Month: January 2014

A New Year: An Update on the Addison Recorder

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recorderstaff

Happy New Year everyone from the frozen tundra of Chiberia! (Which is in the running for the stupidest weather related names in history!)

It was a long and productive 2013 for the Addison Recorder staff. However, time marches on, and we’re approaching 2014 with several goals in mind to increase our reader’s enjoyment of our little culture blog out here in the wastes of Ice Station Lakeview. One of the biggest comments we’ve received (both internally and externally) is the irregularity of our postings. While it’s easy to offer up the excuse that we (the editors) are four busy people with busy lives, that’s little excuse in terms of maintaining a finger on the ever-shifting pulse of popular culture.

With this in mind, we’re starting 2014 by looking to significantly boost our productivity here at the Recorder. The first step we’ve taken to achieving this goal is to expand our staff of writers. When I first had the idea for this website back in 2012, I wanted to maintain a steady, significant presence on the Internet, posting updates on the hot button issues of our tempestuous modern culture. By adding writers, we hope to not only add to the number of subjects we’re observing/analyzing/critiquing, but to expand on our perspectives as well. (At our meeting, it was noted that we’ve got a solid collection of white males between the ages of 26-32 writing for the site…and very little else.)

On that note, it pleases me to welcome the newest additions to the Addison Recorder family: Karen Martin, Christopher Walsh, Christina Brandon, and Meryl Williams. You’ll get to know them over time as they begin to contribute articles of their own, and can already get a taste for Karen’s work with her review of Disney’s Frozen!

In addition to hiring new staff members, we’ve also got several other elements in the works:

  • Updating our long-dormant Twitter account and maintaining a steadier social media presence.
  • A more vibrant update on Facebook
  • J. and Andrew will be providing regular coverage of the 2014 Olympics, though the rest of us will be chiming in from time to time.
  • It’s almost Oscar season, which means it’s time for Alex’s head to implode once again! Keep track of that on the Recorder!
  • It’s only a few weeks until pitchers and catchers report, and Travis will be keeping track of all MLB action with newfound fervor this year!

The biggest thing to help grow the Recorder, though, is something that each of you, dear readers, can contribute to with relative ease: tell your friends about us! Spread the word of our musings to your family and coworkers! Tell us what you think about what we’re doing! It is our goal to provide you with the cultural commentary that you want, or that you need, or that you always needed but never knew you wanted, and the best way for us to do that is to know what you want/need. Feel free to comment away here, or on Facebook, or on Twitter, and we’ll look to provide you with the best content that we can.

On that note, take a moment and enjoy Travis and Alex debating the merits and flaws of Tolkien, or stay tuned for more updates on the Baseball Hall of Fame, or check out Andrew’s thoughts on American Hustle. Whatever you do, we hope that you’re enjoying the ride as much as we are, and that you’re looking forward to what 2014 has to offer as much as the staff of the Addison Recorder.

Happy reading!

Travis J. Cook, founder, co-editor, narcissist galore

Alex, Travis, and Tolkien Step Into a Bar…Part One

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J.R.R. Tolkien at his most Hobbit-y.

J.R.R. Tolkien at his most Hobbit-y.

(Editor’s Note: Alex recently decided to sit down and re-read the collective works of Middle-Earth by J.R.R. Tolkien. Given that one of our editors is a (self) renowned Tolkien scholar, Alex will be discussing the works with Travis both before and after reading them. This will be Part One of a series that should appeal to approximately five people, all of whom are already bored by our discussions. You’re welcome, Earth.)

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Frozen: A Disney “What if?”

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I am an unabashed lover of fairytales. My fondest childhood memories are mostly about my siblings and me sacking out on our parents’ bed while Mom read to us from an illustrated version of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytales. It opened with the “Emperor’s New Clothes,” which was fine. My little sister preferred “The Little Mermaid” or “The Little Match Girl,” but my favorite was the “Snow Queen.”

Gerda & the Reindeer (Edmund Dulac, illustrator)

I have no hate for Disney. I’d consider myself an affectionate if critical observer. I don’t really go in for dressing as a princess, but the Disney Marathon is on my bucket list. I know and understand the problems with ‘Princess’ culture—the idea that women need to be rescued from isolation or the control of our parents, that we need marriage (and therefore sex) to become adults and understand the world—yep, that’s all troubling. There’s been a lot of criticism written about it — just Google “problems with Disney princesses” and you’ll get results from The Week, the Boston Globe, and a host of bloggers. That said, I will still sing along with every single Disney song written between 1989 and 2000.

Thus, I was tentatively delighted when I heard that Disney’s newest conquest was to be my favorite fairytale. [Read more…]

How Would You Touch Me?: Spike Jonze’s Her

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her1

I used to have an OKCupid profile. It led to…well, nothing much, really. I’m not very good at dating. Most of my relationships to date have come about by my being in the right place at the right time. I tried online dating for a bit as a way to try and broaden my options. However, it just never felt right. Meeting people/talking online was weird. The lack of personal interaction was bizarre, to say the least. When the time came to finally meet people, there was an overt familiarity that lent itself towards social anxiety. This may be a case that many of you find familiar, or it may simply be me being socially awkward. Judging by my lack of OKCupid success, I’d lean towards the latter.

Anyway, one thing I continually noticed on the site was listed under a section titled “Things I couldn’t live without.” Around 90% of the time, people had their phone listed. The reasons varied, yet the unassailable uniting factor was that their phone had become such a large part of their life, whether through social communication, apps, or whatever the fuck Yelp is supposed to do, people found that their daily lives could no longer continue without them. It had become almost a part of them, a “significant other”, to use the term lightly (“other” meaning a strange object outside the realm of nature and “significant” meaning…well, significant). It’s only a matter of time before you see phrases everywhere like “I’m in love with my phone”.

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