Mar 20
It’s spring! A time for new beginnings. I’m celebrating this spring by making some changes to this site. Exciting new things are in the works.
One change is that you’ll notice, if you have ever visited my site more than once, that my portfolio is disappearing. I am taking it down to work on a project I have in mind. But I’m also taking it down because it doesn’t fit with… Continue reading
Mar 4
Last night I had a dream in which a dear friend of mine went on an uncharacteristic rent about the soullessness of Walt Disney World. In this dream, I responded. We were at WDW, a place I long to visit (having never been), and our public debate was making cast members uncomfortable. Here is what I realized in my dream:
I maintain that there are two myths at the… Continue reading
Jan 18
I was having a mental conversation with myself this morning, contemplating how to teach Joseph Campbell’s writing style to my students. The trajectory of my thoughts led me to the almost-cliché Hero’s Journey. In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell images the Journey thusly:
One key point of the Hero’s Journey is that it is a circle. The Hero leaves, the Hero must return. If… Continue reading
Dec 24
As a new Mommy, the Santa question has crossed my path more then once. You know, “We can’t decide whether to raise our kid with Santa. We don’t want to mess with the whole Naughty or Nice thing.” My response is always an emphatic, “REALLY?!?!” Here’s why:
Disclaimer: I’ve never bothered to explore the history of St. Nicholas. Today is no exception.
In our society, Christmas seems to have been stolen… Continue reading
Nov 30
I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus for the last couple months, which I’m sure a few of you have noticed (or not). In October, I entered mommyhood. This has been an interesting period of transition, to say the least. Perhaps one day I’ll write about it. Interestingly, mommyhood has affected my perception of kids/teens in some of my favorite TV shows. Today, I’ll look at Glee.
To… Continue reading
Oct 6
Two weeks ago, the Pacifica Alumni of Texas descended on Austin for the first ever Texas Alumni event. It was fascinating to connect with a new calibur of Pacifi-peep (as I call them). Some graduated in the Nineties, while some are still working through their dissertation. The weekend began with a Friday night reception, followed by a Saturday strategizing event (i.e., how to make the Alumni Association a… Continue reading
Sep 21
According to my Twitter feed, a lot of people are lining up today to be among the first consumers to play with the fifth incarnation of the iPhone. For all my love of consumer culture, this is a behavior I just don’t get. First a little background:
I’ve waited in line. I have fond memories of waking up at Unholy Hour O’Clock to go to the nearest Ticketmaster to… Continue reading
Aug 13
“I’m proud to be an American.” How many times have I heard this phrase growing up? Probably at least enough to have paid for college, especially thanks to that song from Desert Storm that should now be playing in your head. That it is now playing in your head is an indication of successful propaganda, but that’s not what I’m here to write about today. “I’m proud to be an American” means… Continue reading
Jul 22
The weekend was a Batman buzz, torn between celebrating the release of The Dark Knight Rises and mourning the events of the Aurora, CO movie theater shooting. Throughout the discussion included comments about the killer’s mental health and questions about whether it’s time for the country to revisit gun control. One Facebook friend made the following… Continue reading
Jul 11
To begin, we saw Brave a couple of weekends ago.
While having a discussion about boy heroes versus girl heroes and gender appropriateness, I made the comment, “Up is the boy version of Brave…. Only that it’s about an old man and a boy scout instead of a mother and daughter.”
The Hubs stared at me blankly.
So I continued: “both films are about a generational relationship… Continue reading