, unemployed) is NO FUN. But, I did get to catch up on tv shows that I always wanted to binge, but never had time (Golden Girls, Designing Women, The Wonder Years). I heard Scandal was leaving Netflix May 19, …
The 80s Movie Bracket
March is all about brackets, but for us, it was all about quarantine this year. I was looking forward to Atlanta hosting the Final Four this year, but instead, I enjoyed looking at all of the brackets our friends created. I saw brackets for candy, kids tv shows and board games, but what about movies? …
Quarantine Stream
UPDATE (4/29):Tonight, I watched The Namesake in honor of Irrfhan Khan, who passed away today at the age of 53 of cancer. Khan was a celebrated Indian actor, but I have only seen him in his English speaking parts, Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire and The Namesake. I wrote a little something about The Namesake, …
Southern Squared Watches
Last week, I finally finished my marathon binge of Designing Women, and I thought, what should I watch next? I had a stack of DVDs, and some shows and movies to stream on various services. Friends have given lots of suggestions on social media, including Sex Education, Self Made, the Madam C.J. Walker Story, and …
Southern Squared Learns
While we are confined to our homes and practicing social distancing 6 feet away from each other, I hope everyone has taken time to learn something new between work assignments and home schooling their children. Most of the things I have been learning can be shared with children and can be a learning experience for …
Southern Squared Reads
Many of my friends and family know that I am a voracious reader. As a child, I could usually be found reading a book, even when it was bedtime, and I hid under the covers with a flashlight. No meal was complete without a book in front of my plate. No road trip could begin …