To the mattresses
It’s been a red letter summer. I finally accepted Boston as my home. I climbed a mountain. I ate octopus. I fell deeply in love with John Steinbeck. His words soothed me during the hottest of July days like a cool stream in the Michigan wilderness. His discussion of sin in East of Eden even … Continue reading
Living in the nation
These days I live in the nation, but it hasn’t always been so. Growing up, my father instilled in me a reverence for the things he loved most: John Wayne, pro wrestling, bow hunting, and Detroit baseball. If we weren’t watching Full House or WrestleMania (exclusively for Hulk Hogan) on a lazy summer afternoon we … Continue reading
Magic is real, if you want it
Ladies and gentlemen, witches and wizards, boys and girls, this, is a love fest. This is the story of a girl falling for a book. Never before has the world known such unabashed devotion. If Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone had a window I would have stood beneath it in the pouring rain tossing … Continue reading
Some completely biased speculation on the DC reboot
DC Comics recently shocked fans by announcing that this September the DC universe will undergo a massive reboot, quite possibly the biggest in the publisher’s history. Such big changes with so little time to adjust have led many online fans to condemn the move before it even happens. Meanwhile, rumors suggest many comic retailers are … Continue reading
After the end: a Harry Potter counterfictional
[What exactly is a counterfictional? You can find the answer (and more examples) here.] J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is a masterwork of young adult fiction, one that is at least as rich and will be just as enduring as C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. (Also, it made better movies. Just sayin’.) It … Continue reading
Mass Effect
2002 was an annus horriblus for many different reasons; my brother and sister gave me an XBox for Christmas. I didn’t expect anything from them. If anything the fact my brother was still alive was all the gift I needed. But I accepted the XBox and gradually got a few games (mostly lousy ones) until … Continue reading
The death of Superman
I was 11 years old when Superman died. I remember being at a rollerskating rink when when my mother told me. She had been reading a magazine article on the topic, and upon hearing that my favorite hero had “died” the week prior, my heart sunk in my chest. To make it worse, he was … Continue reading
MPAA: The standard on double standards
I think my Idler editor might have my number. He has somehow tapped into my love for getting really worked up about issues, researching them, and then raging against them on the Internet. I believe this is a flaw I am to be loved for and not merely in spite of. So as to not … Continue reading
The badges behind the bat
One of the best things to come out of Batman: The Animated Series—and there were a number of great things that came out of Batman: The Animated Series—was the character of Renee Montoya. As a uniformed patrolwoman, Montoya starts off as the smart, straight-laced junior foil to the self-serving, corner-cutting, Batman-hating Detective Harvey Bullock. They’re … Continue reading
The (geek) kings of all media
Idler writer Daniel J. Hogan and I talk video games at length in this week’s edition of Daniel’s Podcast “Ginger and the Geek.” It’s a fun conversation, and highlights include the insight that aging livers might play a critical role in the downfall of the Guitar Hero/Rock Band franchise, which may itself bode well for … Continue reading
