PicoBlog

In my twenties, all of my friends were in pseudo-relationships with men who were “afraid of commitment.” They all watched Sex & the City (which is and was one of the best ways to learn, internalize, and normalize a host of destructive relationship norms), which furthered their commitment that commitment phobia in men is normal, and that every woman’s goal should be to get a man to commit at any cost.

There’s nothing particularly innovative about the self-titled debut of the Madrid trio Alacran. It was recorded in 1969 – the same year Santana’s galvanic debut arrived to deliver the gospel of Latin-rock – but not released until 1971, and then just in Spain and Brazil. Alacran, the group’s only album, is built on common currency rock drum patterns (spiced by conga, cowbell and other percussion), and typical blues-based rhythm guitar patterns.

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” — Leo Tolstoy As we prepare to gather around the conifer, menorah, and unadorned aluminum pole, consider the opening lines of Anna Karenina. Is your family happy or unhappy, and if so, how? The aphorism came to mind thanks to this essay by Colin McGinn (found via The Browser), in which the philosopher admits that it “rings true” and sets out to explain why.

The gossip sites are buzzing with unconfirmed, anonymously sourced tips and weird little clues that erstwhile Friends stars Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer, having confessed to harboring separate secret co-star crushes on each other back in their NBC days, are now seeing each other romantically. To which part of the internet sighs, Ross and Rachel, together for real, at last! And to which I say, ehn, whatever. I know this is grouchy of me.

Week-to-Week is the (mostly) weekly newsletter of Episodic Medium, where I reflect on television and other media. To get future newsletters and learn more about the show’s we’re covering weekly for paid subscribers, sign up below. If you knew me in 2014, you heard about Starz’s filmmaking documentary series The Chair. After getting screeners and attending the show’s TCA panel, it was all I could talk about, and my review of the series finale for The A.

The 3-Word Quote: “Empathy Is Everything” ***Give yourself (or three friends) an early gift. Subscribe here: Pay attention the next time you watch an animated show or movie. Not to the plot or the characterization. But pay attention to the animated characters' hands - and note how many fingers are on each of their hands. You'll quickly notice that most characters have only four fingers on each hand - especially in older movies and shows.

One of the most common ways in which anti-trans activists attempt to delegitimize trans people is by playing the “biological sex” card. As both a biologist and author of several trans-themed books, I have written extensively about the many problems inherent in such “biological sex” arguments. Those writings are collected in Biology, Sex, and Transgender People: A Resource Page. Adding to that body of work, I just released a YouTube video entitled Trans People and Biological Sex: What the Science Says.

What do you call someone who is disgusted by most aspects of women’s bodies? Straight isn’t the first word I would choose. Yet over and over again, I hear of self-identified straight men who seem to find women revolting, while idealizing men. Here’s some of the many ways readers have told me this manifests: Being disgusted by vaginas to the point that he won’t give oral sex, makes crude comments above vaginas, thinks it is normal to be revolted by vaginas, or shames his partner for the way her vagina looks/feels/smells/tastes.

This has obviously been “a thing” for a long time, back to Mary Kay Letourneau and others (and way before that), but it feels like we’ve had a bunch of cases recently of female teachers sleeping with their male students. This one in Missouri is recent: This one is from Iowa, and the teacher had recently gotten married: This one is from Tennessee. She actually got arrested, got released, and reached out to the boy again.