2023 Books

I read a lot of great books this year - here's my 10 favorite: 10. Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. One thing you can never criticize R.F. Kuang for is being too oblique. The power in her work is just how well she’s able to use compelling narratives to really forcefully hammer a point home without …

Queerbaiting, Real People, and Why Kit Connor Deserved Better

So, let’s talk about queerbaiting. The discussion online around queerbaiting has been increasingly unproductive and, at times, downright toxic for the last couple years. Denizens of the internet will and have called anything and everything that annoys them queerbaiting. But these conversations are bad not just because all conversations on the internet are bad, but …

How Fire Island Nails ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and Pride and Prejudice

In the tradition of many a Pride and Prejudice adaptation, there’s a perfect Jane Austen quote to kick things off. No, not that one. This one: Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, …

Queer Joy and Loss in Heartstopper

In the opening pages of Nick and Charlie, Charlie Spring gushes about his boyfriend, Nick Nelson, as only a totally smitten teenager can:  I have been going out with Nick Nelson since I was fourteen. He likes rugby and Formula 1, animals (especially dogs), the Marvel universe, the sound felt-tips make on paper, rain, drawing …

Tweeting Grief

“For the birds died.” That’s the text I sent to my brother on Tuesday, after seeing a retweet of Deadline’s announcement that Norm MacDonald died of cancer. Reading that without context seems at least flippant, if not callous. And, I guess, even with context, it is probably both of those things. But that’s why it …

Breaking News

Breaking News: The year is 2020, and we have President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. And thank fucking god because the last four years have been a lifetime. And so many people deserved some good news. Some unencumbered, unfiltered, unrestricted joy. I was surprised by the weather on Tuesday at 6AM. It was …

Representation Matters, Who Knew?

On June 18th, I saw Be More Chill, courtesy of a work event. It was loud and fun and weird and a perfectly enjoyable way to spend an evening. And for me, normally, the story of my musical theater going experience would end there: an enjoyable night that I never thought about again.  Of course, …

2019 Reading List

I own a ton of books that I haven't read. I would like that to change this year. Of course I also have a ton of books I don't own that I also would like to read. First, books I own and have not read. I would like to read every book on this list by the …

A Review of Crazy Rich Asians Before Seeing Crazy Rich Asians

"And several years ago, she had been e-mailed a humorous list entitled ‘Twenty Ways You Can Tell You Have Asian Parents.’ Number one on the list: Your parents never, ever call you ‘just to say hello.’ She didn’t get many of the jokes on the list, since her own experience growing up had been entirely …

The Top Nine Remain Unfamiliar With Allegro

Alright, contestants. We get it. You're all sensitive creatures with wonderfully emotive balladeer faces. Now do something else. Anything else. I think I'd be more receptive of these ballads if they made better use of the hilarious staging opportunities. Give me a random couple on a park bench! Light a piano on fire! A bagpipe …