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Writing

The Little Bookshop in the Middle of the Desert

I saw the desert for the first time 12 years ago, from the window of my Ford Taurus as I relocated my life from Central New York to Los Angeles, California.

It’s inspired and terrified me ever since that day.

I enjoy waking up in the cool mornings of New Mexico or Arizona, seeing a technicolor landscape of cacti, mountains and big sky. I enjoy the Southwest’s mix of cultures, evident in the art, food, architecture and decor. I enjoy the sparseness of it all–the lack of people, the lack of pretentiousness, the ability to travel for miles without seeing a single structure made from man.

But during those hot, blistering days when cover is a rarity and the ground looks well-done, that is when I’m terrified. When I see the sharp edges of the desert’s foliage, the slithering of its snakes, the warnings of the various hardened animals that can only survive in a climate such as that, I’m in full freak out mode. But that fear keeps me coming back for more.

And that is why I find (more…)

November 7, 2016 by hipstercrite

Writing

Harry Dean Stanton: Celebrating 90 Years of Awesomeness

Harry Dean Stanton: Celebrating 90 Years of Awesomeness

On October 23, Santa Monica video rental store-turned-nonprofit Vidiots bestowed the Harry Dean Stanton Award to Harry Dean Stanton. It was an unforgettable night for an unforgettable actor.

Harry Dean Stanton.

He may be one of your favorite actors, or you may be wondering who the hell he is.

You‘ve definitely seen him.

He’s acted in over 200 films, from Repo Man to Pretty in Pink to Cool Hand Luke to Wild at Heart to Alien to Paris, Texas, his only leading-role film.

Stanton is the rugged-face actor with soul-betraying eyes and firm-yet-soothing voice.

He’s the guy who always stole the show, even when he was second billed, third billed or not billed at all.

He’s the grandfather figure you’d love to grab a drink with because something about him suggests he’s one of us, the everyday man or woman.

For all of these (more…)

October 30, 2016 by hipstercrite

Writing

Punctuation Mistakes You’re Making and NEED TO STOP DOING RIGHT NOW

THE COMMA GOES INSIDE THE QUOTATION MARKS.

Friends, I used to be really bad at punctuation. Sometimes I look back at old work and want to chuck my coffee mug at the screen. “How could you have been so dumb, you assclown?” I ask myself. But I was a complete novice then; I couldn’t recall much from my public school English courses. It wasn’t until I became a copywriter and copy editor that I truly learned what the hell a semicolon is. (Granted, it is kind of the Shia LaBeouf of punctuation: confusing yet intriguing.)

Sometimes I see that writers on Medium make common punctuation mistakes. These mistake are easy to make, and they don’t define you as a writer. However, it’s time to fix that shit.

NOW.

Below is a quick guide to common punctuation mistakes.

(Please note, GRAMMAR NAZIS: I’ve selected punctuation rules based on the most common writing style guides of America. I’m sure you can dispute one or two of these here — SAVE IT FOR LATER.)

(And if I have a typo or mistake in (more…)

October 13, 2016 by hipstercrite

Hipstercrite Life, Thirty-something

Your Mother, Wife or Daughter Has Experienced Harassment or Assault

Inspired by Kelly Oxford’s tweet, I asked my friends and family to share their stories of assault. I was not prepared for the answers I received.

In order to protect the identity of those who were brave enough to share their stories on my Facebook status, I will not share their comments, but I will tell you that within a few hours of asking my peers if they’ve experienced sexual harassment or assault, 50 women responded.

These 50 women wrote of being raped by loved ones, people they trusted.

They wrote of being groped by medical professionals or bosses.

They wrote of having their breasts grabbed or their vaginas or buttholes fingered by friends at school or strangers at a bar.

They wrote of being harassed “too many times to count.”

A few women shared their stories for the first time.

Some shared their stories with me privately.

