Essays

Adam and Adrienne Abroad: Days 4-6 – Flying, Flowers and the Circle of Life

Hello my friends. I'm back with another report on my progress across the globe with my sweet and wonderful Adrienne. You may remember how last time I told you were embarking on a voyage by land, sea and air across nearly 15 countries and three different continents. Well, we've now made it to the first…Read more Adam and Adrienne Abroad: Days 4-6 – Flying, Flowers and the Circle of Life

After ICE’s Rampage Across Minnesota, We Must Say No to Centrist Democrats

Even after 20 years in power, Minnesota's Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar has not had enough. This winter, she announced she is leaving her Senate digs. But rather than start wrapping up her professional life like non-criminally insane people do at her age, she's decided instead to make a run for the Governor's mansion on Summit…Read more After ICE’s Rampage Across Minnesota, We Must Say No to Centrist Democrats

Adam and Adrienne Abroad – Days 1-3: Beginning at the Beginning

This spring, my partner Adrienne and I made the somewhat difficult decision to quit our jobs and go traveling. Over the next five months, we intend to traverse the entire globe, hitting the following countries as we go: New Zealand Australia Thailand Cambodia Laos Vietnam Kazakhstan Uzbekistan Georgia Turkey Romania Germany France England The impetus…Read more Adam and Adrienne Abroad – Days 1-3: Beginning at the Beginning

“Only the Best”: On Edward Norton’s Good/Bad Performance in The Italian Job

When is a performance good and bad? Obviously, there are many performances out there that are so bad they are good. Edward Norton in 2003's The Italian Job is not one of those. His supporting performance as the villainous Steve is a perfectly acceptable and, at times, even frightening baddie performance. It is bad strictly…Read more “Only the Best”: On Edward Norton’s Good/Bad Performance in The Italian Job

On Peter Jackson’s King Kong and the Problem with Directorial Final Cut

This December will be 20 years since Peter Jackson’s remake of King Kong was released. Premiering on the heels of his iconic, Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings trilogy, few films have probably ever been more anticipated. But when it arrived in theaters (lol, remember going to those?) in Dec. of 2005 it was a…Read more On Peter Jackson’s King Kong and the Problem with Directorial Final Cut

“Let’s See De Niro Do This”: On Orlando Bloom in Deep Cover

Amazon Prime's action-comedy Deep Cover is a decent original film, which is a pretty big thing to say in our era of never-ending streaming slop. Perhaps the main reason why it's so watchable is surprisingly Orlando Bloom. He's deeply funny and delightfully self-aware in the film. Bloom plays Marlon Swift, a failed actor and improv…Read more “Let’s See De Niro Do This”: On Orlando Bloom in Deep Cover

On the Democratic Party’s Long History of Bait and Switch

Last week, the labor organization Workers Strike Back sent an email about the desperate need to build a grassroots movement for Medicare for All. The Democratic Party, they argue, is simply not a reliable actor on the issue. It refuses to mount a serious policy fight to get a program like this passed, instead relying…Read more On the Democratic Party’s Long History of Bait and Switch

Goodbye and Good Riddance to Tina Smith

Minnesota's Junior Senator Tina Smith recently announced that she will not run for reelection in 2026, and nobody should be particularly sad about it. Smith hasn't been a terrible rep., per se., but also not a great one. She achieved a few policy wins and displayed some admirable qualities while in Washington—yet ultimately became complicit…Read more Goodbye and Good Riddance to Tina Smith

On Disney’s Robin Hood: A Triumph of Details Over Structure

Whenever you return to a piece of art after some time away, it's never easy to know what your reaction might be. If enough time has passed, you have likely evolved and so too have your opinions. Recently, however, I rewatched one of my favorite childhood Disney movies, Robin Hood, and I must say, I…Read more On Disney’s Robin Hood: A Triumph of Details Over Structure