Dear Dean Magazine: December 2023

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+ 

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V O L . 2 4 | D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 2 3 

HOLIDAY TRIBUTE TO MOM 

Plus!

THE GOODS 

03 Welcome From Myron 

06 

A Hanukkah Christmas 

by Myron J. Clifton 

09 Holiday Tribute To Mom 


16 Conception Begins with Ejaculation 


18 

Hot Take! x4 

24 

30 

32 

You: I Won’t Vote for Biden. Me: Okay. 


Thread Of The Month 

by Federico Chispas 

2023 Wraps: A Very Bad Year 

by Victoria A. Brownworth 

40 

42 

Myron's HIT or MISS List 

Movie Reviews / My Favorite 

Things Streaming Right Now 

D E A R D E A N M A G A Z I N E , W E B S I T E , B L O G S & 

B O O K S A R E D E S I G N E D B Y K A T Y A J U L I E T L E R N E R

December 2023 

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, 

and Happy Holidays Reader! 

As we warp up another year for Dear Dean Magazine, 

we again express heartfelt gratitude for all the 

contributors, authors whose books we advertised, and 

all the subscribers who read, shared, comments, and 

gave us helpful feedback. 

We appreciate your support, gifts, and appreciation for 

the work we do at the magazine. 

A Hanukkah Christmas – two families come together 

after desegregating a neighborhood. 

A featured Article by Victoria A. Brownworth: 


A story about the ease of getting a vasectomy. 

How a popular cable news anchor misled his audience, 

and Responding when someone says: I won’t vote for 

Biden. 

We continue to believe some art should be free and that 

we can live up to our motto by providing quality free 

content for another year. 

All your favorites are here as well– What’s Streaming, 

Television reviews, Hot Takes, Hit/Miss, and don’t 

miss our latest book advertisements from our readers. 

We are proud that another year has gone by with us 

providing a platform to writers, authors, journalists, and 

novelists from across a wide spectrum of people who 

desired to share their important and sometimes 

overlooked words with our readers. 

We are proud of our subscriber growth, and that we 

platformed more contributors, many more books to 

advertise, and a lot more opinions than the year before. 

And we endeavor to do more of the same in 2024. 

Myron – Owner, Author, Publisher 

Katya – Designer, Publisher 

In our final issue of the year, we feature multiple articles 

and stories we think you’ll love. 

There’s a lot here and we hope you enjoy it all, share it 

all, and let us know on social media (see our 

contributor handles with articles). 

We publish thought-provoking articles on 

government, gender, race, and politics, while also 

providing space for movie and television reviews, 

poetry, short stories, food, pets, fun, and a welcoming 

platform for independent authors and writers. 

And we provide this space for free – because our 

motto is and will remain: Some Art Deserves to be 

Free. We appreciate you as a reader and we thank you 

for sharing the magazine to your social media network, 

friends, and family. We look forward to seeing YOUR 

contribution soon. 

-Myron 

DEAR DEAN MAGAZINE | December 22, 2023 | p.3

About Me 

Website | Bookshop | Twitter 

Myron J. Clifton is an author of novels Jamaal’s Incredible Adventures in the Black Church; 

Monuments: A Deadly Day at Jefferson Park; BLM-PD: Revenge was Inevitable; Her Legend Lives in 

You: The Untold Story Honoring the Goddess & Our Daughters; and short story collection, We 

Couldn’t Be Heroes, and Other Stories. Also check out his weekly podcast, Voice Memos, his FREE 

digital magazine, Dear Dean Magazine, and his weekly blog at both Medium and DearDean.com. 

Myron lives in Sacramento, California, and is an avid Bay Area sports fan. He likes comic books, telling 

stories about his late mom to his beloved daughter Leah, and talking to his friends. BOOKS ON 

AMAZON 

Loving Myron J. Clifton's Content? 

S H O W Y O U R S U P P O R T W I T H 

A C O N T R I B U T I O N T O D E A R D E A N ! 

Advertising / Contributions 

words@deardeanpublishing.com 


Jamaal's Incredible Adventures in the 

Black Church by Myron J. Clifton 

Before Jamaal's seventeenth birthday, he’s appointed as his preacher uncle’s 

designated driver and unwilling personal confidant. Behind the fine outfits and 

hats, behind the delicious cooking, Jamaal is exposed to crazy aunties, sexy church 

sisters, corrupt pastors, and predator deacons. A good kid who just wants time to 

finish his homework and kiss a girl his own age, Jamaal is dragged through the 

strange world of the Black church. You best pray for him. 


A HANUKKAH CHRISTMAS 

F E A T U R E D A R T I C L E 

Myron J. Clifton 

In the early 1970’s my grandparents were looking to 

buy a home in a suburb of Oakland. They had lived in 

Oakland since the 1940’s and were looking for a bigger 

home of the type that were popping up all around the 

Bay Area. 

They found what my grandmother thought was the 

perfect home. It was two-stories, 5-bedrooms, 3- 

bathrooms, large front and backyards, and a 2-car 

garage in a tony neighborhood lined with new trees and 

new landscaping. 

And plenty of white people who did not want my 

grandparents to move into their all-white 

neighborhood. 

Their agent conveyed the words from the developer 

that they would not sell to a Black family because no 

Black families lived in the neighborhood. 

The developer repeating the twisted logic that 

plagued Black families for generations. 

My grandparents were from Beaumont, Texas, and 

were both active in the Civil Rights movement, 

marches, and protests. They had first registered to 

vote by walking though armed white men who were 

determined to intimidate and stop them from 

registering so they weren’t afraid of white 

Californians trying to maintain an all-white 

neighborhood. 

My grandfather pastored a church in Oakland and my 

grandmother was a civil servant and together they had 

saved enough to buy a bigger home — living the 

American Dream and all that. 

That’s my grandfather on far right, with Dr. King on 

far left. 

Working with a friend who was a real estate agent they 

made an offer on the home and waited like all excited 

working-class families who are nervously hoping to 

hear the words “You got the house.” 

My grandparents did not get the response they were 

looking for. 


M Y R O N J . C L I F T O N 

Undeterred, my grandparents worked with their agent 

for him to buy the home and then quick deed it to my 

grandparents, paving the way for them to integrate the 

neighborhood. 

Within a few weeks of moving in a group of neighbors — 

all white men- knocked on my grandparent’s door with 

an offer: They would buy the home from my 

grandparents for double the price of what my 

grandparents paid. 

My grandfather declined, asked them to leave, and in his 

best Texas voice, told them if they come back to his 

property he’d shoot them. 

Now, I don’t think my grandfather the preacher-pastor 

would really shoot them, but he sat on his porch holding 

his shotgun for a few days just the same. 

