This one comes to us from our friend Jason Micheli. I’ve grown wary of the Christmas “tradition” of bemoaning the commercialization of Christmas in our culture. Too often, we begin Advent not with Isaiah’s laments or John the Baptist’s words of judgment but our own words of lament and judgment, criticizing others for being so […]
You Don’t Have To Be Grateful
We have reached halftime in the holiday season sprint from Halloween to Christmas: Thanksgiving. The least commercialized of all American holidays, Thanksgiving stands apart as a holiday focused not on gift-giving or material consumption, but on gratitude. Problematic history aside, Thanksgiving presents an opportunity to gather with family and friends and reflect on all the […]
Eleanor Oliphant Is (Not) Completely Fine
I’ve just finished the novel Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. Based on the stamp of approval from Reese Witherspoon on the front cover, I expected it to be a fluffy airplane read. My adorable-celebrity-as-book-recommender stereotype is misdirected, apparently, because this was not a story of a suburban mom “addicted” to shopping and eyelash […]
Johnny Cash and Our Culture of Mercilessness
There I was, standing in front of a class of undergrads discussing Johnny Cash’s legendary “Live at Folsom Prison” and getting absolutely zero response from the students. Cash has long been dead by now and I wondered aloud whether he was too far afield for this group 18-22 year olds. As I continued to pick […]
The Easy Judgment of Being Right
To this day I remain haunted by a story about a woman who lost her eyesight to a microscopic organism that proliferated beneath her contact lenses. This cautionary tale went public nearly five years ago, and I still remember scouring the reports to find out what happened. Luckily for me, a responsible contact-lens wearer, the […]
Not Very Good at This: On Hobbying for Hobbying’s Sake
This year my pumpkins died. Not a farmer by any stretch, I aspired wide-eyed to yield a massive patch for the Hallow-season, envisioning hearty fruit sprawling across my backyard, ripe for picking, carving, and smashing. For several July weeks, hopes were high. Curling tendrils crossed the ground, leaves pluming of prehistoric size. Then, August. A […]
Judgment and Relief at the End of Summer
In my neighborhood, the evidence of leaves already falling from the trees sounds a clear indictment and an unmistakable verdict: Summer is virtually gone…and I didn’t do enough to justify my existence. We didn’t do a good enough bona-fide family vacation—as in, we didn’t go anyplace exotic like Hawaii or Mexico or travel across country […]
Saturday Night Law: How Humor Convicts the Sinner – Sam Bush
Another breakout from our NYC Conference, from the one and only Sam Bush.
Saturday Night Law: How Humor Convicts the Sinner – Sam Bush from Mockingbird on Vimeo.
The Law, My Apple Watch, and Booze Cruise Breakthroughs
This one comes to us from Scott Dalton. Scott, you can still close all 3 [fitness] rings today. Go for a brisk, 40-minute walk, and be sure to stand and move a bit each hour.” “All three of your [fitness] rings are usually farther along by now. You’ve got time to get back on track.” […]
The Road Beaten Hard
This one was written by Maddy Green. By the time I’ve finished breakfast, I’ve planned out the whole day, to the half-hour, for both myself and my spouse. I’ve mapped out the car schedule to be most fuel-efficient and to maximize ride-sharing to and from work; I’ve squeezed in a grocery shop and several other […]
The Weight of Silence
This review of A Quiet Place comes to us from Sam Guthrie. How do you survive in a world where you’re being hunted by blind monsters that possess a keen sense of hearing? According to the box office hit, A Quiet Place, you plan really well. You prepare, train, and pray that your children don’t make […]
Titanic Wills and the Gauntlet of Sacrifice
Spoilers ahead. Consider yourself warned. For ten years now Marvel has been patiently building a universe, populating it with heroes and heroines equal parts human and super-powered, propelling all of them towards a titanomachy we imagined they could be prepared for but in reality are largely powerless against. Avengers: Infinity War offers our protagonists (and, […]
