My New Year’s Resolution for 2019 was “Stick to a Meal-Planning Regimen.” If you Google this idea, you get all the kitchen-blogger schtick about how preparing meals in advance saves you time and money, helps you lose weight, yadda yadda yadda. These things are both completely true and exceptionally boring. I wasn’t trying to save time or lose weight. I was going through a deeply difficult period and I was struggling to do things as basic as feed myself. I would make meals ahead of time and then I would require myself to actually sit down to eat them and say the out loud the words, “Someone... Read More

We wear their names on the back of our jerseys, display their posters on our walls, and dream that we are them.  Shooting baskets towards a rusty hoop we imagine we are Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, or Michael Jordan as the clock counts down to zero.  As plastic bats connect with whiffle balls, we round imaginary bases as Nolan Arenado, Mike Trout, or Willie Mays.  We lace up our skates like Nathan Mackinnon, cut off our sleeves like Rafael Nadal, and what we wouldn’t give to throw the ball, get the girl, and win it all, like Tom Brady. To us, athletes are superheroes.  To us, athletes are superhuman. COVID-19... Read More

I’m writing this on the morning of July 2. By now, we should have been a couple of months deep into the summer movie season. I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t miss it. Facts are facts, though. We’ve got one heck of a nasty virus wreaking havoc on the country, and one of the casualties is the modern moviegoing experience. At this point, the only way I’d set foot in a theater is if I could be enclosed in a human-sized hamster ball. What is a summer movie, anyway? Well, it’s complicated.* Jaws is the first summer blockbuster, proving to studios that audiences would flock to theaters... Read More

Da 5 Bloods is streaming on Netflix I’ve never served in the military. At the tail end of high school, recruiters from the Army bombarded my phone, trying to convince me to sign up for officer training school. What they didn’t realize, and what I only dimly knew at the time, was that I would have been an absolutely horrible soldier. There’s a host of reasons, but the main might be that I ask too many questions, and when you’re part of a chain of command, asking too many questions at the wrong time can get people killed. I’ve also never been Black. For God’s sake, have you seen me? If... Read More

It was only last weekend that I sat on my couch watching some guy named Daniel Berger win the Charles Schwab Challenge in a playoff over some guy named Collin Morikawa.  This wasn’t about the names of the players, the putts being drained, or even the awkward silence of an empty golf course.  This was about hope, normality, and the gradual return of sports. Despite the fear of COVID-19 and the social unrest that has dominated our lives, the golf tournament gave me just a glimmer of hope that our world was finally trending the right direction.  The opening of restaurants, gyms, and businesses... Read More

Everyone who’s into movies has a thing. A thing that is endlessly fascinating and that can be refracted through a thousand different lenses. One friend of mine has a deep and abiding love of schlocky horror movies. Loves ‘em, can’t get enough of ‘em. They’re his happy place, and whenever he’s having a tough day, a small scotch and a viewing of Motel Hell will perk him right up. My thing is comedians playing villains. However, let me be clear. If a comedian or comedic actor is playing a comedic villain, that doesn’t scratch the itch. Instead, when a funnyman plays a real nasty piece... Read More

The NBA is finalizing its Return to Play format as 22 teams will travel to Orlando in July to finish off the 2019-20 NBA season and crown a new champion.  COVID-19 has changed the dynamics of this year’s playoffs as players return to the sport underconditioned, worried about safety, and understandably focused on social issues rather than basketball. Before the suspension of the regular season, teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers were favorites for the title.  But now that the rules have changed and new factors are thrown into the equation, are some teams better equipped... Read More

Starting and stopping is always hard. Each sentence is like its own new beginning, so going from one thought to another can be a challenge when trying to string them together. In the not so metaphorical sense regarding our current society, anyone would get whiplash just thinking about everything going on. We all know while we have all been dealing with this pandemic it has strained each of us in our own ways, each hardship as valid as the next. Yet while the country is slowly opening again, it is easy to agree that nothing feels the same as it was. We have lost many during this time, whether it... Read More

The Lovebirds is streaming on Netflix If you’re like me, you could use some quiet time. There’s something to be said for bringing back naps and giving us adults a scheduled block with which we can reflect and recharge. Why? Oh, only because the country is literally on fire and going foo-foo nutty. Let’s take a moment to review, shall we? In the past few weeks alone, we’ve been treated to:   Police brutality Police brutality in response to the aforementioned police brutality Numerous riots Peaceful protests that dwarf the riots The President orders the teargassing of peaceful protesters... Read More

Following the tragic death of George Floyd and subsequent protests that have erupted across the country, Commissioner Roger Goodell issued a statement last week in which he apologized on the behalf of the owners and the league for failing to support the NFL players’ right to protest, specifically referring to those who knelt in protest back in 2016. “We, the NFL, condemn racism and systematic oppression of Black People.  We, the NFL, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.  We, the NFL, believe Black Lives Matter.”... Read More