On January 24, distracted as usual by the unavoidable pull of the endless scroll, I took a quick breather from writing a review of A New Love in Tokyo, Banmei Takahashi’s delightful and depraved sex worker buddy romp. I opened X and watched Minneapolis ICU nurse Alex Pretti wrestled to the ground and shot numerous … Continue reading
A tan Statue of Liberty proudly shoves a ripe, red, late summer tomato into the air, a more delectable replacement for her tired torch. A basket of more perfect-looking tomatoes, ideal for a caprese salad or simple tomato sandwich, is tucked under her arms. It doesn’t take a trained art history snoot to understand the … Continue reading
Earlier this week, I received the Whitney Museum’s press email announcing the artists featured in this year’s Whitney Biennial, titled Even Better Than the Real Thing. Rather than the names, copious pronouns (the first time I recall those being included in a biennial list), or the fact that the exhibition is named after a fucking … Continue reading
I never took the Fox News set seriously when they riled up some fundamentalist fear, fire, and fury with their annual accusations of a War Against Christmas. Every year, mittens wring in winter wonderland worry as right-wingers prepare for a siege against Santa’s workshop. It’s as if every perfunctorily muttered, “Happy Holidays,” makes an elf … Continue reading
I’m a Joe Rogan listener. Wait! Before you click off and cancel me on various social media platforms (there’ll be time for that, trust me), let me dig the hole deeper. Not only am I a The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) listener, but I’m also a longtime The Joe Rogan Experience listener. I’ve tuned into … Continue reading
Question for the culture: Just kidding (sorry, Lana) Whew, what a 400 years of the subjugation and violent oppression of Black people in the United States this has been! I mean, week–sure, it’s only been about a week as people across the country and world protest, asserting that Black Lives Matter and fighting against government-sanctioned … Continue reading
2020’s Democratic presidential primary has boiled down to one vital question. No, not what candidate you’re going to vote for. No, not who is most likely to beat our next best daytime TV talk show host president. No, not whose policies would be the best direction for our country, especially since whoever wins will inherit … Continue reading
“I feel a vague nausea stroking and tapping the lining of my stomach,” writes David Wojnarowicz in his essay “In the Shadow of the American Dream: Soon All This Will Be Picturesque Ruins.” I don’t think I ever quite understood the feeling of David’s nausea until this past week. It took everything in me not … Continue reading
Are our idols destined to inevitably disappoint us? Are our role models preordained to fall short of our astronomical expectations? While some of our role models are known for their, at times, offensive outbursts (and we love them all the more for it), others have been so formative to our pathological world view that when … Continue reading
Happy Gay Pride, friends! Happy BIG 50 to the Stonewall Riots! I mean, Uprising. No, I mean, Rebellion! Yes, rebellion! The New York Times recently provided a series of pieces on the many conflicting narratives about Stonewall. Who threw the first brick–or stone–or rock–or coins? Surely, it wasn’t Roland Emmerich’s cornfed midwestern white boy laughably … Continue reading