The stories came from women ages 20 to 70, and they were all difficult to read. However, their responses reconfirmed several truths including (more…)

October 10, 2016 by hipstercrite

Hipstercrite Life, Travel

How Traveling the U.S. Made Me F’ing Love Our National Parks

I must admit: Up until this year I didn’t think much about our national parks.

As a person who appreciates nature, but often stays clear of destinations that draws large crowds, the national parks fell roughly between “meeting Danny DeVito” and “petting a sloth” on my bucket list. (Meaning “nice-to-haves,” not “must-haves.”)

That all changed this summer when a I traveled 5500 miles by car across the great United States of America simply because I’m terrified of flying. And when I say terrified, I mean the last time I took a flight — 3 years ago — I had:

Two Xanax
Three cocktails
One activity tracker that kept telling me my heart rate was over 200 beats per minute.
The realization that I was not going to die because of a plane crash but because of a massive heart attack.

Ever since that day, I swore off flying and have strictly traveled by car or train. (You can read about my train travels here.)

So when my mother, a citizen of New York, (more…)

September 19, 2016 by hipstercrite

Pop Culture

The Most Fantastical Doctor Who-Themed Baby Room

I’m a Doctor Who fan.

And when I say I’m a Doctor Who fan, I mean I’ve only watched Doctor Who 2005 and on. (That didn’t stop me from dressing as the Fourth Doctor for Halloween.)

Bf=Eleventh Doctor; me= Fourth Doctor

My love for Doctor Who is what made me FREAK THE F OUT when I saw that my friend Jacqueline made her baby’s room all Doctor-themed.

I asked her a few questions about how she decorated the room, where she got the decor and what inspired her to do it.

P.S. Since I interviewed her, Jacqueline gave birth to a happy, healthy baby girl named Gwendolyn.

What inspired you to create a Doctor Who room?

Jacqueline: My husband and I got into the show a bit over 4 years ago and while he really likes the show, it kind of became an obsession of mine. When we talked about a nursery, it was easily agreed upon that it needed to be Doctor Who themed. The show is perfect for all ages (well, maybe a (more…)

September 13, 2016 by hipstercrite

Film, Pop Culture

Dear Gene Wilder…

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I wrote this last year on the Before I Die wall.

We never met, but like many fans, I felt like I knew you.

It’s a funny concept, isn’t it? The idea that millions of people around the world feel close to you simply because your job is to act onscreen.

I often wonder what it must be like for celebrities. Humbling? Annoying? At first humbling, then annoying?

For us fans, it’s often the highlight of our weeks, months or years.

There were few famous people I wanted to meet in this world, but you were one of them. Something about you felt familiar. Maybe it was because you were Jewish, and I’m Jewish, and though neither one of us practiced, it felt like an important part of who we are.

Or maybe it was the way you presented yourself onscreen. Though you could act manic, there was a softness to you, betrayed by your bright blue eyes. You had the ability to look as though you were about to burst into tears or hysterically (more…)

August 30, 2016 by hipstercrite

Hipstercrite Life

In All the Ways I’ve Become a Crazy Cat Lady

You see, I’ve never owned a cat before this one.

I never even thought about cats.

Dogs seemed like the only sensible companion to humans.

They need us, we need them and we find mutual enjoyment out of one another.

Cats on the other hand, they didn’t seem to fit that mold.

They’re aloof, cold, dangerous when claws exposed.

Of course there are the “dog-like” cats, but why not just get a dog then?

I realized how wrong I was when she came into my life.

She being FatFace, a 5-pound adult feral with three teeth, a bruiser face and a heart made of cotton candy and Nicholas Sparks books.

Over the course of a year, this orange street cat went from looking at human beings with extreme terror and skepticism to now rubbing her face up against mine and sleeping on my chest nightly.

Watching FatFace transform from a malnourished wilding to a happy snuggler has filled my heart with so much joy, sometimes I feel like throwing up. I’m in love, and I’ve quickly spiraled into the malady (more…)

August 24, 2016 by hipstercrite

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