They next got a letter signed by the neighbors that had 

the same offer. That letter ended up in the trash. 

My brothers and I were just kids, ages six (me) through 

eight, and we spent the first Christmas with our 

grandparents in their new home. My grandfather had 

Christmas lights on the front of the house, lawn reindeer, 

and large ornaments in the tree in the front yard. 

My grandmother had every room inside the home 

gloriously decorated with wreaths, tinsel, garland, 

Santa’s, and multicolored lights. 

They hadn’t heard from the neighbors after the letter 

and things seemed to have gently calmed down. 

After our grandparents returned from the front door, 

they told us a neighbor invited us Hanukkah dinner. The 

Jewish neighbors had their own battles in the 

neighborhood and at the local country club, and they 

said they felt compelled to invite our family to Hanukkah 

after learning what the other neighbors had done. 

The Jewish family wasn’t part of the group who tried to 

prevent my family from moving in, and not part of the 

cash offer to buy their home. 

My grandfather was the leader of a Bay Area ecumenical 

alliance, including rabis, that was formed to combat 

racism and promote social justice, so he and my 

grandmother gladly accepted the invitation. 

We had a wonderful Christmas and then the next day 

went to our neighbors and celebrated with their family. 

Their son, David, was my oldest brother’s age and they 

quickly became best friends. We played so much that 

when it was time to eat, I recall my grandmother 

admonishing us not to act as if we were starving. 

My grandmother was one of the best cooks in the world.. 

and the Hanukkah meal was delicious so when we were 

offered seconds, we all jumped at the chance (my 

grandmother was not happy and let us know it later, of 

course). 

The family explained the meaning of Hanukkah to the 

kids — we were fascinated by the lighting of the candles. 

And then when David’s mom explained the gift-giving 

part, we were amazed and uniformly commented how 

much better it was to receive gifts for eight days versus 

one day for Christmas. 

Then there was a knock at the door on Christmas Eve. 

Both grandparents went to answer the door since they 

weren’t expecting visitors. 

We heard them talking but couldn’t make out what was 

being said. 



“You mean we can get a gift every day for a week?! We should 

have Hanukkah every year!” I remember saying much too 

loudly. 

It was a wonderful Holy-day season and one that had 

lasting positive impacts for my oldest brother Marty. 

Marty and David. Best friends for life. 

and bike club my grandfather helped organize, and 

many other events and gatherings that would not 

have happened if my grandparents didn’t fight for 

their right to live where they wanted. 

In a year where there is war, when Black and Jewish 

(Black people can also be Jewish) people remain the 

prime targets of racism and antisemitism, I am 

reminded that our humanity, safety, and futures 

cannot be decided by other people or governments. 

At that long ago Hanukkah my grandfather prayed 

before we ate, and he would later teach us about the 

collaboration between Black and Jewish Civil Rights 

leaders and protestors. 

Our two communities hold and control our futures, 

and no one can take that from us. Our intertwined 

pasts cannot be unwound. 

My oldest brother, Marty, and David remained good 

friends until the day my brother passed in a tragic 

accident in June 2021. 

Marty had struggled with alcohol and even when family 

couldn’t reach him when he was living on the streets, his 

childhood friend David could always find him, talk with 

him, help him out, and see to his well-being. David was 

part of my brother’s inner circle and along with my other 

brother and a couple relatives, he remained a constant in 

his life. 

And though there will always be disagreements, as 

there are with longtime friends, our collective history 

in this country holds in reserve the encoded memory 

of shared interests that moved a nation to a future it 

desperately fought against. 

Our alliance changed a nation and world once and 

can do so again. 

They had gone from playing little league baseball 

together to battling disease together as friends. 

My grandfather would go on to officiate weddings, tend 

to the sick, and officiate the funerals of many of the same 

neighbors who initially wanted he and my grandmother 

out of the neighborhood. And when he passed, neighbors 

who were still alive and many of their children attended 

his funeral. Those who couldn’t attend sent cards with 

loving words remembering my grandparents, their 

backyard pool parties, the little league baseball league 


HOLIIDAY TRIBUTE 

TO MOM 

My mother on Christmas morning looking regal and like so many mothers who are 

poor and somehow make Christmas special for their children and family. 

Mothers who work extra 

shifts to pay extra bills, and 

somehow making it to the 

next paycheck while we 

celebrate new pajamas and 

one toy. 

Bless mothers / parents 

for making Christmas 

magical somehow. 


F E A T U R E D B O O K 

Marcus A. Banks-Bey, M.Div 

Gathered experience and elevation gained from years as an Army & hospital chaplain, mental health worker 

and clinical psychology doctoral student, equips Marcus A Banks to aid in journeying the reader to 

intelligently question their past belief systems and future creative visions of thought and identity as a 

purposeful means to developing their own personal reality for establishing their “true identity.” 

Within Dig Deep lies practical language, developed to help the reader grow the relationship with 

themselves, and understand why nurturing the relationships we have with our Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness 

and Finances will support our Purpose, Planning, Patience, and Persistent-Perseverance. This system helps 

one establish their own 5×5 Side by Side Guide through life. Dig Deep was written following a series of 

extremely challenging life occurrences, including the suicide of the author’s brother, Iverson; divorce; and 

war deployment. From this place, the author engaged in the process of self-discovery, self-awareness and 

meaning. 



Looking back on the Before and the events leading up to the After, it was impossible to say precisely when 

everything went to shit. Understanding the importance of human connection, a lone trader braves the 

Weeps and an emerging cult to unite the survivors of a shattered world. The Before and The After is a tale 

of loss, acceptance, and finding one’s truth in a barren future. 

Catherine Sequeira 

Catherine Sequeira is a veterinarian, author, and teacher. Originally from California, she has lived in 

Switzerland, New York, Oklahoma, and Scotland. She is an avid tabletop gamer and was all verklempt the 

first time her older son kicked her ass at Lords of Waterdeep. She would live in the garden if she could, 

pretending to be Snow White or channeling her inner Poison Ivy. When the weather chases her inside, you 

can find her reading sci-fi and fantasy or binging horror shows. She lives in Northern California with her 

partner, younger son, cat, and rescue dragon (the bearded kind, that is). 


CLICK TO MEET 

THE HOSTS! 

MYRON 

JENN 

Two longtime friends have informative, yet 

brief discussions about multitudinous topics. 

NEW EPISODES ON FRIDAYS! 


MYRON J. CLIFTON & JENNIFER VANLAANEN'S PODCAST 

VOICE MEMOS REVIEWS 

Listen Now! 

Stay 

Shallow! 

