“You’re a worm with a mustache” is my new favorite insult. 

   Season six of Black Mirror comes out on Netflix next month, and I am so ready. 

   In solidarity with the Hollywood writer’s strike, I’m not writing about books or shows for this column. 

   I’ve seen two memorable movies lately. 

   I’m pretty sure I’m cursed when trying to leave from the Tampa airport. 

   On Monday, March 20, Amanda Bynes was reportedly alone and naked on a street in Los Angeles when she flagged down a car and told the driver she was experiencing a “psychotic episode.” She called 911 and asked the police for help. She was placed on a 5150 psychiatric hold. 

   What would you do if you were being investigated by the state of Texas for fraud after promising to deliver personalized workout and nutrition packages to people and then completely dropping the ball?

   I’m starting this column with a thank you to truck drivers who help out motorists who get stuck in winter weather. A coworker of mine recently got stuck because of the weather, and someone helped get her vehicle out. 

   I recently watched all three Cloverfield movies, “Cloverfield,” “10 Cloverfield Lane” and “The Cloverfield Paradox” and enjoyed them immensely. This franchise, even the third movie with a 22% on Rotten Tomatoes, reminded me why I love sci-fi so much. 

   I’ve watched/finished a few movies, shows and books lately, so here’s a quick rundown. 

   2022 was a year I achieved a milestone — after years of trying, I finally read more than 50 books in one year. I finished 53, and I’ll probably never do it again of my own volition. I don’t want to rush reading. It sometimes felt like I was reading a book just to add it to my count instea…

   I planned to write about the 53 books I read this year, but I’m currently in Boston and I forgot to bring my notebook that contains all those titles, so it’ll have to wait until my next column. 

   My mind likes to create apocalyptic dreams. 

   I’m late to watching “House of the Dragon,” but thankfully, coming back to Westeros was extremely exciting nonetheless. 

A show that frustrates me

   If you’re looking for a good sci-fi show to get into, I highly recommend “The Peripheral” on Amazon Prime. 

   Storytelling is best when it centers on complex characters, and I’ve recently finished three stories with complex characters that left my head spinning in different ways. 

   They don’t make romcoms like they used to. 

   Warning — this column contains spoilers for “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” show. 

   I watched “Selling the OC” on Netflix twice through now. It’s better and worse than “Selling Sunset,” which is the original reality television show by producer Adam DiVello, in a few ways.

   This is not going to be a nice, happy column.

   Warning: this column contains light spoilers for “The Sandman” on Netflix. 

 “Only Murders in the Building” is my new favorite show. Selena Gomez, Martin Short and Steve Martin make a hilarious trio. E! News was right when they said they are the dynamic trio we didn’t know we needed.

   Like any proper young millennial girl, me and my friends were obsessed with “America’s Next Top Model” in our middle and high school days. 

   If there’s a guide for how to escape prisons in French Guiana in the 1930s and ‘40s, “Papillon” is the obvious choice. But not the movie adaptations. Stick with the book. 

   This week’s column will be a rambling of my usual topics with a heartfelt thank you at the end. But before that, let’s talk about Britney Spears. 

   Sunday, May 29 was a very sad day. After more than 24 hours of our dog, Kaycee, not being able to hold down any food or liquid, I called about a dozen emergency animal hospitals hoping to get her in as fast as possible. Most had wait times more than eight hours.

   One of the most fascinating books I’ve recently read is “Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner” by Judy Melinek, M. D. and T.J. Mitchell. It made me laugh, cry and I learned a lot. 

 I have three book/show/movie topics to discuss in this week’s column. 

One of my strongest held beliefs about the fantasy/sci-fi genre — which is my favorite genre — is that the worldbuilding must include underground monsters, specifically worms.  

Last weekend, I flew down to Florida to see my family and spend some time away from the damp weather and bitter wind that overtakes Michigan in March and April.

   Would the apocalypse or the end of the world be exciting? Or would it be slow, kind of drab, and then happen all at once?

 “If James Joyce and Agatha Christie had a literary love child, this would be it.”

   If you’re looking for a Netflix series that will make you think “oh my god,” “I can’t believe they all believed her” and “wow, Paul is a jerk,” then you need to watch “Inventing Anna.” 

 It’s time to go back to Middle-earth. 

I have three topics for this week’s column, all pertaining to art and words. 

   If you’re struggling to get over a breakup, and you’re having trouble seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, this book is for you- “Getting to Good Riddance- A No-Bullsh*t Breakup Survival Guide.”

   The end of a year always feels like it should be some momentous occasion that alters our soul and way of thinking. When the clock strikes midnight and millions are watching the ball drop in New York, we’ve lived through something amazing and we come out changed. Right?

 I watched one of the year’s most anticipated Christmas movies this past week, and it did not disappoint.

 Nonfiction is one of the most impressive genres of writing, if not the most impressive. When done well, these writers take actual human beings that did amazing things or went through amazing, world-changing events and make them into characters on a page that readers can empathize with. 

Britney is free!

The holiday season always gives me a mix of emotions, especially since I started working at the Tri-County Times and became more knowledgeable about how many people around here struggle financially simply to put food on the table. 

I have updates on Britney Spears and that kidney donation story.  

 This week, the New York Times published one of the most entertaining, amusing and horrifying stories I’ve read in a long time. 

 It had been a while since I binge watched a show, and then the LuLaRoe documentary, called “LuLaRich,” came out on Amazon Prime, and I watched the entire show in two nights. 

We have a running joke in our family that pertains to something serious — what do you put on your hot dog? 

The #FreeBritney movement has been one of the most infuriating and fascinating news items to follow this past year. 

The pandemic is putting a lot of people on edge. As a respite from coronavirus news, here’s a list of things that bring me joy. I hope they bring you joy, too.

If someone told me that a government switched a city’s water source without proper controls to save money, and then tried to cover up how children were poisoned, I would have thought you were talking about a country that doesn’t have proper access to clean water. 

One of the best shows on Netflix is “Black Mirror.” Each episode features a different situation with advanced technology.