Trust me when I say that Lee Daniels’s Precious will be one of the best films of 2009. Yes, I’m making that statement by only having seen the trailer — sue me. Gabourey Sidibe is fierce, believable and incredibly talented as the main character, Precious Jones. If this girl is willing to work for it and to take good acting decisions, I’m foreseeing a great career for her.

Last week was my first week of English-language Literature at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, and today I had my first class of Literature Studies. Up to today I have been pretty happy with the choices I have made. I said, “up to today,” because I realized something today that has the ability to squash [...]