Like listening to your BFFs June 2, 2022 

kjlerner


The intimate and heartbreaking story of a Black undercover police officer who famously kneeled by the 

assassinated Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr--and a daughter's quest for the truth about her father. 

In the famous photograph of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on the balcony of Memphis's 

Lorraine Motel, one man kneeled down beside King, trying to staunch the blood from his fatal head wound 

with a borrowed towel. 

This kneeling man was a member of the Invaders, an activist group that was in talks with King in the days 

leading up to the murder. But he also had another identity: an undercover Memphis police officer reporting 

on the activities of this group, which was thought to be possibly dangerous and potentially violent. This 

kneeling man is Leta McCollough Seletzky's father.. 

Marrell McCollough was a Black man working secretly with the white power structure, a spy. This was so 

far from her understanding of what it meant to be Black in America, of everything she eventually devoted 

her life and career to, that she set out to learn what she could about his life, his actions and motivations. 

But with that decision came risk. What would she uncover about her father, who went on to a career at the 

CIA, and did she want to bear the weight of knowing? 


We Couldn't Be Heroes 

Short Story Collection: We Couldn't Be Heroes And Other Stories What if a Black 

man could control the weather, God called 911, or aliens took our souls? Would 

we notice? Would we care?... Enjoy the entire collection, seven stories in all, on 

earth and in space and in any order. 



Myron J. Clifton 

Strange that there were no protestors outside my 

doctor’s office when I got a vasectomy. 

and most were against it for reasons that mostly were 

male fragile ego related and Christian religion I guess. 

I didn’t have to navigate any local laws or travel out of 

state. There were no religious pressure in or out of the 

doctors, or anti-vasectomy pamphlets handed out, no 

news coverage, and no billboards. 

One thing that did surprise me was I was told to wait 6 

months per state/hospital rules. I was married at the 

time and my then wife had to sign off on the procedure 

in the doctor’s office with me, and the wait was 

designed to make me *really consider what I wanted to 

do. 

I didn’t know beforehand I would have to, but it didn’t 

deter me. 

I don't know if that’s still the case as this was in 2010 or 

so. 

Six months later I showed up and Christine the doctor’s 

assistant gave me a gown and asked me to undress. 

Then she asked if I had shaved. 

Surprised, I said, wut? 

She stopped and stared, saying, “You were supposed to 

shave, it was in the pamphlet we gave you during your 

first visit.” 

Hmm...that was 6 months ago, and I had totally 

forgotten. 

“The doctor will be here in 5 minutes” she says with a 

hint of panic in her voice. 

We stared at each other. 

And on second thought they did give me a pamphletpre 

surgery preparations. That’s it. 

I decided to have vasectomy because I didn’t want more 

kids and my then wife wanted off birth control for 

health reasons. 

I had never thought of getting snipped and in talking 

with friends and family and none had the procedure, 

Then Christine said: “I’ll shave you.” 

I held back responding and held in a smile. 

So, I get on operating table and Christine, who is quite 

good looking, lathers me up and begins shaving my junk 

drawer. 

Now, being of a certain age and having someone handle 



my anaconda, back, forth, up, down, repeat repeat repeat 

repeat repeat meant that I showed excitement. 

So, I said quietly but in my soothiest voice: if I’d known 

vasectomies were this fun I’d have come long ago. 

Well, Christine lost it and laughed loudly. And as my 

hospital is a teaching hospital there were student nurses 

present and they also lost their composure. It was a good 

laugh. 

Until the doctor showed up and told us all to pipe down so 

he could work. 

Then he did. I recorded it, too. 

He sliced me open, pulled the vas deferens - which, though 

I was locally anesthetized, I felt. It didn’t hurt, but it was 

uncomfortable. 

Then he snipped and soldered the wound close. 

it isn’t about religion, saving “babies” adoption or sex. 

It’s about controlling women vs controlling 

themselves/men. 

It’s an extension of: 

Why was she dressed like that? 

What were you wearing? 

Brock Turner deserves a second chance. 

While republicans are enacting laws in most states to 

regulate women I’ve yet to see one regulating men, boys, 

teenagers, rapists, traffickers, and the entirety of maledom. 

It is men who create all these problems but who find false 

“solutions” that project their misogynistic beliefs and 

toxicity on women instead of getting therapy and fixing 

their egos and hatred of women. We should start saying: 

Conception starts with ejaculation and see how men like 

it. 

The Social Media App, Spoutible, has an AI that 

summarizes threads: 

He told me to put a bag of frozen peas on it for a few hours 

and not to do any heavy lifting. That was it. 

There was no unprotected sex for a month, or so and I had 

to go to follow-up and deposit sperm in a cup again but this 

time to see if there was still swimmers. 

That was that. This easy procedure was NOTHING like 

women and girls have to go through. 

Not in any way. 

Obviously vasectomies are not the same as abortions (they 

would be closer to tubal ligation, but again, much easier). 

That it can be this easy for men to prevent pregnancy and 

to do so without laws, lobbyists, protests, commercials, 

religious leaders, or posters of crying sperm, it tells me that 


Myron's 

HOT TAKE 

#1 

The economy is humming along, wages are up, 

gas prices are down, unemployment is down, and 

the stock market reached new highs. It is almost 

as if another Democratic President is delivering 

great results following a disastrous republican 

president. 

#2 

George Santos is gone. Kevin McCarthy is gone. Ron 

DeSantis campaign is in its final lap, and the 

republican party is in full disarray. If only the national 

media covered the GOP as critically as they cover 

Democrats. 

#3 

Sean Puffy Combs, P. Diddy, Puff 

Daddy, and all the other names he 

calls himself were all charged 

with multiple instances of sexual 

assault. Maybe the sexist and 

misogynistic videos and lyrics so 

many 1990’s rappers produced 

were confessions after all. 

#4 

Death panels for pregnant women where the 

majority of the panel consists of older republican 

white men as seen in both Texas and Ohio. Black 

and indigenous women been there done that. 

White women -- you’ve always had “next” and 

next is now. 



Coming Soon! 

Dr. Josie Harjo is used to cutting up dead bodies. As a veterinary pathologist at a state diagnostic lab, it’s her 

job to figure out the cause of death in a never-ending parade of various non-human species. Most cases are 

cut-and-dried, and rarely will a carcass roll in that gets her racking her brain. 

When a rancher shows up with a dead horse, Josie thinks it’s going to be a typical day at the office. She 

quickly learns that this is the third suspicious death in as many days, and the clock is ticking to figure out 

what’s going on before any more lives are lost. 

The necropsy is frustratingly unremarkable, and Josie is forced to follow all leads no matter how implausible. 

