It took four or five tries, but I finally made it to The Big Short this past weekend. It’s Adam McKay’s film about the housing crisis that led to the financial collapse of 2008. I remember that fall vividly: I had been working as a temp at the American Medical Association all year, and I’d interviewed for my job to become permanent, which I was so excited about. Then, out of nowhere, the money dried up and they couldn’t afford to take me on. The Big Short was a lot more impressionistic and fragmented than I was expecting, but it worked — I laughed, I cried, I think I understand “dogshit bonds” now.

I couldn’t get in because it kept selling out. The line for my theater was around the corner of the lobby when I came out. Amazing.

• Speaking of shows you can’t get into, Vulture sat down for a long, excellent roundtable with the cast of Hamilton.
• Pacific Standard published “Growing Up With White Paranoia: Persecution vs. Privilege,” an inside look at the mindset of communities like the “armed militia” in Oregon. (This week’s Call Your Girlfriend has the perfect response to that too.)
• A slightly older link, but full of wishful to-dos: “What Could You Do With an Actual Crowd?“
• Two narratives about David Bowie have emerged after his death, of course: Starman and statutory rapist. This blog post is probably the most level-headed attempt to reconcile the two I’ve seen so far.
• Tonight is President Obama’s final State of the Union. CNN is the last place I’d expect this video, but good on them for presenting it as a Wes Anderson film.