It’s tempting to label this melancholy wisp of a film as a wake-up call for a nation gone bankrupt (in more ways than one). But Wendy and Lucy is far too subtle for that: It makes Marley and Me look like Porky’s. Kelly Reichardt’s follow-up to the excellent Old Joy tells the simple story of a girl, Wendy (Michelle Williams, whose compelling, vanity-free performance is the film’s glue), and her dog, Lucy (Reichardt’s own dog).  

I’m Lucy Plum’s boyfriend. Some weeks ago, you got to read her story in this space about being unemployed. It’s a difficult, if not devastating, situation to be in. I was there for almost two years, and she put up with me, and I’ve been trying my best to put up with her. Neither side is a bed of roses. Sometimes it’s a bunch of thorns.  

Late on July 1, I was folding clothes at the Laundromat when my mom called, and I complained that there were no stories that night. It was quiet. Too quiet. I sat on top of a folding table, my feet dangling, when Mom and I got on the topic of kids. I told Mom that I wanted to adopt a little boy. “If I had a girl, I might send her back,” I joked.  

MAYOR MARK MALLORY: Despite fear-mongering by his opponents, Mallory hung tough in negotiations with the police union and won a major victory. The mayor asked the union for concessions to help avoid a $28 million deficit or face 138 layoffs in the Police Department. The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) initially refused, hoping a public relations blitz would change his mind.  

There are many things that American politicians work hard to avoid — divisive issues, unprompted interviews and admitting how much their shiny shoes cost are high among their fears. But recent health care legislation has brought yet another controversial topic to the forefront: abortion (!).  

The career of French auteur Jean-Luc Godard can be viewed in stages: a celebrated debut with the Nouvelle Vague; a controversial, confrontational, Maoist phase; and an uncompromising, artistically vibrant period that runs into the present and finds the onetime enfant terrible of the press working far from the spotlight.  

One Friday afternoon, I got a call from the head of security and met with him in his office. He told me someone was vomiting in the ladies restroom, located near the accounting office, every afternoon. The person doing the vomiting wasn’t cleaning up her mess very well and he had it narrowed down to one of two women who worked in my department. He asked me if I had any suspicions as to which one it was...   

“Soul food blesses your whole body,” says Katrina “Aunt Flora” Mincy. “It uplifts your spirit. Whoever prepares it puts everything in their heart and soul into it.” Aunt Flora, as Katrina prefers to be called, has put her soul into soul food, and after a visit to her daughter’s Court Street restaurant, Flo’s Plate Full of Soul, I’m grateful for Flora’s philosophy.  

John Parish and Polly Jean Harvey have been making music together for more than two decades. And while Harvey is better known for a solo career that has made her one of the most vital artists on the planet, Parish is the guy who initially recognized and nurtured her singular skills.