Man Lives With Mother, Film at 11

Last updated on: January 4, 2014 at 2:54 pm By Eve Tushnet

No, this is a really good piece, from the LA Times: I have a confession to make. I am a 25-year-old living with his mother, the walking stereotype of a millennial. Raised on unearned parental affirmation, equipped with elevated self-esteem, we graduated from college only to face the most dismal economy since the Great Depression. One result, according to a 2012 Pew study, was that 36% of the nation’s 18- to 31-year-olds were bunking in their parents’ homes. They call... Read more

Seasons Change With Their Scenery: Best-of 2013

Last updated on: December 29, 2013 at 11:05 pm By Eve Tushnet

An annual tradition. Here’s the one from last year; here are the previous ones. As always, “best” is an unstable mix of “my personal favorites” and “stuff I actually think has exceptional quality.” I’ll defend anything listed in this post with my teeth, but I don’t want to fight you about whether Life and Fate is really “better” than A House for Mr Biswas…. Best books read for the first time (non-fiction): Kathryn Edin and Timothy J. Nelson, Doing the... Read more

Read This Great Sharp Poem While I Work on My Best-Of Post.

Last updated on: December 29, 2013 at 6:57 pm By Eve Tushnet

Thank you! Read more

“Stephen King and That Awful Muttering Voice”: Me in AmSpec

Last updated on: December 27, 2013 at 12:14 pm By Eve Tushnet

now available in full: What do you do when you’re in a Stephen King novel, but you’re not a Stephen King character anymore? Or rather: What do you do when you’re Stephen King, but you’re not a Stephen King character anymore? more–spoilerous for the middle of The Shining, but I like this article. For more on the point I’m trying to make at the end, see here. Read more

Christmas Songs: “Go! Move! Shift!”

Last updated on: December 26, 2013 at 10:53 pm By Eve Tushnet

I am used to the Boiled in Lead version, but that isn’t on YouTube, so here is Christy Moore. Christmas lyrics: Without Christmas lyrics, but punchier: Read more

“The Gift of Belly-Button Lint”: Calah Is Great

Last updated on: December 26, 2013 at 8:59 pm By Eve Tushnet

I suspect many of you have been here: …Simcha wrote a funny post once about how stupid this song is, particularly this version. But this is one of my favorite Christmas songs, especially this version. It reminds me of The Clown of God…you give the Christ child what you have to give, even if it’s the only thing you have to give. Shane McGowan singing this song breaks my heart, because I recognize that kind of brokenness. There is an... Read more

A Circus “Swan Lake”

Last updated on: December 26, 2013 at 1:42 pm By Eve Tushnet

Must be seen to be believed. Read more

From Carl Phillips, “Civilization”

Last updated on: December 26, 2013 at 1:32 pm By Eve Tushnet

…There’s an art to everything. Even turning away. How eventually even hunger can become a space to live in. How they made out of shamelessness something beautiful, for as long as they could. (that’s the end of the poem and the part I like, but the whole thing is here) Read more