libraries, culture, typewriters
It's good to know that even in quarantine, my old friend synchronicity can still visit me. I watched the Netflix miniseries Unorthodox after reading the review from Vox's Alissa Wilkinson and am so glad I did. Based on the true story of a young ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman fleeing her community in Williamsburg, it's just four … Continue reading An ‘Unorthodox’ Harmony
Karamo Brown of Queer Eye recently gave a free talk nearby, so I availed myself of the opportunity to see him in the flesh. He was the same as you see on the show, except this time he made himself cry. He got emotional as soon as the talk began because an old college friend … Continue reading Queer Eye and Straight Guys
"Come on, Doc, it's not science! When it happens, it just hits you. It's like lightning." - Marty McFly, Back to the Future Part III A couple nights before my buddy's wedding, I was at his house with a bunch of other guys for a time of toasting, roasting, and advice-giving. One thing I shared was … Continue reading Like lightning
There are two works of art I associate with an ex. One is the music of Mayer Hawthorne, specifically A Strange Arrangement, which had come out a few months before our brief relationship and was a primary jam for me that winter. The other is the Disney animated film The Princess and the Frog, which we saw … Continue reading Music we leave behind
Alyssa Vincent (Twitter) and I go way back to our college days, where we were fellow English majors and worked as co-editors-in-chief of our school newspaper. When we were emailing about her contributing to the second issue of the Simba Life Quarterly, I made an allusion to The Fault In Our Stars, which elicited a strongly … Continue reading Two Librarians Discuss: The Fault In Our Stars – Okay?
Previously published in the North Central Chronicle on April 23, 2010. The PDF version of this article as it originally appeared in the Chronicle is at the end of the story. Antonia and Brian bought a wedding planning book for $14. But sometime later Antonia's maid of honor bought them a $4 wedding planning book … Continue reading Why Wait?: The Adventure Of Marrying Young
"I'm going back to my hometown. Gonna sit right down and take a look around. Tall trees talking all around the shore where the wood meets the river at the forest floor. ... Does a true heart change or does it stay the same? I think I'll go on back to from where I came." … Continue reading My Hometown
Published in the North Central Chronicle on April 24, 2009. Let's pretend I'm a teenage girl and that you're my best friend. I've just told you about this guy I started dating. He's perfect in every way, I say. He stares at me while I sleep, he alienates me from my friends and, among other … Continue reading Twilight Bites: How Dazzling Vampires Distort Masculinity
Originally published in the North Central Chronicle on April 25, 2008. John McClane, Rambo, the Terminator. They are the American Action Hero: muscular, terse, a killing machine. They favor spouting clever catchphrases and blowing stuff up over expressing emotion. To them, women are hors d’oeuvres best enjoyed while they serve cold dishes of revenge to … Continue reading Macho, Macho Men: Vulnerability In ‘Casino Royale’ And ‘The Bourne Identity’
I watched The Notebook again recently. I still really like it, but now I have some reasons for it. (Though I'm still searching for more.) There is a bird motif. Birds of some kind appear in 3 obvious time: in the very beginning, when old Allie overlooks a boater we assume is Noah/Duke; on the … Continue reading First Love Birds: Notes on The Notebook