Living a Purposeful Pop Culture Life
The first time I ever went first at a four-way stop I was 22. I remember it so clearly: it was an autumn zing of a day, the kind where the world just feels like one giant sigh of contentment. I sidled up to the four-way stop near my apartment… [Read More]
She Died of Secondhand Embarrassment
Spanish-speakers have a term for it: pena ajena. Much cleaner and snappier than English’s clunky “secondhand embarrassment” (a term cobbled together by laypeople, as it’s not even in the dictionary), pena ajena describes shame or embarrassment one might feel on behalf of someone else. It’s that latter part that’s the… [Read More]
Love & Binge-Watching
Modern relationships are all about communication, compromise, and content consumption. You’re going to be watching a lot of things with someone as you either fall in love with them or learn to hate them, and your viewing choices often match the evolving or deteriorating status of your relationship. To demonstrate,… [Read More]
Which Jonas Brother is Right for You?
In October of 2013, The Jonas Brothers (the unit) broke up and became the Jonas brothers (the individual humans) and millions of girls around the world went into a tailspin (not me though, I handled things just fine). Since then, they’ve embarked on new and exciting projects, and Kevin does… [Read More]
Just Another Frontier?
Humans have always been kind of obsessive about space, so the recent glut of space themed entertainment is not necessarily surprising. Even NASA has gotten in the game again (after a few years of coyly telling everyone they were going to focus on Earth-related issues), and getting ready to launch… [Read More]
How to Enjoy The Bachelor Without Actually Watching It
For reasons I don’t understand and never care to, Bachelor in Paradise and all other iterations of the show have taken over every social circle on the planet, leaving it impossible for me engage in the meaningful daily discussions about climate change or, like, Joe Jonas’ Instagram account. Everyone watches… [Read More]
3 Difficult to Conceptualize Reasons to Watch Rick and Morty
Obviously we’re living in a golden age of television. 30 years ago in a world of cheesy-looking apartment living room sets and overly enthusiastic studio audiences, television producers never would have dreamed that the plotlines and characters we consider so casually would grace the small screens in our homes. High… [Read More]
Outdoor Movies are Dumb
This is an opinion. A correct one. In an age of Netflix and video on demand there are limited reasons to watch a movie anywhere but from the comfort of your own home, with a loved one (or alone) while looking at your phone. The only reason to not watch a movie… [Read More]
Netflix is a Bad Boyfriend
This is an intervention. I’m here because I care about you. I know Netflix seemed exciting at first, because he showed you all kinds of things you’d never seen before. He was new and different. He let you be yourself. He liked you with no make up, and he never… [Read More]
I Don’t Follow Sports So I Watched ESPN for a Week
I have a handful of pop culture blindspots: theatre, comic books, video games, and sports. Ah, SPORTS! I mean, listen: I can rattle off the names of every player on the 1997 University of Arizona Wildcat Championship team (and what NBA team they ended up on), I can recognize and… [Read More]
