Political Correctness… Why Are Trigger Warnings Less Accepted Than Spoiler Alerts? 18 Aug 201527 May 2020 I haven't had anything to say about trigger warnings until now. I had been leaning on the side of "not necessary" or "too coddling," as most of the media I…
Batman… A Hero Can Be Anyone: Reflections on the Loss of a Batman 17 Aug 201517 Aug 2015 You may have seen a sad news story about Lenny B. Robinson, a Maryland man who impersonated Batman to bring joy into the lives of children. Many referred to him…
Fan Theories… The Net is Buzzed and Full of Feeders: On Plagiarism and Ideas and Open Letters 16 Aug 20154 Nov 2016 What is it to plagiarize in the age of the internet? What is it to steal? The Open Letter I read this open letter from comedian Davon Magwood, posted on his…
Books… What Would Faulkner Say About True Detective Season Two? 10 Aug 201515 May 2016 In a previous post, I've argued that no one should call a show good or bad until the end is known. Which means, now that the end is known, we…
Bolano… Thirteen Ways to Fill the Flat Circle After Season Two of True Detective 9 Aug 201528 Sep 2016 Well, Season Two is over. Whether you are satisfied with the ending or not, chances are that you are a little bummed that you don't get to watch it next…
Fan Theories… True Detective vs. Friends: Did Ross Geller Lose Custody of Ben? 8 Aug 201531 Aug 2023 Or: What Happened to Ben Geller on Friends? Note: the following was originally written in 2014. A lot has happened since then, but I think it holds up pretty well.…
Books… Why Harper Lee’s “New Novel” is the Literary Equivalent of Greedo Shooting First 3 Aug 20154 Aug 2015 People love pretending that there is a new novel by Harper Lee, available in stores now. But we all know there isn't. I'm not going to go into all the details…
Books… The Beginner’s Guide to David Foster Wallace: Five Things to Read, for Free 31 Jul 201511 Sep 2023 The Best David Foster Wallace Books (or Stories or Essays) to Try Reading Perhaps you want to see the new David Foster Wallace movie, but you aren't sure why. You…
Books… Why Everyone Should Calm Down and Take Vonnegut’s Approach to Talking about Big Game Hunting 30 Jul 201526 Sep 2016 People love to shame these days. They also love to shame the shamers. And with the tendency for the internet to get hysterical about anything that seems worthy of hysteria,…
Books… Six Things Hemingway Never Said 10 Jul 201512 Jan 2017 The internet loves a good quote. Trouble is, the internet rarely cares if the quote was said by the person whose name follows it. It also rarely cares if the…