Researchers have found that people who stuck to a diet that included foods like berries, leafy greens, and fish had a decrease in their risk for the dementia and related brain diseases, which affects more than 5 million Americans over age 65. There is an eating plan associated with this research called the MIND diet, […]

If you’re an aspiring or practicing writer of fiction, there’s one rule you’ve most likely had drilled into your head. You’ll frequently hear this from creative writing instructors and hacky screenwriting books. Your protagonist, or hero, must be likable, in order for the audience to relate to them. This is wrong. The fact is, your protagonist […]

There’s a line in Adam McKay’s new film, The Big Short, that perfectly encapsulates what the film means and how its characters relate to it. “The truth is like poetry. And everyone f**king hates poetry.” When we’re children, we’re taught to share, to be nice, to behave in a fundamentally decent way. Theoretically, anyway. As we get […]

We all have occasion to overuse certain muscles while others are underused. Muscles remember frequently used motor patterns and do them automatically. The overused muscles can become tight, inflamed and irritated, while underused muscles grow weak, which can lead to injury. You can reduce the amount of uneven stress being placed on your body by […]

Back in the old days of 2009, you might remember that J.J. Abrams rebooted the Star Trek franchise. Abrams took a series that had lain dormant and supercharged it. When we think of Star Trek, we think of sci-fi that’s a bit cerebral, that’s a little stately, and that’s focused more on exploration. “Screw that,” Abrams said. Instead, […]

Okay, folks, time for a thought experiment. Imagine you’re a whale, a sperm whale to be precise, living in the year 1820. While most of your kind measures 50 feet long, you’re a big sucker that’s around 85 feet long. You spend your days hanging out with your pod, hunting squid, enjoying the freedom of the […]

During the holidays, advice about coping with the mountains of food available to us abounds. The most common advice about eating includes tips designed to help you eat less, but really just take away from the joy of the holiday season. So, I’m not going to tell you to have a snack before you go […]

The last day of Tyshawn Lee’s life was November 2, a little over a month ago. His father was a gang member, and he was involved in a beef with a rival gang. It’s unclear to what extent Tyshawn understood this. Odds are, he just cared about the regular things kids care about, like basketball. […]

This fall I started receiving a subscription to a meal kit service – a weekly delivery of the ingredients and recipes to prepare meals for the week.  My thought at the time is that I would enjoy having my meals planned for me, complete with ingredients, but still have the pleasure of cooking for myself.  […]

I believe in the concept of parallel universes, alternate dimensions that exist alongside our own. Within these universes, things are largely the same, with a few differences here and there. In one of these universes, a young actor named Sylvester Stallone made some slightly different decisions regarding his budding film career. As a result of […]