Hi everyone I’ve been working on the following essay for weeks, attempting to precisely articulate the complex thoughts and feelings I have as a person who neither identifies as “abled” nor “disabled”. This is a huge departure from my previous posts, but this topic is very important to me. If you enjoy it, let me … Continue reading Breaking the Binary
This review is going to cover the 1968 and 1996 versions of the classic, starting Leonard Whiting/Olivia Hussey and Leo DiCaprio/Claire Danes respectively. For anyone who slept through 9th-grade English class, the William Shakespeare classic (originally published in 1597) tells the story of two kids from feuding families. They meet, catch instant "feels", get married … Continue reading Romeo and Juliet-Impulsive Teens Cause Six Deaths
Hi! This is an interesting film for me. I first watched it in my early teens, and I didn't understand what was going on at all. As I've gotten older, I've been able to unpack the layers of profound wisdom in this movie and gain a vastly greater appreciation for it. The film begins with … Continue reading City of Angels – A Profound Feast
Hello! This week is a bit of a shift from media review to a personal essay on my family and the farm that we cultivate. As a small child, my family and I made the four-hour journey every other holiday to the white two-story farmhouse. Thirty people would find a way to cram into six … Continue reading The Farm and the Family
Earth, heart, tear, art, breath, bear “The aching joys, the dizzying raptures The still, sad music of humanity” I steal words from Wordsworth because I see the worth of the words But he had it wrong The music of humanity isn’t still or sad It’s a chant calling forth wisdom From the earth and all … Continue reading A Valentine to the Earth
Hello all!! Yes it is unusual for me to post two articles in one day, but this is an unusual occasion: I have just had my first article published in the Bethel University Clarion!!! The text of the article is below the pictures. This is less an instance of hustling and fighting for what I … Continue reading Monumental Occasion!!!!
*Note: Because the movie follows the book so closely, this will be a combo review. Baz Luhrmann's 2013 adaption of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel is a true masterpiece. It follows the novel to the letter, each scene drenched in the saturated color Luhrmann is known for. DiCaprio brilliantly captures the fear, denial, and delusional certainty … Continue reading The Great Gatsby-One Man’s Mirage
Passengers is a thoughtful movie that explores the primal human need for community. After spending a year alone on the Starship Avalon due to a technical malfunction, Jim encounters (in an interesting way) Aurora, a young beautiful writer. (So she and I are kind of twins. 😉 ) As the only two humans awake on … Continue reading Passengers-The Power of Isolation
I am a poet I scrape the insides of my mind Excavate old wounds, old scars For the pleasure of others I Write so furiously A thunderstorm struggles to keep up I writeandwriteandwriteandwriteandwrite Until I Stop Dead in my tracks Out of words Out of food for the soul And then I start again When … Continue reading A Toast to A Poet
* I wrote this imagist poem in about five minutes in American Lit class, and then expanded on it in prose. _________________________ Stand at attention Watch him descend A folded flag And a legacy of honor Six men One coffin One childless mother _________________________ Mary Wilson watched in shock and grief as Liam's body was … Continue reading Soldier’s Last Rites
Elena’s Grace 