Tensions rise as the rancher starts pointing a finger at a disgruntled employee and an assault charge forces 

the cops to start asking questions. With a hefty insurance payout on the table, Josie realizes that she can’t 

ignore the possibility that the rancher might be involved. As the pathologist leading the case, Josie has to 

wonder, is it just coincidence or is there something more nefarious killing horses at JW Ranch? 


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In anticipation of the fiftieth anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, Catherine 

Prendergast draws on a combination of insights from legal studies and literacy studies to interrogate 

contemporary multicultural literacy initiatives, thus providing a sound historical basis that informs current 

debates over affirmative action, school vouchers, reparations, and high-stakes standardized testing. 

As a result of Brown and subsequent crucial civil rights court cases, literacy and racial justice are firmly 

enmeshed in the American imagination—so much so that it is difficult to discuss one without referencing 

the other. Breaking with the accepted wisdom that the Brown decision was an unambiguous victory for the 

betterment of race relations, Literacy and Racial Justice: The Politics of Learning after Brown v. Board of 

Education finds that the ruling reinforced traditional conceptions of literacy as primarily white property to 

be controlled and disseminated by an empowered majority. Prendergast examines civil rights era Supreme 

Court rulings and immigration cases spanning a century of racial injustice to challenge the myth of 

assimilation through literacy. Advancing from Ways with Words, Shirley Brice Heath’s landmark study of 

desegregated communities, Prendergast argues that it is a shared understanding of literacy as white 

property which continues to impact problematic classroom dynamics and education practices. 

To offer a positive model for reimagining literacy instruction that is truly in the service of racial justice, 

Prendergast presents a naturalistic study of an alternative public secondary school. Outlining new 

directions and priorities for inclusive literacy scholarship in America, Literacy and Racial Justice concludes 

that a literate citizen is one who can engage rather than overlook longstanding legacies of racial strife. 



Motorcycling in California's 

Central Valley 

The heart of California's Central Valley--from Lodi, Stockton, and Tracy through Modesto, Oakdale, and 

Turlock--embraced motorcycling from the beginning of the sport and lifestyle. Eleven riders from the region 

are in the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Hall of Fame, spanning every decade from the 1900s. 

The popularity of bicycling in the 1890s led to early motorcycle shops, riders, and champion racers 

in the 1900-1910s. 

Area motorcycle club recreational rides and field meets started in 1914. Central Valley police departments 

were among the first to develop motorcycle traffic units in the 1920s, before the California Highway Patrol. 

Early racing venues such as repurposed bicycle velodromes, college stadiums, and horse tracks were 

expanded when the Lodi Cycle Bowl was developed in the 1950s; it gave newcomers such as Modesto's 

Kenny Roberts and Stockton's Alex Jorgensen, Chris Carr, and Fred Merkel--all now AMA Hall of Famers--a 

track at which to compete weekly. 


You: I Won’t Vote for Biden. 

Me: Okay. 



Okay. 

That is my response to anyone telling me they 

won’t vote for President Joe Biden and Vice 

President Kamala Harris. 

I’m not gonna proselytize to grownups who know 

exactly what’ll happen if republicans win, I don’t 

care about your religion, race, gender, or your 

country of origin. 

Republicans, Independent, Green, No Labels and any 

other non-democratic party are each serving one 

purpose and one purpose only: getting Donald Trump 

back into office. 

Half the folk saying they won’t vote for President Biden 

aren’t even eligible to vote in this country. And a quarter 

won’t even bother to vote. 

Stop wasting my time and playing in my face. 

If you campaign against democrats you are dead to 

me. 

You know what’s right to do but if you choose to follow 

idiots off the cliff that’s on you, you big dummy. 

Okay? 

“Democrats are being mean to us!” 

@ K A T Y A J U L I E T 

“Democrats better do what we say, or we will punish Biden!” 

“The centrists are evil like republicans.” 

“They’re no difference between democrats and republicans.” 

They whine sucking up the voting oxygen while offering 

absolutely nothing. 

We have lost rights that’ll take generations to regain 

because folk didn’t bother to show up in so many local 

elections and of course in midterms 2010, 2014, and 

2016. 



And we know we don’t have to “Love” a politician or 

political party to know and do the right thing. 

Look at any state with a significant Black population 

and look at the harm being done in every way possible 

from healthcare, Medicare, Obamacare, pollution, 

public schools, and minimum wages — those indicators 

aren’t enough to convince republicans not to vote or to 

believe they have done enough harm to us; they want 

to strip away all those rights and all the achievements 

and societal changes we instigated over the past 

hundred years. 

They actively want to make things worse for us. And 

you. 

Women, lgbqti, immigrants, and children all lost and 

are losing rights because big babies are too lazy to 

vote but not too lazy to constantly whine about it. 

And no matter how the different groups will be 

harmed it will ALWAYS be monumentally worse for 

Black folk. And you know who will majority vote for 

Democrats? 

Black voters because we are pragmatic and know 

that harm reduction is important for everyone, not 

only us. We know our folk were jailed, beaten, hosed, 

lynched, and died for the right to vote. We know that 

our advancement advances the entire nation and 

helps prove the efficacy of democracy more and 

better than any other indicator. 

Those bleating about not voting do not care because 

most of them will be inoculated from the worst that 

republicans will do, and they know it. 

As an author, blogger, podcaster, and lifelong 

Democratic voter I share facts about the 

administration and encourage Democratic voters to 

vote. My job isn’t to entertain immature, selfish, 

ignorant, and poorly informed people who’ve decided 

propaganda is their friend. 

Every single person who can vote but who troll 

democrats with false equivalence, lies, propaganda, 

and/or misinformation can really get bent 

They don’t deserve a nanosecond of my time. They 

won’t change based on my reasoned fact-based 

responses. Or yours, in my opinion. 



They won’t. So, whine away. 

Your worm tongue duplicitous words won’t sway me. 

Your insults won’t harm me. And your silly declarations 

won’t intimidate me. 

I’m 59 and I’m loudly and proudly voting for President 

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Okay. 


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A powerful YA debut set in a world where survival and magic are a deadly mix. 

Coa, who was born feral in the North Transatlantic wilds, has just been captured. Now, Coa is 

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If participators die in the Great Hunt—their entire family will be executed. In front of 

everyone. The nationalist regime, known as the Allied Force, will not rest until all foreigners 

are exterminated. Her best hope might be Princess Ife, born of privilege, but newly married 

into the authoritarian lineage. 

Her riskier choice is an alliance with a gorgeous, cunning participator—marked as a traitor to 

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Akana Phenix is a recent Harvard alum who researches genocide. 

