Previously in this series, I talked about what I discovered when I dug into the “dirt” that Facebook collected from me – revealing not Pandora’s box, but a treasure trove. Now, I want to take a moment to discuss how Facebook’s business model works: which is that their product is you. Let’s take a look. The Information Age Facebook is famously free to use. When Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO and Founder, was asked a few days ago how this was... Read more
In the wake of Mark Zuckerberg’s hearing on Capitol Hill about Facebook’s distribution of its users’ privacy, I ran across an article in the New York Times about how to download your FB data to see what the social media platform “has” on you. (Download your FB data here.) I followed the steps and about ten minutes later was sifting through a compressed file including incredibly old Facebook messages, my entire timeline, videos and photographs, events I hosted, and the... Read more
The following contains spoilers for the entirety of A Series of Unfortunate Events. Dear Reader, By now you may have heard of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events which is both a popular series of thirteen dreadful novels and a television series inexplicably hosted on Netflix. The word “inexplicably” here meaning that “Netflix saw an opportunity to cash in on a popular series of thirteen dreadful novels.” Written by Daniel Handler, the man behind “Lemony Snicket,” each book begins... Read more
A man and a woman meet. He’s tall, handsome, charismatic. Looks a lot like Hugh Jackman because, in fact, it is Hugh Jackman, decked out in top hat and tails and a thousand watt grin. The woman, an opera singer swathed in silks, flutters her lashes and gazes up coyly. (She is a red-head after all. The universal signal of what her favorite scarlet letter must be.) The movie is The Greatest Showman, the latest Hugh Jackman-headlined musical, very loosely... Read more
Before Easter, I gave my hot take on whether to see NBC’s live musical, Jesus Christ Superstar. Hopes were high, and although I couldn’t see the musical live (since I was on holiday with my friend, feasting after the fast), I was heartened by seeing all my cynical theatre friends gush over how great the telecast was. Still: as mentioned before, I do not care for this particular musical as a piece of art. I sought a professional opinion first.... Read more
Last year, concurrent with Lent, I prepped and then underwent bariatric surgery. For those of you who may not know what this is: bariatric surgery is a means whereby the stomach is reduced to help a person lose a considerable amount of weight. Most people have heard of a gastric bypass, which is one form of the procedure, but I opted to get the newer “sleeve” which—rather than rerouting this intestine to that intestine and tying off this bit and... Read more
READ THE FULL REVIEW! On Easter Sunday, NBC will air a live rendition of Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Tim Rice. (Read more about the production on Kate O’Hare’s blog.) But the burning question is: Should I see it? Let the Pop Feminist break down Webber’s hot take the last days of Passion Week according to Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. What’s the Buzz? What’s the Heresy? I imagine the greatest matter of concern is whether... Read more
Today, I had the opportunity to lector for Palm Sunday mass. The church, St. Malachy’s ~ The Actors’ Chapel, situated in the heart of Times Square, sandwiched rather ironically between Chicago and Book of Mormon, is fairly well attended each Sunday at 6 PM as the matinees get out and tourists stream in, accompanied by folks who live in the area (yes, there are families who live near Times Square), and parishioners like myself who come from the outer boroughs and call St.... Read more
For this series, we’re going to be looking at how the new Star Wars films differ in their fundamental mythology from the original Lucas-helmed trilogy and prequels…and why that’s got everyone in a tizzy. The Force A-wokens For a franchise as beloved as Star Wars, there is bound to be controversy over every new installment in what is, essentially, the formation of a uniquely American mythology. And why shouldn’t there be? If art is what tells us what’s normal, mythology... Read more
I’m working on an article for you all about just why you may have hated Vice Admiral Holdo (I mean, besides her wardrobe), but in the meantime I invite you to read my in-depth analysis of the narrative of failure in the Star Wars franchise – compleate with gifs! We don’t like to talk about failure much in our modern day myths. Going in to see Wonder Woman or the latest Avengers flick, or just about any sci-fi franchise, we... Read more
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