‘Kim’s Convenience’ is hilarious but I feel bad for laughing — The beginning of Kim’s Convenience makes two things abundantly clear: the sitcom is going to make you laugh, and you are probably going to feel a little weird about it. In the very first scene, two gay men enter the store and ask Mr. Kim, the store’s proprietor and a…

Based on a highly scientific method of my own making — Summer is right around the corner and you know what that means: movie season. Because the natural response to beautiful weather is to hide from the sun in dark, air conditioned rooms and eat enormous tubs of popcorn. Although it will be 80 degrees here in Michigan next week, I…

What the heck, I’ll even rank them for you — To my great shame, I was unaware that yesterday was National Superhero Day, a fact I only came aware of after Paul Combs tagged me on a piece in honor of such an auspicious occasion. As penance, I have prepared this piece and also flogged myself. I wasn’t going to…

10 things I’ve been keeping from you — Given I’ve been writing here for three years, coming up with 10 things you couldn’t know about me was harder than I’d expected. I’ve already written about my estrangement from my father, getting married at 21, even my time bagging groceries. I think I've mentioned Star Wars before. …

Elegant weapons for all ages, civilized and otherwise. — Some weapons are simply a cut above. They make their wielders more: more powerful, more special, more dangerous. And the best weapons simply look cool while doing it. These are in no particular order, mostly because they are all awesome, but also because if I was ranking them, the lightsaber…

Social conventions were unequal to my introverted apathy — In the Long Ago, the edicts governing suburban life were laid down on stone tablets procured from a Sears catalog. Such rules included things such as: thy lawn shall be shorter than thy neighbor’s, lest thou appear a lazy slob. thou shall not blocketh the sidewalk with thy motor vehicle. …

And also: they suck — Christmas time at my dad’s was always a two-sided affair. On one hand: presents. On the other: condescension and criticism, a stomach-churning stew that inflicted psychological damage that lingers to this day (the gift that keeps on giving!). We dreaded going but at least our suffering bore much fruit: sporting…

5 thoughts about the ‘Halo’ TV show, including WTF — Spoilers for the first two episodes of Halo. I didn’t go into this expecting the second coming of Star Wars. If it was in the ballpark of a Battlestar Galactica or The Expanse, I would’ve been happy. Thrilled, even. Science Fiction has a history of being bad TV, and this…