The Empire Wars comes out on July 30, 2024. It is now available 

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Vernon L. Andrews 

Policing Black Athletes 

Racial Disconnect in Sports 

O R D E R 

T O D A Y !

BLM-PD 

BLM-PD 

BLM-PD 

BLM-PD. BLM-PD. BLM-PD. BLM-PD 

BLM-PD 

In the not too distant future, the US has been taken over by white nationalists, and 

the institutionalized racism that has underscored the country’s entire history has 

once again been codified. California has seceded from the US, and a band of strong 

women plan to start the next civil war following the death of their friend at the hands 

of the police. This is BLM-PD.

Dear Dean Magazine TOTM 

THREAD OF 

THE MONTH 

TOTM 

Countering CNN Misinformation 

by Federico Chispas 

Thread written following the widely condemned responses to congressional 

questions by several Ivy League presidents. Political analysis, Fareed Zakaria, 

decided to resort misinformation and tropes as he reiterated that universities 

should abandon Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. 

I see we’re going to double down on the echoing of 

white supremacist talking points in response to 

universities’ failures around anti-Semitism – 

“America’s top universities should abandon their 

long misadventure into politics, retrain their gaze 

on their core strengths and rebuild their 

reputations as centers of research and learning.” 

Fareed Zakaria makes many claims here that are 

shoddy and not supported by evidence. 

First and foremost, acceptance rates at the most 

selective universities have plummeted over the past 

3-years. In 1988, Harvard's acceptance rate was 

14.8%. 

For the class of 2022, it was 3%. LINK 

Far from suffering an erosion in their popularity, the 

most elite universities have seen year after year of 

record numbers of applications. LINK 

One of Fareed Zakaria’s overarching themes here is 

that the elite colleges in particular have become less 

respected and valued because of "wokeness.” and 

that academic excellence has been sacrificed in 

favor of DEI. 

Fareed Zakaria also cites a 2018 Gallup poll 

concerning how important high school students think 

a college degree is. This is blamed on campus political 

correctness without presenting a shred of evidence 

that this is the case. 


F E D E R I C O C H I S P A S 

A 2023 Gallup shows that 88% of Gen Zers thought 

that a college degree was very or fairly important: 

LINK. 

So there is very little evidence that, at the elite 

institutions which Fareed Zakaria centers, there has 

been an erosion of demand. 

Nor does Fareed Zakaria present any specific 

evidence that there has been an erosion of academic 

excellence at these institutions. Is this based on 

performance in grad school? The most selective law 

schools have seen an increase in median LSAT 

scores: 

LINK 

Is it based on any comprehensive study of 

employers or grad schools who are bemoaning a 

decreased lack of preparedness? No, the assumption 

is just made that academic quality has declined and 

DEI and wokeness are to blame. 

The other faulty assumption is that campus politics 

are the driver for the decrease in college 

applications across the board, which is absurd and 

ignores the cost of college and the burden of loan 

debt, as well as gains in the non-college job market. 

LINK 

Fareed Zakaria also bemoans how hard a time white 

men have getting faculty positions in the humanities. 

According to this 2021 data, the percent of male 

faculty members in the humanities went from 45.9% 

in 2010 to 45.3% in 2021. LINK 

A major thrust of Zakaria's argument seems to be the 

racist assumption that if environments aren't 

sufficiently white, there must be an erosion in 

"excellence,” and says that getting rid of the SAT is 

abandoning an "objective" measure of academic 

preparedness and eliminating a method by which 

students from poorer backgrounds can demonstrate 

worth. Reality: SAT scores are highly correlated with 

income. LINK 

Not only that, but standardized test scores are also a 

weak predictor of college performance. LINK 

And underlying all of this is the assertion that elite 

universities have gone out of their way to make 

underrepresented minorities feel safe at 

comfortable. But more black students are option for 

HBCUs in part for the racial atmosphere on 

campuses. LINK 

So, bottom line Fareed Zakaria echoes well tread 

talking points about diversity and wokeness, with 

shoddy evidence to back up his point. Perhaps the 

conversation we need to be having is about an 

erosion of journalistic excellence. 

This article provides some insight on the 

politicization of college students around 

Israel/Palestine But blaming it on "diversity" and 

then making the assumption that diversity has 

eroded academic quality is racist and lazy. Period. 

LINK 

And the same data shows that the percentage of 

white faculty in the humanities went from 73% in 

2010 to 66% in 2021. I'm curious what faculty hiring 

committees Fareed Zakaria sits on to back up his 

assertions. 



F E A T U R E D S P O T L I G H T 

by Victoria A. Brownworth 

The first year out from under the pandemic should have 

been great: 2023 should have signaled a kind of rebirth of 

the nation. We could take off our masks, we could get 

together with family, we could go back to school, to work, to 

restaurants, to in-store shopping, to every aspect of a prepandemic 

life. 

That’s not how 2023 has shaken out, though. Rather, this 

year has been fraught with ricocheting damage from the 

pandemic and from the process of recovery. In May the 

World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was no 

longer considered a global health emergency and the Biden 

White House cut COVID programs, including pandemic 

Medicaid programs, leaving millions, including about two 

million children, without healthcare coverage. 

People continued to die from COVID, mostly in red states 

and mostly among the unvaccinated, due to anti-vax 

rhetoric fueled by people like Joe Rogan, Aaron Rodgers, 

Naomi Wolf and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who took his 

father’s name, conspiracy theories and umpteen selfpublished 

books about how bad vaccines are and propelled 

them into a run for president, first as a Democrat and now 

as a third-party candidate. 

The headline news and top stories were grim, yet also eerily 

anticlimactic for how constant they were and how 

normative we’ve made them as a nation: More than 600 

mass shootings with no effort by Congress to staunch the 

bleeding beyond “thoughts and prayers.” A steady 

trickle of convictions of insurrectionists from the 

January 6 attack on the Capitol. Dozens of laws passed 

in state legislatures restricting abortion and LGBTQ 

rights. Book bans. Attacks on Black history courses and 

DEI programs and a Florida ruling that slavery was more 

like the Job Corps than brutalitarian oppression. An 

exponential rise in antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ hate 

crimes. Police violence against unarmed Black people. 

Amidst these news stories that Americans have become 

disturbingly inured to were stories that made history in 

all the wrong ways. 

Donald Trump became the first former president 

indicted for a crime–with four indictments and 91 

felony counts lodged against him in four separate 

venues. Trump also became the first former president 

convicted of a crime when he was found liable for the 

sexual assault of writer E. Jean Carroll–a crime Judge 

Lewis A. Kaplan said was rape, writing in a multi-page 

ruling rejecting Trump’s appeal of the jury verdict that 

“Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly 

understand the word ‘rape.’” Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) later 

read Kaplan’s full report into the Congressional record 

so that it would forever be ensconced. 

