Means

The Oscars are long over—folks have won, folks have lost—and I have another year’s worth of tools in my toolbox.

Every year for the past three years, the Oscars have served to entertain me with witty speeches and tributes, and also with the list of nominees all in themselves. Each year I have taken the lists and added those movies to my Netflix que…it means that I have a list of over a hundred movies to watch, but the Oscar-nominated ones are those that make me feel as though I have the greatest leverage of discovery. Other people recommend movies all of the time, and I add those too, but these feel like MY movies, MY list all its own.

This, even though it’s a list of recommendation all its own from the Academy. Still, it feels more like a gift than a dictation. Merry Christmas to me.