Three-hundred tomato chili
Last Christmas, I received a slow-cooker as a gift. For someone as lazy as me, it was an ideal gift—I could dump a lot of ingredients into the pot for a few hours and come back with a cooked meal. Easy success. When I moved to Boston in January, I took the slow-cooker with me. … Continue reading
It’s cold. Play a board game.
At one point, I had intentions to write about games other than video games. I may or may not have given up on that goal, but while I’m figuring it out, check out Matthew Baldwin’s list of board games that you should consider picking up (and giving away) this holiday season.
Christmas music
What do you remember about Christmas growing up? Do you remember when it started? I was walking through Meijer with my kids the other day, just as the store’s Christmas displays were going up. I said aloud, to nobody in particular, “When I was younger Christmas was in December.” An older couple was walking in … Continue reading
November 29-December 4, 2010
This week, in “Dysphonia,” Mike Vincent rings in the holiday season, not a day before the beginning of December. Read “Christmas music”
In “The Cinephiles” Kevin Mattison maps the space between a film that earns a viewer’s empathy, and one that simply tries to manipulate the viewer into tears. Read “Watching a sad movie? Why don’t you cry about it?”
In “The Indie Gamer,” Andrew Simone lists 4.1 indie games that you have to play if you want to be his friend. (Don’t fret, they’re all available for free.) Read “Essential indie games”
In “PopHeart,” Ana Holguin says that you should be watching Terriers on F/X. Before it gets cancelled. Even if you don’t love dogs. Really. (It’s not actually a dog show.) Read “Good dogs, or, Why you should be watching Terriers“
In “Rounding Third,” Angela Vasquez-Giroux explain exactly why your Little League coach was full of crap when it can to teaching you how to swing a bat. Read “Basically, everything you’ve been taught is wrong”
In “The F Word,” Jill Kolongowski says that breakfast is perfect for those late-night cravings, and just leave those damn eggs alone if you want them to turn out right. Read “Breakfast for dinner”
The best new blogs of 2010
Not to toot our own horn, but The Idler got an honorable mention from The Bygone Bureau editor Kevin Nguyen in the Bureau’s “Best New Blogs of 2010” feature.
It’s a great list from a great site, and we’re a little bit humbled to be included. You should go check it out. You’ll definitely find something you never expected and won’t be able to imagine how you ever lived without.
Watching a sad movie? Why don’t you cry about it?
I have always hated the laugh track. I find it to be wildly intrusive, often overused, and incredibly manipulative. Oh, I get it. Laughter is infectious, after all. But does a truly funny joke really need cueing? The laugh track is a crutch bad jokes can lean on and only distracts from the good ones. … Continue reading
Good dogs, or, Why you should be watching Terriers
Hi, it’s me, Ana Holguin. You might remember me from such Idler posts as “Why you should watch Buffy” and “Why I love My So-Called Life” and “Musings about the children in Mad Men.” And yes, here I am once again bringing you good tidings of a televisual persuasion. I know, I know, you’re thinking, … Continue reading
