As I’m sure all self-deprecating social commentary warriors are aware, Fox’s animated sitcom Family Guy turned twenty this year. The show centers on the Griffin family who live in the fictional city of Quahog, Rhode Island. As South Park‘s younger sibling (by fifty-ish episodes) it has offered us many a politically incorrect glimpse into the mind of its creator, Seth MacFarlane—glimpses outlined by the endearing nature of Saturday morning cartoons. Except the first episode didn’t air on a Saturday…it aired on a Sunday: January 31st, 1999. Since then, the show’s outlandish success has given Seth MacFarlane the type of …
And also, to me. A few days a week, my third-grade teacher would read us Harry Potter books. At recess, word would get out that we were on the brink of story time and everyone would feel a little less trapped (not a good word to use when talking about grade school, I know). I vividly remember being amongst thirty or so (deathly quiet) kids as we all listened to her read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Most of my memories of elementary school involve a lot of headaches and staring …
What do we say to the God of death? You ever have this strange feeling like you miss someone you’ve never met? You look for them everywhere and in everyone, but nothing fills that void. Then maybe you realize that the person you miss might just be a part of yourself, a tiny fraction rooted in uninhibited truth. A fraction that is often felt and filled when you pick up a book or stumble upon a story that negates any emptiness. Because sometimes, a good story is exactly what you’ve been looking for—what you’ve missed. George R.R. Martin’s A Song …
Everyone loves free stuff. I’m not talking about the type “free stuff” that comes in the mail or out of a slot machine (although that’s fantastic too); the type of “free stuff” I’m referring to has to do with human relationships. Seemingly insignificant niceties that are always appreciated but all too often forgotten about. Casual gifts, hand-me-downs, choosing to grab the bill at dinner, or just buying your friend a beer. That last one holds a special place in my heart. I love a nice cold free beer: one drank at the end of a long week and bought by …
Celebrity hair collectors are in mourning today; leather jacket-clad professors, archeologists, and overzealous superfans bow their heads. Yet another treasure has been taken off the strand search list—none other than the long-sought-after braided lock of English novelist and poet, Charlotte Brontë. This news comes via an episode of Antiques Roadshow where a woman appeared on the show with a ring inscribed with the words “C. Brontë” on it (along with the date the writer died). The show’s appraiser, Geoffrey Munn spoke with a woman who found the ring in her late father in law’s attic hidden inside a mysterious box. Clearly, the man …
