Tag: fiction

Janelle Monáe Retrospective

First ListenI recently read Janelle Monáe’s book The Memory Librarian. It’s a collection of short stories building upon the dystopian society the self described singer/songwriter, actress, producer, fashion icon, and futurist built through their album Dirty Computer and its accompanying “emotion picture.” I’ve been a fandroid since 89.3 The Current broadcast Tightrope into the truck’s… Continue reading Janelle Monáe Retrospective

NOPE

First ContactI saw Jordan Peele’s latest film NOPE this weekend and absolutely loved it. It’s one of these movies that stuck so deep in my head that I just want to talk about it with everyone and read every review and piece of analysis I can find. Unfortunately, the first thing most people have said… Continue reading NOPE

Ecological Sci-Fi

I’ve been audiobooking my way through Dune (spoilers by the way) and I’m struck by the importance of ecology to its plot. I already knew about Frank Herbert’s history before starting the book, that his research into restoration attempts of the Oregon Dunes inspired the novel. But Dune goes far beyond the ecological roots I… Continue reading Ecological Sci-Fi

Island Life

Originally published as part of the Digestable newsletter: “Long time long time,” sings a fish in a striped shirt and tie in the opening of Niki Lindroth Von Bahr’s short film Min Börda (2017), “This is where you come if you want to stay a long time.” The stop-motion film follows four groups of anthropomorphic… Continue reading Island Life

Thanos

Originally published as part of the Digestable newsletter: I’ve been diving into the Marvel Cinematic Universe the past couple of weeks, out of lack of stimulation and procrastination. My friend Richard describes the films as a “concentrated sugar high:” attractive people in body-hugging outfits and an emotional whiplash of tragedy and comedy all strung together… Continue reading Thanos

The Very Mixed-Up and Peculiar Case of the Unfortunate Academy for Mysteriously Quirky Orphans

Originally published as part of the Digestable newsletter The first time I came to New York I rented a copy of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler from the library to read while riding the Greyhound there.  The book follows a pair of siblings from Greenwich, Connecticut who stow their clothes and toiletries in their musical instrument… Continue reading The Very Mixed-Up and Peculiar Case of the Unfortunate Academy for Mysteriously Quirky Orphans

The Moose Way Home

Originally published as part of the Digestable newsletter Fellas, is it gay to miss home? This question may have been playing in the mind of Numa Barned, a Union soldier in the U.S. Civil War who reported that listening to other soldiers play the song Home! Sweet Home! made him “feel queer.” Of course Barned’s use of queer is a few iterations… Continue reading The Moose Way Home

An Afterlife for the Anthropocene

Originally published as part of the Digestable newsletter I want to talk about the Netflix series The Good Place.  It’s a brightly colored entertaining series about quirky dead people navigating an even quirkier afterlife.  It’s easy to dismiss this show as another piece of streamable fluff, but the way ideas of environment and environmentalism are woven into The Good… Continue reading An Afterlife for the Anthropocene

Doctor Who

Originally published as part of the Digestable newsletter If you told me a year ago that I’d be writing this column from day 11 of quarantining in a Dublin apartment I would not have believed you.  Of course everything that happens these days is pretty unbelievable – so much so that unbelievability has become pretty… unremarkable.  I’m… Continue reading Doctor Who