Now, four days into the year, it’s all possible. You have an idea of how things will go – what to look forward to and what will be difficult – but you’re working with archival material. An educated guess based on memory, experience, and knowledge. “2025 is going to be a very difficult year for me,” a friend casually said to me the other day, before embarking on all the things he had to do this year. The idea was to take the business to a new stage and consider relocating. To me, these things sounded exciting and interesting – the fascinating content of someone else’s life.
We all sit here looking at the same calendar and with the same year’s worth of days in front of us. What kind of activities and events will you fill in? How do we greet everyday materials? What meaning do you give to it?
I recently saw Christian Marclay’s installation “The Clock” at MoMA. It’s a 24-hour montage of thousands of clips from movies and shows, each with clocks, clocks, lines, and other clocks. The film is synchronized with real time, so every scene depicts the moment you’re watching, and “The Clock” itself acts as a clock. Not only are you watching a movie, you’re also looking at the clock for hours on end.
The museum opened 24 hours a day on Dec. 21 for a special screening of “The Clock” from 7 p.m. Saturday to 7 p.m. Sunday. On my way there Saturday night, I found myself in a hurry. It was already 8pm so I was late. But then I stopped. It didn’t really matter when we arrived. People were coming and going all night and into the next day during the screening. This was an invitation to rethink the way we think about time. “The Clock” is not a performance with a beginning and an end, much like real time. It’s happening whether you’re there or not. Will it appear or not? To be careful or not to be careful. You can’t go wrong.
Somehow my attention never wavered as three, four, five hours passed, and as I sat in the audience, I thought about this proposition again. Maybe you’re doing it the wrong way. Should I pay attention to the plot, characters, and dialogue of each clip, or should I pay attention to the clock? 11:22, 11:23, because I was trying to figure out what movie that last scene was. , did I miss the clock on the screen saying 11:24? (I later realized the whole thing was there) Wiki dedicated to “The Clock” The origin of each clip is identified — 11:24 includes scenes from “Shanghai Nights”, “Maris in Wonderland”, and “Se7en”)
“The Clock” forces you to meditate on time. This is because we force the sequence of life into a story, project cause and effect on everything that happens, assume that everything has a meaning, and decide whether that meaning is positive or negative. It’s a method. We are artists and architects of our own lives, looking ahead to the day or year ahead and thinking about what stories to tell. Will this year be a good year? Will it be a big deal? Who decides?
I stayed at “The Clock” until Sunday morning when I started dozing off and dreaming. Marclay is a proponent of falling asleep during the movie. “That’s what you have to do: let it go, absorb it and feel like you’re part of this work,” he told my colleague Mark Tracy. If I had remembered that, I might have stayed longer. Instead, I wandered into midtown Manhattan early on the first day of winter.
That was two weeks ago. Since then, the sun has risen and set 13 times, ending one year and beginning another. I try to pay attention to time but not get too attached to it. This year unfolds before us, many things are written in pencil, but nothing is certain. It may be difficult, as my friend predicted for himself. And, in the words of a Morning reader who wrote in to offer his best advice: As if the idea that things aren’t that terrible is a revelation, for me the question mark is this good advice. This is the reason. “Couldn’t that be great?”
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a week of culture
movies and tv
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🏆 Golden Globe Awards (Sunday): The Globes, once the glamorous and hard-drinking cousin of the more straight-laced Oscars, have been put on life support after a series of ethics, financial and diversity scandals. The show has new owners (the Hollywood Foreign Press Association no longer exists), a more diverse voter base, and a new network. But will all these changes and A-list candidates be enough to attract viewers? The ceremony will be broadcast tomorrow night on CBS and Paramount+.
This week’s recipe
split pea soup
Suddenly the holidays are over and the vibrant glow of December has been replaced by the cozy and quiet days of January. That means it’s time to pull out your biggest pot and simmer a batch of Ali Slagle split pea soup. Her hearty, aromatic recipe is loaded with three types of leeks (leek, onion, and garlic), carrots, and thyme, all of which complement the rich soup and add sweetness and depth. . Many split pea soups call for ham or bacon, but Ali’s flexible version allows you to use either, or leave the meat out entirely and sprinkle it with smoked paprika. In either case, a squeeze of lemon at the end brightens everything up.
real estate
The Hunt: In Harlem, two friends joined forces to purchase a tenement house. Which one did they choose? Play our game.
What you get for $1.3 million: Queen Anne’s House in Denver. Top floor unit of a 1916 apartment complex in Chicago. Or a 2020 ranch-style home in Austin, Texas.
Valuable imports: Saffron is difficult to harvest. But in the United States, more small farmers and home gardeners are growing spices for profit or just for fun.
Platonic romance and AI clones: Experts share their predictions about the future of dating.
Not just leggings! Some women’s activewear is becoming looser and more comfortable.
Would you like some scotch?: Luxury brands use booze and sugary treats to keep customers interested.
Advice from a wire cutter
How to (easily) clean your refrigerator
Since November, there’s a good chance your fridge has been packed like Tetris with leaky leftovers. To clean up your clutter, follow these tips. Mentally divide your fridge into small sections that you can work on in 5-minute increments. Leaving the door open any longer is not ideal. Then, set a timer to clean each section a little at a time, allowing at least 20 minutes for the refrigerator to return to that temperature. You can complete it all in one day if you want, but for me, the real appeal of this approach is turning a difficult task into one that can be easily accomplished in a few days. — Rachel Wharton
New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals, NHL: The Capitals are a team to watch as the NHL season nears its halfway point. They sit atop the Eastern Conference standings and hold the No. 1 spot in The Athletic’s latest power rankings. And now, in his 20th season in Washington, Alex Ovechkin has a chance to surpass Wayne Gretzky’s career goalscoring record. It airs today at 12pm ET on ABC.
