“It can’t be for nothing.” That was Ellie’s refrain in the Last of Us. The belief that, in a desolate, hopeless world in which everyone she cared about either died or left her, her life could mean something. And not just anything, but the saving of the human race. All…

There’s been a lot of time in my days lately, for obvious reasons. Because of that, I’ve run out of excuses to avoid doing two of my favorite activities that require slightly more effort than sitting on the couch: cooking and writing. Unrelated on the surface, I’ve found that my…

As I’m stuck inside finding ways to stay busy, I have come to develop a greater appreciation for modern video games. They’ve come a long way from two paddles bouncing a ball back and forth. Graphics and gameplay are the two most obvious developments, with players able to seamlessly input…

The Sopranos changed TV. This isn’t my uninformed opinion, this is a pretty widely shared view. It helped pave the way for the TV we know today, one that has long-developing character arcs, multi-episode conflicts, and characters whose actions one season affect their lives seasons down the line — and…

English is hard. It’s full of exceptions and rules that are defined by their exceptions. There are several hundred thousand English words, many of which sound alike or are spelled the same way. Commas and apostrophes have precise purposes, but they stick out (or change your meaning entirely) when they’re…

With Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, and their unlikely group of teammates pulling off one of the more unlikely title runs, the Raptors secured the first season since 2006 in which the NBA and NHL champions were first-time winners. And within minutes of the final buzzer going off and the celebrations…

I love football. Despite its many flaws (not the least of which is its complete incompatibility with the human body), football at its best brings together speed, size, strength, athleticism, and strategy in a way that no other sport can. It’s this mix of violence and grace that has helped…

Content marketing is all around us. It’s been more than 20 years since Bill Gates declared that “content is king,” and it’s more true now than ever, when there are so many different ways to consume it. But what makes great content so valuable? …

*Spoilers below* The first time I read Stephen King’s Pet Sematary (now a major motion picture…again), I didn’t really get it. In King’s introduction, he describes it as “what I consider to be the most frightening book I’ve ever written” and “the one I put away in a drawer, thinking…