From Slate, by Ruth Graham: As The Fault in Our Stars barrels into theaters this weekend virtually guaranteed to become a blockbuster, it can be hard to remember that once upon a time, an adult might have felt embarrassed to be caught reading the novel that inspired it. Not becauseContinue Reading
We were having lunch at Elliott’s Oyster House for Father’s Day and talking about the upcoming Write-a-thon. Mom asked me, “so — did you get anything out of Clarion West?” I goggled at her for a moment, then said, “of course!” The conversation moved on, but I determined that oneContinue Reading
About a week ago, yet another violently disturbed young man killed a bunch of people for no reason. Yes, he was a misogynist of the most toxic kind, with a grandiose and visceral hatred directed at both the women who denied him his “rightful” share of their affection, and atContinue Reading
These signs went up in the Northgate area, on the meridian of Northgate Way and 5th avenue. Who put them there? Did they get permission? Did they have to pay for it? What would have happened if Paul and I had gone out one night and removed all the “NoContinue Reading
Short answer: atmospheric dark fantasy with some memorable scenes and Scarlett Johansson naked, but slow and lacking in story. Cautiously recommended, as long as you’re prepared to be kinda bored. Longer thoughts below — spoilers ahead.Continue Reading
Here are some ridiculous things that conservative anti-feminists recently had to say about feminism: Conservative Women Celebrate Women’s History by Criticizing Feminism. I can’t believe how much staying power these narratives have. The anti-feminist right has been making the same claims since I was a kid. I’ve never understood whyContinue Reading
Walking Tours of Northgate: Tour #1: My house to QFC Vintage photographs taken on December 1, 2013, starting at 8:47 in the morning 1. Head south on 3rd Ave NE This little spur of 3rd Avenue Northeast starts at Northgate Way and terminates at 115th in a permeable cul-de-sac. WhyContinue Reading
Score! The in-flight movie was Frozen. It’s not merely a critically acclaimed and reasonably successful Disney movie, it’s a bonafide Disney phenomenon — their most financially successful animated movie so far and also incredibly popular and iconic with its target demographic of teen and pre-teen girls. What is it aboutContinue Reading
It’s over here at LiveJournal BTVS Episode Poll: 6.15 As You Were. Enjoy!Continue Reading
A New York Times essay attempts to make The Case for Filth: A recent, large cross-national study on the subject by an Ohio State sociologist found that “women’s housework did not decline significantly and men’s housework did not increase significantly after the mid-1980s in the United States, the United Kingdom,Continue Reading
Okay, okay, I couldn’t resist dissecting this very special February 14th message in the Wall Street Journal (?!?) from somebody I’ve never heard of before: Susan Patton: A Little Valentine’s Day Straight Talk: Young women in college need to smarten up and start husband-hunting. First of all — what is this dealContinue Reading
Do you like werewolves better? Not really. Look at my book collection — I have a ton of vampire fiction but very about werewolves or other shapeshifters, except as adjuncts to vampires. But that might be another thing driving this book. I’ve tried writing vampire novels — believe me, I’veContinue Reading
At one point while I was working on an earlier draft of the book, when I was completely stuck on the plot, I wrote this little self-interview. [Edited to remove spoilers] Where did you get the notion for having two kinds of werewolves — natural born and bite-infected? When IContinue Reading