Summer 2023 was declared the hottest on record and 


V I C T O R I A A . B R O W N W O R T H 

the news about the climate crisis was worse than ever, 

yet as with gun violence, Congress remained resolutely 

unconcerned, even though President Biden had passed 

the most comprehensive climate bill in U.S. history. The 

battle for abortion rights escalated when Kate Cox, a 

Texas mother of two, was denied an abortion to save her 

life by the Texas AG Ken Paxton and the Texas Supreme 

Court. 

Against those dramatic events there were others that 

seemed lesser because no one died: Hollywood writers 

and actors went on strike, disrupting the entertainment 

industry and raising questions about the future of 

artificial intelligence in the workplace. 

Title 42 expired and the Congress and White House 

made no plans to deal with the spike in migrants at the 

Southern border. Interest rates jumped to their highest 

levels in 22 years. Wildfires in Hawaii obliterated the 

town of Lanai. On paper the economy got better with 

historically low unemployment and escaping recession, 

but the Biden spin of “Bidenomics” fell flat as people 

continued to face high prices and stagnant wages. 

On Oct. 7, the terrorist group Hamas launched a dawn 

attack on Israel, raiding kibbutzim near the Gaza 

border, murdering hundreds of families and taking 270 

hostages, mostly women, children and the elderly. 

Several hundred other young adults and teenagers were 

murdered at a music festival and hostages were taken 

there as well. 

Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, which had 

faced months of massive weekly protests calling for the 

Prime Minister’s resignation, had been warned of a 

possible attack and ignored the intel. When the assault 

happened, the government failed to respond for hours– 

as many as 22 in some areas–allowing more people to 

be killed, wounded and taken hostage. 

In a stunning irony, among the murder victims was 

noted activist Vivian Silver, founder of Women Wage 

Peace, executive director for the Negev Institute for 

Strategies of Peace and Development and o-founder of 

the Arab-Jewish Center for Equality, Empowerment 

and Cooperation. Silver had dedicated the past 30 years 

to working with Palestinian women in and around Gaza. 

She volunteered to drive Palestinians to hospitals in 

Israel and just days before the attack had led a peace 

march. 

There were a series of celebrated passings: Sen. Dianne 

Feinstein, longest-serving woman senator, died at 90. 

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter died at 96, Sandra Day 

O’Connor, the first woman Supreme Court Justice died at 

90, notorious war criminal and U.S. statesman, Henry 

Kissinger, died at 100 and Norman Lear, who integrated 

the TV landscape, died at 101. Actor Matthew Perry, a 

beloved figure for Gen Xers died suddenly at home, 

drowning in his hot tub after a possible heart attack at 

only 54. 

But as the year moved into its final quarter, the news 

took a dramatic turn with a series of events putting the 

country in a spin–and stoking turmoil that threatens the 

2024 election–an election on which democracy itself 

could pivot. 

It took the Netanyahu government five weeks to notify 

the country and her family that she was dead, not a 

hostage. 

On Oct. 8, Netanyahu declared war on Hamas and shut 

down all humanitarian aid to Gaza, including water, food 

and fuel. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) began 

bombing that day. The U.S. professed support for Israel 

and both President Biden and Secretary of State Antony 

Blinken went to Israel to affirm that support and also 

attempt to negotiate some agreement for release of the 

hostages, including Americans. It’s a war supported 

both politically and financially by the U.S., but that 

support has begun to impact Biden: polls show few on 

either side endorse his handling of the war and massive 

pro-Palestinian protests have focused on Biden as a 


een pushed to the background and Israel is now 


perceived globally by the public, if not supportive 

government leaders in the U.S., U.K. and EU., as genocidal 

target. There were even protestors outside Rosalynn 

Carter’s funeral chanting “Biden, Biden, you can’t hide, 

we charge you with genocide.” 

villains perpetrating the annihilation of Palestinians 

against every rule of engagement set out in the Geneva 

Conventions. Geneva Conventions to which Israel is a 

signatory and which were developed in 1947 in response 

Since the war began, little other news has broken 

through in the media. Constant scenes of apocalyptic 

to the Holocaust. Rules of war that make collective 

punishment and targeting civilians war crimes. 

bombing in Gaza have been heartrending, with whole 

neighborhoods strafed and endless scenes of bloodied 

children being rushed into overcrowded hospitals. The 

death count of nearly 20,000, nearly half of them 

children, has seemed impossibly high, yet was affirmed 

in early December by the IDF which announced that for 

every Hamas fighter killed, two civilians had also been 

killed. Among the dead have been several hundred UN 

workers and other NGO personnel. An additional 

47,000 have been wounded, many of those also children 

The Israel-Hamas war has a closeness that the war in 

Ukraine does not. Americans are linked to Israel, a 

longtime ally and the sole titular democracy in the Middle 

East. Nearly as many Jews live in the U.S. as in Israel, some 

Americans have dual citizenship with Israel and there is 

an overwhelming emotional connection to Israel among a 

preponderance of American Jews, including those in 

government like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer 

and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. 

who have sustained massive burns, amputations and 

other gruesome injuries. 

And even as Secretary of State Blinken tries to speak to 

the problems of unilateral support for Israel, Biden 

A week-long “pause” in the fighting at the end of himself has often contradicted Blinken, missing 

November, negotiated by the U.S. and Qatar, led to 

Hamas releasing dozens of hostages, all women and 

children, in exchange for the release of women and 

teens held in Israeli prisons. During that time aid was 

diplomatic cues. At the White House Hanukkah party on 

December 11, Biden reaffirmed his support for Israel and 

asserted, “Were there no Israel, there wouldn’t be a Jew 

in the world that is safe.” 

moved into Gaza and people were in the streets for the 

first time in two months. But further negotiations broke It was a statement that was already being used against 

down, fighting resumed and Netanyahu–despite him on social media the next morning, even by American 

protests led by hostage families–said there would be no 

more negotiations for hostages and no more pausing of 

Jews who queried why Biden suggested they weren’t safe 

in the U.S. 

the fighting. 

