I have stayed out of the Great Cultural Appropriation Debate because I'm no master debater. If you would like some context, rydra_wong has been linkspamming the whole debacle. But I figured it was none of my concern. Until miniglik, deep in thinky thoughts following my stealth racist encounter, linked me to this excellent post by deepad. I had never considered some of the ( Read more... )

Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves is a tour de force achievement in postmodern narrative deconstruction. While marketed as a horror novel, its true appeal comes from its multilayered story, which, Russian doll-style, compacts no fewer than five layers of narrative. [1] At the center is the story of Will Navidson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning ( Read more... )

A few days ago, I made a short post about a pretty woman who made me happy by rubbing my arm. It spawned at least four other posts that were tangentially related to my original idea, which I don't think entirely came across. So I wanted to clarify why I wrote what I did.

The arm rub made an impression on me, and it made an impression on me because ( Read more... )

Ivy (ivyisgilgamesh), April (aprilbegins), and I are at a Denny's in Los Angeles. Waiting, waiting, and still waiting to be noticed, let alone seated. We admire the fake desserts. I only have a three-hour layover, so it would be nice to be served eventually. It's not even busy, so the wait is baffling ( Read more... )

Hi, I'm Polter-Cow! You may remember me from such posts as Rob Explains the Greatest Dropped Plot Point of All Time and Stop! Or My Mom Will Renew!I am here to remind you that I am not better than you. That I happen to correspond with a showrunner does not elevate me as a human being. I am just a guy, after all. I'm a decent writer who manages to ( Read more... )

There is a moment during "Chicago," by Sufjan Stevens, that I tear up whenever I sing along.

if i was crying
in the van, with my friend
it was for freedom
from myself, and from the land
i made a lot of mistakes
i made a lot of mistakes
i made a lot of mistakes
i made a lot of mistakesBecause before in the song he had made a lot of mistakes in his ( Read more... )

Tonight, I saw a production of Equus, the play about a boy who blinds six horses. Oh, so provocative. I'm beginning to think that every play is about discovering someone's childhood trauma. I liked how said trauma was intertwined with sex and religion and horses, but even that seemed kind of...pedestrian ( Read more... )

Hi, everyone! I'll bet you all thought I forgot about this post, and I'll admit I didn't think it would take me this long to answer all fifty-two frickin' questions, but better late than never, as they say. But first, let's discuss the results of that poll.

( Yes, that poll actually did have correct answers, and YOU ALL SUCK )

The final monologue of Oz perfectly describes why I love the show, and why you should watch it:

So. What have we learned? What's the lesson for today? For all the neverending days and restless nights in Oz ( Read more... )

First order of business: by linking to these three posts, I have donated fifteen dollars to the Red Cross. Link to them in your own journal (and tell them so), and they will donate five dollars each. Props to chaodai for notifying me of them.

( BSG 2.8: Final Cut (hey, that was a movie with Robin Williams and Stephanie Romanov!) )