The Most Perfect Batman Story — Regardless of the familiarity of the cape, mask, and cowl, every portrayal of Batman is unique. Like snowflakes, no two are the same. Matt Reeves’s new The Batman takes the material more seriously than other incarnations, with the darkness turned up and the humor more subtle. …

Pay Attention to What You’re Paying Attention to — M y hometown was 43 miles away from San Francisco, and a drive to SF felt like a vacation into another world. Crossing the Bay Bridge. Oakland, Sacramento, driving hours in any direction was better than staying in Vallejo. Something gets emphasized when we stare at our hometowns for too…

Talk to Yourself like You’re Someone You Value — Remember when I told you I wasn’t going to throw bible scriptures at you in this book? I lied. But I lied just this one time. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” …

How Peace is Made and Lost — Without proper negotiation, no definition will do peace justice. The word is too expansive, modest, loaded with nuance, and practical. In terms of mental states, peace is a penny, taken for granted unless continuously multiplied. Because what meaning does a peaceful day possess if not compared against memories of a…

The penny of desired mental states — Without negotiation, no definition will do peace justice. The word is too expansive, modest, loaded with nuance, and practical. The penny of desired mental states, peace is taken for granted unless continuously multiplied. Yet peace is not entirely mysterious to us: we recognize it in people’s words, actions, and characters…

A Story of Community, Values, Media, and Jesus — Last Wednesday, I spent three hours on the phone talking with my best friend about her relationship troubles. The conversation caused my phone to heat my cheek. She wasn’t hurting outright but was just inquisitive. Her boyfriend, whom she loved greatly, wasn’t spending enough time with her. When they were…

Sex, Relationships, and Ceremonies — When anthropologists discuss marriage, it’s like they talk about it differently from us mere mortals. They can find significant differences between love and nuptials, zeroing in on marriage’s practical utility. Successfully transmitting genetic material from generation to generation is the primary purpose of any marriage system. However, anthropologists also make…

Hollywood, the Left, and Fantasized Racism — I didn’t necessarily want to watch HBO’s version of Watchmen. I promise. I was scrolling through my Amazon Firestick’s options when the first episode popped on the screen. I love watching movies and television, especially alone. Watching a good piece of content feels like a one on one conversation with…

How We Dream Matters as Much as What We Dream — When I was 23-years-old in college, I published my first book about the future of the world. The year was 2018, during the height of the Trump Administration, and I was the only person from my hometown who attempted to write professionally. …