What had looked initially like an understandable response 

The fighting has been extreme, taking place all over 

Gaza, including in the south where civilians were told by 

the IDF to move to be safe. On December 12, a 

contingent of international NGOs working in Gaza, 

to the Oct. 7 attack by Israel has morphed out of control 

and now threatens not only Israel’s standing in the global 

community, but also that of the U.S.–and particularly 

Biden, who is already vulnerable in the 2024 election. 

including Save the Children and CARE released a joint 

statement calling for a ceasefire and saying Muslim Americans have railed against the Biden 

unequivocally that Gaza is in “apocalyptic free fall.” 

administration and Biden in particular for what is 

perceived as an unquestioned support for Israel, as 

The carnage that began it all on Oct. 7–an event likened evidenced by that Hanukkah affirmation. Muslims in key 

to 9/11 by Israel--has been all but erased, Hamas has 


that “America survived the first Trump term, though 


not without sustaining serious damage. A second term, 

if there is one, will be much worse.” 

states like Michigan, with its significant Muslim 

population, launched an #AbandonBiden campaign over 

the president’s refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

But does anyone care? That’s the burning question. It 

appears from the very online lives many of us lead that 

divisions that already existed with unreliable white 

MSNBC host Mehdi Hassan had his show canceled after 

a series of viral tweets in which he promoted the idea of 

not voting for Biden. The network claimed ratings, but 

the optics of the timing just added to the perception that 

Democratic voters and a weary Black electorate tired 

of the every-four-year presumption that they will come 

out en masse to protect democracy could in fact be in 

more trouble in 2024 than in any recent year. 

Muslim and Palestinian voices were not being heard by 

mainstream media. 

Factor in the plethora of Democratic challengers to 

Biden in Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson and 

Running parallel to the story of the war which has 

dominated the news in these last months of the year has 

been the ongoing drama of Donald Trump's legal woes. 

Yet even as he appears to be losing ground in the courts, 

his poll numbers have improved. Unlike Biden, he faces 

3rd party candidates that include Cornel West and RFK 

Jr. and a third run by Jill Stein, plus a lack of 

appreciation for Biden among Gen Z voters and an 

angry Muslim minority and a lot could be at risk next 

year. 

no hard decisions, no daily battles with Congress. No 

dicey meetings with world leaders like China’s Xi. No None of the once-huge list of not-Trump contenders 

relentless questions about immigration and the for the GOP nomination have been able to come close 

southern border. 

to Trump in the polls. Ron DeSantis’s once bright 

candidacy has plummeted, and while Nikki Haley has 

While Biden has to face the full burden of the presidency 

and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Trump is free to 

pontificate on how he would magically fix the global 

stage. He’s repeatedly said he could end the war in 

risen in the polls and presents the adult-in-the-room 

perspective, she remains dozens of points behind 

Trump. Chris Christie and Vivek Ramaswamy barely 

register among voters with low single digits. 

Ukraine in 24 hours–a lie, of course–and has said that 

he’d have control of Hamas quickly and decisively. 

Something that never happened during his presidency. 

Throw into the mix of impending questions for 2024 

the mess that is the House GOP with the push by new 

Speaker Mike Johnson, an election denier, to impeach 

Trump has also avoided the GOP debates in favor of an 

intimate Town Hall on Fox with his longtime friend Sean 

Hannity moderating. It was in just this setting that 

Biden for the legal problems of his son Hunter, and the 

question of what happens after an election that Trump 

loses becomes almost as dicey as if he wins. 

Trump announced last week that he would be a dictator 

on Day One. Not a single GOP called the statement out, 

and the response in much of the mainstream media was 

tepid. 

One of the biggest stories of the year was the ousting 

of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker and the weeks-long 

search for a new speaker that led to the election of the 

little known radical anti-LGBTQ activist attorney from 

Yet The Atlantic devoted its entire December issue to 

the threat Trump poses to democracy--“If Trump Wins,” 

a project considering what Trump might do if reelected 

in 2024. Editor Jeffrey Goldberg writes in “A Warning,” 

Louisiana, Mike Johnson. Can Johnson be counted on 

to secure the vote in January 2025 or will the U.S. have 

a reprise of 2021, sans the sober leadership of Nancy 

Pelosi? 



This is where America stands as this very bad year draws 

to a close: in the midst of war, in domestic stasis due to 

the gridlock in Congress and with an election looming 

that threatens not just the U.S.’s hold on democracy, but 

what a second Trump presidency would mean globally 

with Trump pulling out of NATO, cozying up to dictators, 

promising to be one himself and to prosecute his 

enemies, and ban Muslims and others he doesn’t like 

from the country. 

It is, as we say, a lot. And as the new year looms, the 

choices look more stark than ever, with Ben Franklin’s 

words to Elizabeth Willing Powel when she asked what 

the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia had 

decided for the new nation taking on a stark new 

resonance. In 2024 what we must strive to maintain: “A 

republic–if you can keep it.” 

Victoria A. Brownworth is a Pulitzer Prizenominated 

and Society of Professional Journalists 

Award-winning journalist whose work has appeared 

in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The 

Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore Sun, DAME, Ms., 

The Nation, The Advocate, Bay Area Reporter and 

Curve among other publications. 

She is the author and editor of more than 20 books, 

including the Lambda Award-winning Coming Out of 

Cancer: Writings from the Lesbian Cancer Epidemic 

and Ordinary Mayhem: A Novel, and the awardwinning 

From Where They Sit: Black Writers Write 

Black Youth and Too Queer: Essays from a Radical 

Life. She lives in Philadelphia. 

www.victoriabrownworth.com 


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Sometimes, when you’re at a crossroads, a door will open and what enters will inspire you. Other 

times, what enters will make you gag. These stories by a ride-share short-timer might have the 

same effect on you. A man, recently laid off from his job and intrigued by the people he might 

meet (and the money he might make) decides to drive ride-share while looking for a new 

professional management position. 

Don’t want to drive drunk? Well, then, by all means, plug in your location and get your friendly 

neighborhood ride-share driver to ferry you to your next bar. Need to move but can’t afford 

movers? There’s an App for that! Tired of waiting for tricks on the corner? Wait—I’ve got an idea. . 

. 

The behavior and stories of folks who call on ride-share turned into a unique anthropological 

study for one man who decided to drive ride-share while looking for a new professional 

management position. Recently laid off from his job and intrigued by the people he might meet 

(and the money he might make), the author unwittingly became the anonymous confidant for 

men, women, nonbinary people, and children. Unfortunately for him, he also became the innocent 

target of people who couldn’t hold their liquor, others who couldn’t hold their temper, and at 

least one who couldn’t keep his hands to himself. 

Little did they know they were in the Prius of a writer, who would be able to look in the rear view 

and tell their stories. 

This collection of anecdotes is non-judgmental, full of irony and dry humor, and may help 

someone else decide: Is driving ride-share for you? 


Her Legend Lives In You: 

The Untold Creation Story Honoring The 

Goddess And Our Daughters. 


Available on

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A cup of coffee or tea paired with interesting company is an unbeatable combination. We learn 

and share so much through this simple social ritual. Nuanced origin stories. Brow-raising 

secrets. Good news. Bad news. Hopes and dreams, insecurities and fears. Sip by sip, we do 

business, catch up, plan our lives, and discover common ground. 

