Researching the recherche where arts, society, and culture collide. This blog is a record of my explorations.
“Pffft,” you say. “WTF’S a ‘story desk?’” Well, it’s like the news desk at a newspaper but instead of, say, covering the Man Bites Dog beat, it’s all about the seamy underbelly of storytelling and why it matters (beyond fun and profit). Story is the currency of our times. Story shapes our culture, story drives…
Every now and again, we find a way to make the newspaper gig a little more enjoyable — hence the North Bay Bohemian’s Spring Lit 2023 fiction edition. Below is my flash-fiction introduction. After all, there was only one J-school grad among us. The rest of the Press Club were English majors with exotic emphases like…
I’m the kind of media consumer who churns between streaming services like I was making butter. I keep a calendar with cancellation reminders; I scour the Just Watch app for the best deal on my desired film; and lately, I’ve loaded more library cards into free services like Hoopla or Kanopy than I have credit…
You’d be forgiven if you thought “vexillological” had anything to do with the vexy-ness of, say, Harley Quinn. As illogical and vexing as the DC comics anti-heroine may be (quite), the term actually refers to the study of flags. Ergo, vexillologists are those who study flags. Bonus round: a vexillonaire is someone who is “a…
As the world turns Even though it’s over, 2020 is still getting worse. Case in point, scientists have discovered that, due to a variety of circumstances, the Earth apparently spun on its axis at an increased rate last year. Yes, our collective merry-go-round is going faster-hang on tight. Though the increased speed added up to only a…
“The darkest hour is just before dawn.” Like many Gen Xers, I was introduced to this concept in a Mamas and Papas lyric crackling away on an FM station on a Volvo car radio. It was the ’70s, and the aftermath of Watergate and the war in Viet Nam hung pungently in the air like…
