The Corporatization of Ugly Sweaters
If you want to see the last stages of a trend’s life, look no further than the ugly sweater. Though you could argue the Christmas non-tradition, born of novelty and kept afloat by social trendiness, has been fading exponentially by year, its true death will come at the hands of… [Read More]
Lessons From ‘Sonic Highways’
I’ve always had kind of a soft spot for the Foo Fighters. They catch a lot of flak, but I can’t think of another band since the Chili Peppers that has managed to commercialize hard rock while maintaining an authentic identity that resonates globally. So thus I’ve been pretty intrigued… [Read More]
Black Friday Recovery: Hope for the Future, Kinda
Is Black Friday the holiday now? It’s the same every year: half of America laments the dismissal of a holiday many of us consider sacred, while the other half eats their turkey in line at Walmart. Either way, it’s all anyone talks about. Plus, all the normal people without a… [Read More]
Actors Who Should Star in Food Network Biopics
Food Network chefs are an interesting kind of celebrity. The shows they appear on, star in, and host are reality shows, and yet they’re much more compelling than Snooki or whoever’s on The Real World these days because they have actual creative talent. Before I go further, I should mention… [Read More]
When I Was Unemployed For Eight Months (As Told By My Netflix Queue)
I was unemployed for more of 2014 than I wasn’t. Eight long months, to be exact. I wrapped up my political journalism internship in D.C. full of the hope of the New Year, confident that I would land one of the dream entertainment reporting jobs I was currently going through… [Read More]
I’m Addicted to Serial and I’m Having Withdrawals
As if you haven’t heard, Serial didn’t release a new episode last Thursday because of the Thanksgiving holiday. And that’s ridiculous. I’m not really one to make demands for free entertainment but come on, Sarah Koenig. No one needed an escape more than the United States during this past… [Read More]
Not Trying to Sound Ungrateful, but C’mon Spotify
The best $10 I spend each month is on Spotify premium. I probably listen to music for 60 hours a week: 5-6 hours a day at work, another hour at home, and at least a few hours each day on the weekend. That breaks down to 16 cents an hour…. [Read More]
Living in a World Where Kanye May Drop an Album at Any Time
We are currently living in a world where any second Kanye West could spontaneously drop his 7th album. It could be any moment. You could be sleeping, or on a run, or in a park or a Trader Joe’s line, or maybe playing with your little baby cousin who doesn’t… [Read More]
An Eventual Swan Song for ‘The Daily Show’
“Good satire comes from anger. It comes from a sense of injustice, that there are wrongs in the world that need to be fixed. And what better place to get that well of venom and outrage boiling than a newsroom, because you’re on the front lines.” –Carl Hiaasen The seventies… [Read More]
Social Media Killed the Movie Star
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the loss of someone we never really knew, and maybe never really loved. But, as the old adage goes, we either wanted to be them – or be with them. They were glamorous. They were mysterious. They made cigarettes look cool… [Read More]
