Owning pets is normalized in many cultures and has been for centuries. Pets are beloved members of our families; we name them, we give them special toys and treats, and we love them as one of our own. The debate on the ethics of owning pets is rarely broached in […]
Month: April 2021
This One Wild and Precious Life
I will be the first to admit that what originally drew me to this book was the aesthetic cover. Little did I know that this book was exactly what I was searching for. In a world where there is so much despair, polarization and injustice, I feel lost. I feel […]
The Poppy War
The Poppy War series has generated a lot of chatter in a lot of different book communities, and for good reason: it’s a fantastically well-written and well-researched historical fantasy based on twentieth century Chinese military history. The series is a trilogy, with the first book, The Poppy War published in […]
The Big Goodbye: China and the Last Years of Hollywood.
The book I’ve been chipping away at this semester is “The Big Goodbye: China and the Last Years of Hollywood”. It’s a historical look back at the 1974 noir film, Chinatown. It was one of the last films in the golden age of Hollywood, and the final line “Forget it, […]
Give Poetry a Try
Poetry overall tends to have a reputation as being overwhelming, dense, hard to understand, and highly intellectual, and much of that stems from how many people’s only experiences with poetry are in educational settings where the poems are written with antiquated language, and the reading experience is one solely based […]
Did “Music” Miss the Beat?: A look at Sia’s 2021 movie.
As National Autism Awareness month begins, “Music” is still facing criticism from the public. The controversial musical, starring Maddie Ziegler, Kate Hudson and Leslie Odom Jr. was rereleased in the United States on Feb. 10 after the outrage of viewers due to restraint scenes. The movie’s biggest critique focuses on […]
Finding the Words: A look at Eastern University’s black- out poetry contest.
Blackout poetry stems from found poetry in which the artist blacks out words, usually with a black marker, in other forms of art. This could be newspapers, magazines, books or any other writing. By blacking out words, a redacted poem is formed. When thinking of poetry, this typically isn’t the […]
The Art of Taking a Breath: What it means to find the peaceful moments amidst the chaos.
The Enneagram Institute defines type ones as being “well-organized, orderly, and fastidious, they try to maintain high standards, but can slip into being critical and perfectionistic.” This trend may seem overdone and tired, but this definition fits me better than my favorite t-shirt. When I got to college, I felt […]
Movie of the Month: “Zack Snyder’s Justice League.”
After four long years in the making, Zack Snyder’s original vision for 2017’s “Justice League” finally released on HBO Max this month. The 2017 version was so utterly disappointing, and a lot of it can be traced back to the turmoil that happened behind the scenes on the production. Zack […]
Dyeing to Know About the Eggs: A brief history on the dyeing of Easter eggs.
For many, dyeing Easter eggs is an annual tradition and a way to spend quality time with family and friends before the Easter holiday. I’ve always wondered how the tradition of making and hiding colored eggs relates to Easter besides getting children more involved in the holiday festivities. So why […]