The Internet, Desire & Depression
Is Facebook making us depressed? For at least some users, the answer to that question may be yes, according to a new study out of the University of Missouri. Researchers there found that when Facebook users primarily use the popular social network to compare their friends’ lives to their own, the result is often envy. […]
Tales of a Third Grade Celebrity
Way, way back in the day—1972, to be precise—Judy Blume published a children’s novel called Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. To be honest, even though Bloom’s books were pretty popular when I was a kid, I never actually read it. But Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing still strikes me as an evocative title, one […]
The Pope Talks Media Influence on Families
Technology can be a great boon to communication. But it can also be an isolating influence too, something that keeps families from talking instead of enhancing their relational ties. That’s one of the significant takeaways from Pope Francis’ recent message on the 49th World Communications Day. I’m not Catholic, but I appreciated the Pope’s recognition […]
Of Frogs, Kettles and Spiritual Renewal
I want to take something of a personal detour in the blog today—but one that I think relates very much to the media-and-message flooded world in which we swim these days. Specifically, I’m going to reflect on something that anyone who’s been a Christian for any period of time probably knows, but something we so […]
Fifty Trades of ‘Shades’?
The big-screen adaptation of E.L. James’ bestselling bondage novel Fifty Shades of Grey lands in theaters later this week. Some industry prognosticators are predicting the explicit, controversial film could generate as much as $60 million in its opening weekend. Other voices, however, are not just calling for a boycott of the movie, but asking would-be […]
Video Gaming Like It’s 1980: Intellivision Reloaded
You never know when you might be spontaneously thrust back to one of the best experiences of your childhood. It happened to me the other night. It was late, and we were out of medication that a family member needed before bed. So I dutifully trundled off to Walgreens to procure it. On my way […]
OneRepublic’s Positively Positive Portrait of Fatherhood
Dads often take it on the chin in popular culture. Sitcoms depict us as forgetful, undependable, disheveled doofuses who mysteriously manage to snare pretty ‘n’ petite, omnicompetent wives. On TV and in movies, dads are often overweight, dim-witted, slow-moving targets of clichéd jokes, never mind that science has affirmed over and over again the critical […]
Movie Monday: Taken 3
Movie audiences apparently aren’t as tired of being Taken as all of us movie critics are. Liam Neeson’s third PG-13 patriarchal vengeance fantasy took in an estimated $40.4 million over the weekend, despite the fact that it had barely climbed out of the single digits to a 12% approval rating over at Rotten Tomatoes. In my review of […]
Honey, Where Did We Pack the Rabbit Ears?
I don’t watch much TV. Oh, occasionally, I’ll tune into The Voice or American Idol or Parenthood. But, honestly, that’s about it. If TV went away completely, it wouldn’t bother me much. Except for one fairly glaring exception to everything I just wrote: live sports. This weekend, I was really looking forward to watching the […]
Music Magic 2014: Adam Holz’s Year-End Picks
I really love music, which is one of the reasons why I’m Plugged In’s main music reviewer. But the discouraging reality is that many of the albums and tracks I review each year include problems that span the spectrum from disappointing to heartbreaking to downright foul. So when an album or track turns out to […]