Hear, Here! was the chant, and sponsor, of the night at Ivywild School in Colorado Springs as female poets Susan Peiffer, Nicole Wilkinson, Denali Gillaspie, and legend Andrea Gibson graced the stage of the old school auditorium. Gibson said that she had performed at a church once, expecting it to have been overtaken by artists and converted like the Ivywild School, but it was just a regular church. Self-styled cynic and revolutionary
E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey continues to sweep the nation like a hurricane, leaving confusion and commotion in its relentless path, especially given the buzz over an upcoming film adaptation. The first in a trilogy of novels often referred to as “Twilight for grown-ups” and “mommy porn,” these soulless works have boomed in popularity, a fact that surprises many recreational readers. But a handful of vague, dismissive, or morally alarmist cultural assumptions won’t serve to explain this phenomenon. To the contrary,
Getting booed by a class of thirteen-year-old girls only required four words from me: “I didn’t like Twilight.” The clamor subsided once I launched into some logical reasons behind the choice: Bella is a poor role model for young girls, too weak, cliché, and simple-minded to be inspiring or interesting. Likewise, the other characters’ motivations and development are as ridiculous as a polar bear on roller skates. In fact, I
While checking my Facebook the other day, I noticed a friend had posted the following: “Hey nerd friends, how does the new Star Trek movie look to you? Based off of the trailers I’m thinking this movie is way off base with Gene Roddenberry’s vision. Star Trek isn’t about non stop action and explosions… I’m really hoping for some life lessons or mind opening ideas. Of course we won’t know ’till its
