As sensitive as Angelenos are to rain, attendance at the 2016 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books impressed, well, everyone. On Saturday, the first day of the festival and one of the rainiest days of the year, scores of blue umbrellas dotted the USC campus, with each umbrella representing a new subscriber to the Los … Continue reading Puddles, Peaches, Parks, and More at the 2016 LA Times Festival of Books
L.A. Zine Fest 2016: A Recap
Last weekend, the Majestic Downtown was packed to the gills for the annual L.A. Zine Fest, in a heartwarming outpour of support for the zine community. In a day and age where an online mass-market retailer controls a horrifyingly large share of the publishing industry, it’s amazing to see so many people active and involved … Continue reading L.A. Zine Fest 2016: A Recap
On Sweet Valley High, Chris Brown, and Being a Bad Feminist with Roxane Gay
I came to realize that I might be a “bad feminist” around the same time Beyoncé’s surprise album dropped. I loved the album. I mean, I liked Beyoncé a lot before the 13th of December 2013, but the album led me towards a whole new realm of fangirldom. As always, the tuneage was excellent, but what got me … Continue reading On Sweet Valley High, Chris Brown, and Being a Bad Feminist with Roxane Gay
Ladies We Love: Roxane Gay
I owe a lot to Roxane Gay. Her thoughtful pieces on current events and pop culture allow me to think more clearly about my own feelings on these topics in the news. I can't tell you how many times her Salon.com articles have saved me from being an inarticulate rage monster on social media, spewing … Continue reading Ladies We Love: Roxane Gay
Ladies We Love: Emmy the Great
About six years ago, a friend gave me a mix CD (remember those?) with recordings of SXSW performances, including tracks from a set by Emmy the Great (the stage name of London-based songstress Emma-Lee Moss). Ten seconds into the first song, "We Almost Had a Baby," I had chills running down my spine. "Well you didn't … Continue reading Ladies We Love: Emmy the Great
Ladies We Love: Jane Borden
As a small-town-raised, Greek-life-affiliated southern transplant living in the big city, I could certainly relate to Jane Borden’s laugh-out-loud memoir, I Totally Meant to Do That, which her website describes as the musings of “a Cerberus, a griffin or one of those joints near Port Authority that’s both a Pizza Hut and a Taco Bell…a hybrid too … Continue reading Ladies We Love: Jane Borden
Dinner Party 