One Nation Under Nostalgia
The past is ever-present in American Culture. The Republic was founded as Roman fan fiction. The lost Republic was a grand age before the corruption of Kings. A bit further up the coast, they were more worried about the original lost golden age back in the garden. The key is that the past must be mythic and unreachable. As our time . . .
Post-Apocalyptic Housepets
I recently read two books I really didn't feel like I could adequately review, but I did feel they were of a piece thematically about what comes after the current crisis facing humanity. Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh and A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green both seem to posit plans to tame humanity of its baser . . .
Book Review: Solutions and other Problems by Allie Brosh
Confessing your innermost thoughts can quickly devolve into a LiveJournal full of Yaoi Vampire GIFs. Allie Brosh manages to make it something hilarious, relatable, and a breezy read at that. If you didn't read her last book Hyperbole and a Half, you might at least know her artwork from the X all the things memes. Solutions and . . .
The Generational Opportunity Gap
Embedded on this page are two videos I stumbled across on Hikikimori as a phenomenon. The first video is on the development inside Japan, and the other examines if Hikikimori can exist outside Japan. It’s a fascinating exploration of the cultural process that pushes people to withdraw from society. It may have . . .
Most Listened Albums Of 2020
The world may continue to prove that blaming 2020 for our problems was like blaming a garage full of oily rags for being on fire, but I wanted to take some time to celebrate some great music from last year. Doing so at the last possible moment last year’s records is part of the conversation. As per the usual cosplay music critic's tules, . . .
Bleary-Eyed And Anxious
This was before the Call of Duty militia stormed the Capitol, so there are probably far more things to write about withholding the anxieties of the adult world, but there are other essays for that.
I feel bad letting this space lay fallow for months, but on the other hand I am typing this very post on my phone . . .
An Unscheduled Departure
There was supposed to be a nice column about changes in my life, but it seemed stupid to put something pleasant here when the army of unfuckable hate nerds (h/t to Marc Maron for the best description for these cretins) gets a VIP pass to trash the Capitol. Cory Doctorow explains how unlikely the “unprepared” party line . . .