KFC’s Chicken Corsage: The Zeitgeist Roosts on Your Wrist
Two pop culture institutions came together this week when KFC, the fast food restaurant chain, announced that it had created, in conjunction with a florist in Kentucky, a chicken-themed corsage for...
View ArticleThe Tiny House Movement: Where Two or Three May Gather
Tiny houses are a big deal. The trend toward building smaller homes — as in really small, with some homes measuring just 80 square feet or so — has continued to gain momentum since its surge during the...
View ArticleShould the Church Chase the Coffee Trend?
No one could doubt the cultural significance of coffee after checking out any of the available coffee apps, the most recent of which, Brewseful, is generating buzz. Coffee brewing times, coffee pour...
View ArticleA Satanic Monument on Capitol Grounds? An Outward Symbol of Nothing New
A group of Satanists have raised nearly 30,000 dollars to erect a statue of Satan on Capitol grounds in Oklahoma. The design of the monument depicts a seated Prince of Darkness with the cut torso of a...
View ArticleLiterature on our Burrito Packaging is the Transcendent Moment We Deserve
If you love both literature and Chipotle’s Mexican Grill, then you’re in luck, as Chipotle’s take-out bags now sport excerpts from the work of contemporary writers. In between gulps of soda you can...
View ArticleThe Duck Dynasty Bible and the Problem of Hero Worship
The wildly popular A&E show Ducky Dynasty has proven to be a juggernaut of marketing, with the stars of the show, the Robertson family, offering paraphernalia ranging from Christmas albums to...
View Article‘The Slender Man Made Me Do It': Compelled to Violence by an Internet Myth
Recently two young girls from Wisconsin, both just 12 years old, took another friend into the woods and stabbed her 19 times. Their victim survived only because she was able to crawl to a nearby road...
View ArticleThe Simpsons and Us, Together Forever
FXX is throwing The Simpsons a party, a 12-day viewing party. In celebration of the sitcom’s 25th anniversary, and in recognition of its being the longest-running sitcom ever, the cable channel is...
View ArticleBeauty for Ashes: The Hope of Beauty After Suffering
By the time my grandmother died, she was nothing more than a curled-up reminder of a person, lying in a hospital bed. She was shaped like a question mark as she lay on her side, waiting to be flipped...
View ArticleLena Dunham & Jill Duggar: Baring It All for Us
Lena Dunham has a problem. She has lots of problems, actually, which she doesn’t mind sharing with us. From traumatic encounters with puppies (in the The New Yorker) to struggling with...
View ArticleOn Listening to Serial, and Finding Myself Guilty
Guilty or not guilty. It’s the crux of the matter. It’s why five million (and counting) listeners of the Serial podcast anxiously await each new installment. Serial tells the story of a crime that...
View ArticleFranco and LaBeouf: The Wizards of Oscillation
For those of you keeping score in the art-off between James Franco and Shia LaBeouf, Shia LaBeouf is winning. Lately it has been one triumph after another for Shia, from his stint as a performance...
View ArticleThe One-Dimensional Humanity of ‘Downton Abbey’
It is a truth universally acknowledged that winter in New England, where I live, can be cold and long and dark. This is why, for the last four Januaries, I have looked forward to the return of Downton...
View ArticleHoly Relics: The Choir Robe
Every Wednesday in Holy Relics, Martyn Jones explores artifacts unique to Christian subculture. Except this Wednesday. This week, S.D. Kelly is the Holy Relics Guest Writer. The choir robes at my...
View ArticleMoral Clarity in ‘Grantchester,’ Or What’s Oprah Got to Do with It?
Nothing is more off-putting than moral certitude. What we used to know for sure about right and wrong has been reduced to a handful of proscriptives—ones related to social ills, mostly. The exception...
View ArticleSo Much Stuff, So Little Time: How Do We Keep Our Possessions from Possessing...
I have a lot of stuff. I have less stuff than many of my fellow Americans, so at times, I feel self-satisfied. But then I realize I have a lot more than I need, so my sense of self-satisfaction...
View ArticleRemembering the Goodness of Gilbert Blythe and the Magic of ‘Anne of Green...
When I heard that Jonathan Crombie died last week, I let out an involuntary gasp, as did a good portion of the middle-aged North American female population. We’re the ones who watched the CBC version...
View ArticleCool Takes: Can Leslie Knope Save Our Politics?
Every other Wednesday in Cool Takes, S. D. Kelly offers a fresh reflection on hot topics by exploring the intersection of faith with high and low culture. As far as politicians go, Leslie Knope is a...
View ArticleCool Takes: ‘Murder, She Wrote’ and Sleuthing for Virtue
Every other Wednesday in Cool Takes, S. D. Kelly offers a fresh reflection on hot topics by exploring the intersection of faith with high and low culture. The best thing about Jessica Fletcher, the...
View ArticleCool Takes: Drew Barrymore’s Celebrity Marriage after Divorce
Every other Wednesday in Cool Takes, S. D. Kelly offers a fresh reflection on hot topics by exploring the intersection of faith with high and low culture. Drew Barrymore is getting divorced. She’s been...
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