Visiting the world of Meret Oppenheim is a little like confronting Object, her famed fur teacup—the viewer is tempted to imagine what’s underneath. It’s just an ordinary teacup, isn’t it—but is it?  Such layers and layers of surprises await. The current retrospective at MOMA has unearthed through nearly 200 paintings, sculptures, assemblages, reliefs, jewelry designs, works on paper, and collages to reflect a marvelously fluid mind.

A Man Called Otto achieves something so rare in Hollywood these days. It is a feel-good movie featuring a beloved Hollywood icon playing against type that plays to all ages and demographics. A Man Called Otto exists merely as an inconsequential, but delightful story about the power of friendship and family featuring a surprisingly touching message about kindness to all.

I consider myself an honest person, almost to a fault. So the next morning, I went back to the store to pay for the jar, where I summoned the young associate manning customer service to explain what happened, probably ad nauseam, as his expression turned to bewilderment or stupefaction when I related how it was all a purely innocent mistake that I wanted to rectify. His face went blank when I asked if I could have the senior discount on the price, $3.80, especially since I thought it shouldn’t cost more than 50 cents.

Counterfactual notions like this occur throughout the book, though they hold little value either as conjecture or informed speculation. Obviously, every aspect of history (and not just in Europe) might be radically different had such-and-such not gone the way it did. For the most part, however, Kershaw moves adroitly through decades of turmoil in Europe. He’s skilled at connecting 20^th-century leaders with our current crop.

After a slow start, “Women Talking” falls into a rhythm that drags viewers through the dilemma, asking them to imagine themselves facing the choice. Do they stay, forgiving the men who violated them emotionally and physically, giving implicit approval to their actions by doing so? Or do they leave, uprooting themselves and (in some cases) their young children from the only existence they understand?

Laura Lopez as Blanquita does a great job of portraying a character that has been through a life of trauma but does her best to fight through the difficulty of pursuing the case. She has strong resolve but does show weakness and doubt when things escalate and the danger rises. Alejandro Goic as Father Manuel also puts in a stellar performance as a priest who is tired of children’s suffering being swept under the rug. The film’s writing and direction go a long way in establishing a quiet, serious tone.

In theory, it would stand to reason that generating passive income should be a one-man effort: rolling up your sleeves and getting down to business (but without putting in the elbow grease, because this is supposed to be passive after all). Taking risks upon yourself and likewise reaping the benefits on your own. But passive- income advice content is frequently marketed with byproducts to buy. In other words, there’s always a catch in order to move forward; a first step to take that involves some kind of purchase.

There have been other movies in the past that explore a younger character’s reaction to their impending death, but this take is refreshing. Williams has had plenty of time to live a full life and has chosen to stay in the rut that’s been dug for him. The diagnosis is certainly sad news, but it doesn’t have the same tragic feeling as when a younger life in its prime is cut short. Williams’ quiet nature and dignity are the result of his long, uneventful life and seeing him become more of a free spirit is almost magical.

Dennis Shirshikov recalls a recent American Airlines flight from Mexico City to New York with his wife and three young children. As they boarded, a crew member ordered him to gate-check their stroller. Shirshikov, who runs a real estate investment firm in New York, says he balked because the stroller was regulation-size and he needed it to transport his kids. "They were very confrontational," he says. When he arrived at JFK, the stroller was gone. He finally found it in the lost and found.

Although the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for  fiscal 2003 designates Taiwan as a “major non-NATO Ally,” Washington maintains “strategic ambiguity” -- meaning that the U.S. takes no official position as to whether  Taiwan belongs to China. Taiwan’s fate is to be negotiated between China and Taiwan; however, that negotiation must be free and peaceful. To ensure that Taiwan is not invaded by China, the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 requires Washington to provide Taiwan weapons of a defensive nature.