To gain a better understanding of his friends, Myron went on a mission to try their favorite 

drinks. He was struck by the complex flavors and simple pleasures that characterized their 

personalities. Sweet. Spicy. Bold. Bewitching. Optimistic. Ostentatious. Practical. Perfectionist. 

In Coffee, Grounded, Myron reviews these drinks and brews up a perfect blend of culture and 

caffeine. He examines the history of various ingredients and coffee-growing regions, painting a 

vivid picture of faraway lands and hometown haunts. 

Pour yourself a cup and curl up with this tasty collection of stories steeped in friendship and fun. 

Order & Indulge!

MYRON'S 

list 

HIT OR MISS 

MISS 

Ivy League presidents who fell for a GOP trap to testify 

before congress on antisemitism on their campuses and then 

couldn’t answer basic questions on whether antisemitism was 

allowable. 


HIT 

The Obama’s Netflix deal continues to produce 

quality programming such as Leave the World 

Behind. 

MISS 

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu’s management of the 

war against Hamas. 

MISS 

Hamas again breaking a ceasefire 

HIT 

President Biden has maneuvered around the 

Supreme Court to erase over $127B in 

student debt for 3.5 million borrowers. 

HIT 

Special Counsel Jack Smith bypassing the circuit 

judges and going directly to the Supreme Court to 

decide the question of whether a former president 

can be charged for crimes he did while in office. 

MISS 

Pro-Palestine protesters foolishly targeting 

Jewish businesses, blocking roads and 

bridges, and demanding that people who have 

no power over Israel somehow miraculously 

stop a foreign war. 

HIT 

The Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA’s 

inaugural mid-season tournament. 

MISS 

Donald Trump going back on his word and chickening 

out from testifying in his New York trial. 

HIT 

Two-way players Shohei Ohtani signs 10-year 

$700M contract with the Los Angeles 

Dodgers. The deal is the richest in north 

American sports history. 

MISS 

Shohei Ohtani choosing to defer $680M until 

2034-2043. 


MOVIE 

REVIEWS 


Renaissance / Beyonce – Theaters 

One doesn’t need to be a Beyonce fan to enjoy 

this movie that captures her recent world tour. 

Written, produced, and directed by Beyonce 

Knowles, the movie captures Beyonce in 

vulnerable moments, personal vignettes, and 

deep dives into what drives the successful 

popstar. Some of the tenderest moments are 

when she showcases the staff and crew who 

work behind and in front to make the 

enormously complex show function. Viewers 

get to see young Beyonce growing up in 

Houston and listen as she remembers the 

challenges of breaking into the industry. It is a 

career-defining movie that shines earned light 

on Beyonce Knowles. 

Beyonce's Renaissance World Tour 

In Select Theaters 


MOVIE 

REVIEWS 

Hunger Games: The Ballad of 

Songbirds & Snakes 

The prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy is a very 

good entry point for the series. The movie is set 

60-ish years prior to the trilogy, and we get to see 

Panem 10 years after the war that the capitol won, 

just barely. The citizens are still reeling from losing 

the war and the games are failing with declining 

viewers and lackluster interest from the winning 

side. We get to meet a young Snow and his family. 

He is trying to build a career and hoping to move 

up in service to the capital and the games present 

themselves as an opportunity. All the pieces are 

there for what we know is coming so viewers and 

readers of the trilogy will appreciate the attention 

to detail, the brutality, and the look at what a 

fascist regime will do to a population who allowed 

them to take – and keep- power. The story is 

Intricate and most of the character arcs are 

satisfied enough but also set up the next movie – if 

there will be one. 

Godzilla: Minus 0 

This is the best Godzilla movie ever made – 

even better than the original. The movie is set 

immediately after World War II in a barely 

recovering Japan and it reinterprets and retells 

the story of Godzilla and the people left to 

defend themselves after the devastation of the 

war. There isn’t any help coming from America, 

European nations, or the Soviets so citizens are 

left to fend for themselves even as they deal 

with lack of a functioning society and 

widespread PTSD. Godzilla is at his most fierce, 

devastating, and brutal as he rampages across 

various cities, including Tokyo which is still 

mostly rubble from relentless Allied bombing. 


MY FAVORITE THINGS 

streaming right 

now...

S T R E A M I N G N O W 

Leave The World Behind - Netflix 

Leave The World Behind is an interesting 

movie that’ll appeal to you if you like mystery, 

maybe an apocalypse, maybe an invasion, and 

mystery upon mystery as seen through the 

eyes and lives of a father and daughter who 

return to their home which is being Air BnB’d 

by a family who are skeptical of the family and 

what may or may not be happening. It is 

creepy and plays on the viewers emotions by 

changing perspectives and introducing small 

and large mysteries throughout the movie. 

Produced by Barak and Michelle Obama and 

starring Mahershala Ali, Julia Roberts, Kevin 

Bacon, and Ethan Hawke, it is a movie that 

asked many questions, answered a few, but 

left unanswered questions that probably were 

best left unanswered. All the actors are 

superb. And it’s rewatchable. 

Dashing Through The Snow – Disney+ 

Dashing Through the Snow. Disney+. Good for 

8-year-olds (same age of little star actor) as a 

fella tries to navigate and survive a night with 

Santa. It’s silly, innocent, and perfect for kids 

on sleepover. Santa goes off script and will 

make you laugh when he does. 

and delivered the goods. Fun for kids 7+ and 

adults who’ll love seeing the cast having 

innocent Christmas fun. 

Apple TV 

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters – Season 1 

A unique Apple TV show that delves into the 

Godzilla/King Kong universe from the ground 

with a group of people who witnessed and 

survived the various Godzilla/Kong rampages 

from the Universal movies that came out over 

the past six years. Kurt Russell heads a young 

cast who each try to discover the origins of the 

monsters and in so doing, uncover various 

conspiracies and shadowy organizations. The 

show is well done and the 

Candy Cane Lane - Prime 

Candy Cane Lane is a fun silly and Christmassy 

absurd movie that’s easy to watch-rewatch. 

Eddie Murphy, Traci Ellis-Ross, Nick Offerman, 

& a fun cast keep it light funny and fast paced. 

Acclaimed director Reginald Hudlin directed 


Robin Martin, Editorial 

The Joyful Warrior 

Podcast Network 

Music App 

Mark Lerner Astrology 

Katya Juliet's Jewel Box 

Great Start Initiative

Two New Children’s Books! 

by Katya Juliet Lerner 

Now Available on 

Now Available on

Dear Dean Magazine: December 2023

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