It may not be a total exaggeration to claim that the British have cornered the fictional murder mystery market. Some of the most popular British television imports are long running detective series like Midsomer Murders, Father Brown, and countless adaptation of Agatha Christie novels. Even the most popular fictional detectives that live in our modern conscious are British — Holmes, Poirot anyone? What is the obsession of this tiny island nation with crime? And when did it begin Historically,…
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Once upon a time there was a girl in Iran and Persepolis is her story. Based on the autobiography of Marjane Satrapi, this quirky animated movie is about the coming of age of young Iranian girl amidst the volatile political climate of the country in 70s and 80s. Plot Summary In 1979, at the start of the Iranian revolution, Marjane was living with her parents in in Tehran. Her grandfather was in prison for being a communist and unsupportive…
What can be more wonderful to a bibliophile than a book about books? Lewis Buzbee’s nonfiction essay on bookshops is a tribute to the love of reading and selling books. Buzbee draws heavily from his decades of experience as an independent bookshop employee and publishing sales representative. “Books connect us with others, but that connection is created in solitude, one reader in one chair hearing one writer, what John Irving refers to as one genius…
“Yosemite Park… None can escape its charms. Its natural beauty cleans and warms like a fire, and you will be willing to stay forever in one place like a tree.” ― John Muir Set in the heart of California, Yosemite National Park is without doubt our favorite national park destination in the state. An easy drive from either north or south of California, the park gets crowded during the summer providing an easy weekend getaway for…
We are three months into 2021 and it’s time to take stock of things in life. COVID-19 is still here, Europe is going back into sporadic lockdowns and we are still asking–WHEN WILL THIS END? But it’s not all gloom and doom. On the personal front, with a new job where I sometimes get paid to write (yay!), a kid back in school and my first shot of COVID vaccine around the corner, I would…
Read Matsuo Basho Create your own poetry. On this day of Spring! It’s April 17th, when we celebrate International Haiku Day worldwide because this form of ancient Japanese poetry is that awesome. If you are nerdy about poetry, then I expect your social feeds to be full of haiku memes, forwards, and jokes. On this day, haiku gets a lot of love in the world. So, What’s A Haiku? For those who are not familiar, haiku…
