Jen R.

  • 1-5 Overpass Songs

    Like most city commuters, I like to mix it up when it comes to how I get to and from work. I’ve recently moved, so now it’s full on bus both ways. But before I moved, I would usually walk to work and bus home or vice versa. I tried to vary my route so… Continue reading

  • Mumblewhat?

    “Mumblecore” is a term used to describe a type of movie that’s been flourishing in the last few years: small, independent films where the focus is on dialogue and everyday interactions between characters that are realistic in tone. Many of the movies are made by one group of rotating directors, writers, and actors who work… Continue reading

  • Spooky Pioneer Tales

    As a little girl, I was constantly reading books like Little House on the Prairie and fantasized about being a homesteader. When I grew up, I began reading more realistic local history, and discovered that living in the middle of nowhere can be brutally hard on a person. Here are some books from one of my favorite… Continue reading

  • Good Shouters

    I was raised listening to two bands: the Rolling Stones and The Beatles. Now that I’m older, I can fully appreciate Mick Jagger’s swagger and his singing, but as a child, I much preferred McCartney and Lennon. Why? Easy. Because they were shouters. Since then, I’ve gravitated toward the shouting musicians. Punk is fun, and… Continue reading

  • Perfect(ly) Ending Movies

    For me, a “perfect ending” to a movie isn’t a wrap up, a happy ending or even a satisfying dénouement. Instead, a movie has a perfect ending when it stops just exactly where it should. Sometimes this is even in the middle of a scene. There’s something magical about ending on an unexpected note, leaving… Continue reading

  • Winsor McCay: Ahead of his time

    Have you ever looked at the art of someone like Hieronymus Bosch and wondered “What century did this guy come from?” He lived in the 15th and 16th centuries, but his art is so modern and fanciful that it almost seems out of place. Did Bosch hitch a ride in a flying saucer and visit 1940?… Continue reading

  • I’ve Got a Secret: Intellectual freedom and you.

    Intellectual Freedom can mean many things: the right to read scandalous or subversive books, patron privacy, and access to information. Today I want to focus on access to information – and more specifically, government information. When politicians talk about government transparency, what do they mean, exactly? What kind of information is given to the public… Continue reading