Category: Culture & Commentary
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Big Brother Season 27: A Bittersweet Goodbye
Finale night always carries a strange mix of excitement and sadness. For me, it’s not unlike the end of a summer spent working at Cedar Point. While I wasn’t locked away in a house for 90 days, I worked up to 100 hours a week, six days at a time, living in dorm housing and…
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The Shift from Liberalism to Identity Politics
I’m 51 years old, a Gen Xer who grew up believing in liberal ideals. For most of my life, I thought I understood what it meant to be a Democrat: fighting for fairness, standing up for the underdog, and pushing for progress. But over time, I began to see a shift. For me, the change…
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The Real Cost of Feminism: A Personal Reflection
I was 17 the first time I heard Gloria Steinem speak at a rally for young women. We were told we were powerful.That we could do anything.That we didn’t need men, and we certainly didn’t need to raise them. Back then, it sounded like a revolution.Today, it sounds like indoctrination. 💔 Nobody Asked the Children…
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From Trauma Bond to Fractured Trust: A Nation’s Lament
I still remember September 12, 2001. The day after the towers fell, we were all glued to our televisions, hearts heavy, eyes swollen, minds trying to grasp the horror of what had just unfolded. It was trauma bonding on a national scale. For a fleeting moment, grief bound us together. Flags waved from porches. Strangers…
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Sunday Showdown in the Big Brother Fandom
If you thought Big Brother couldn’t get any messier after the BB Blockbuster twist, think again. This week, the fandom is in full meltdown mode following Rachel Reilly’s shocking elimination after Week 8. Her departure wasn’t the result of a vote, a veto, or even a classic backdoor. Instead, it came courtesy of the “White…
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A Lot Like Love: Moments That Redefine Romance
Before swipe-right culture and algorithm-driven meet-cutes, there was something magical about serendipity. A Lot Like Love (2005), starring Amanda Peet and Ashton Kutcher, is a testament to that beautiful chaos of timing, chemistry, and chance. It’s not just a rom-com—it’s a soft, slow burn that captures what it means to grow up, fall apart, and…
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Throwback Thursday with HEART: When Love Songs Met Power Chords
Marriage can be a kind of wonderful thing—two people blending their lives together, sharing dreams, and building memories. But what happens when they have distinct differences of opinion? Case in point: my hubby likes to play DJ. And when he does, he always goes for classic 70s HEART—songs like Crazy on You, Magic Man, and…
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Wednesday Wisdom: Pop Culture, Love, and the Truth About Marriage
Having to navigate the shattered shards of my parents’ marriage made me skeptical about love from the beginning. Their subsequent debacle of relationships left the kids as casualties, and I carried that distrust into adulthood. Later, working in VIP Services on the Las Vegas Strip, I saw another side of broken vows—men gleefully repeating the…
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The American Dream: Bigger Was Never Better
When the Wall Street Journal runs a headline about Americans being “trapped” in smaller homes and jobs they can’t leave, it strikes a nerve. For Gen Xers like me, the question isn’t whether the American Dream is collapsing—it’s whether we’ve misunderstood what the dream really was all along. The Roots of the Dream The real…
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Throwback Thursday: What Are Words For?
Last night, my husband played Words by Missing Persons, and it was a blast from the past. I honestly feel like I haven’t heard it in forever. But this time, instead of just bobbing my head to Dale Bozzio’s wild vocals and new wave synth, I actually listened to the lyrics. And it hit me—forty-plus…
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Narcissists in the Wild
“You’re special. Different. I see you.”—Joe Goldberg, YOU “They love the spotlight. They charm a room. They always come back until you figure them out.”—Every survivor of a narcissist, ever We’ve All Met Him. Sometimes he looks like a brooding bookstore owner with a tragic backstory (Joe Goldberg).Other times, he stands on the world stage…
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Hello, You. Social Media Was Made for Narcissists
Hello, You. (Read in your inner Joe Goldberg Voice)Scrolling again, aren’t you? Feed after feed, story after story. You tell yourself it’s just to “stay connected,” but let’s not lie to each other. Social media isn’t just a connection, it’s a stage. And on this stage? The narcissists are the headliners. They thrive here, don’t…
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