About the Blogger

Just Me - 2011

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, and publishing it publicly for longer than feels entirely wise in retrospect.

The Confusing Middle launched over a decade ago after blogging since 2005 on a different platform. It’s a place to put the things I couldn’t stop thinking about — movies, television, music, the occasional existential question that wouldn’t leave me alone at 2 a.m. More than 3,000 posts later, it’s still that. The categories have expanded. The voice has (hopefully) sharpened. The core impulse hasn’t changed at all.

I’m Aaron Peck. I live in Roanoke, Virginia, with my dog named Krypto, which tells you almost everything you need to know about me. I’m a 2003 graduate of Bluefield University with degrees in Christian Studies and Behavioral Science — neither of which I expected to use for pop culture analysis, and both of which show up constantly anyway. My day job is in early childhood education. But the thing I love doing, the one I’ve been doing since before I understood that’s what it was, is this.

A few things you’ll find here:

On any given week, The Confusing Middle might include a deep-dive into a Smallville episode, a psychological profile of a fictional character, a short story I had to get out of my head, an honest answer to a question I’d rather avoid, or a 2,000-word defense of something most people stopped caring about in 1998. The throughline — if there is one — is that I take the things I love seriously, even when (especially when) the rest of the world doesn’t.

I also write books.

Available Now on Amazon

A Hundred to One: Counting Down the AFI’s Top 100 Movies of All Time

The American Film Institute ranked the 100 greatest American films ever made. I watched all of them, thought hard about every single one, and had opinions about nearly all of the placements. This book is the result — a film-by-film countdown that’s part appreciation, part argument, and entirely the work of someone who genuinely loves movies and isn’t afraid to say when the list got it wrong.

The One Where We Analyze Everything: A Comprehensive Exploration of Friends’ Enduring Cultural Impact

Friends ran for ten seasons, ended over twenty years ago, and somehow never really left. This book asks why — examining the show’s characters, its humor, its cultural fingerprints, and what it still has to say to the people who grew up watching it. For anyone who ever had a group of people who felt like family and a coffee shop that felt like home.

Infinite Universes: The Expanding Legacy of DC Comics

Decades of DC Comics storytelling across comics, film, television, and animation — examined, celebrated, and argued about by someone who has been paying attention to all of it for most of his life.

The Lost Letters


A young adult novel about the things we leave behind and the people who find them. If you’ve ever stumbled across a piece of someone else’s story and felt like it was meant for you, this one’s for you.

39 thoughts on “About the Blogger”

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  10. I would be more inclined to relate or be humbled by your above list if I could be sure it was all “still true.” But, the mention of facts changing near the top kinda makes me unsure. Am I a hypocrite if the first thing I notice about a woman is her hair and don’t have great hair myself? I will leave the chocolate topic alone though it irks me…:P I can’t stand road rage…even if I occasionally lose my temper. I have a sister that has abused Seriously since I first heard it abused in a Grey’s Anatomy commercial. I only like snow when you can play in it. I do not like it on walkways and roads. Just as I love rainy days…but hate the risks of flooding. I’ve faced one bad flood so far. I do not want to face another. I need to wear a watch or feel naked. But, if I wear it on the other wrist, it doesn’t feel right or burns my skin for some reason.

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  14. If you think Bella Swan is the worst, then can I kindly suggest you don’t go near any copies of Fifty Shades, since the black hole that is whatever-the-female-character’s-name-is’s personality will pull you right into its hollow emptiness with the force of its total suck.

    Seriously. You don’t know HEINOUSLY AWFUL until you’ve tried to get through a book where the main character is an admitted homage to Bella Swan. *shudder*

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  15. Pingback: So… I’m Doing Whole30 | The Confusing Middle

  17. “I’m a firm believer that someone should create a sarcasm font. Or possibly a new punctuation mark that denotes sarcasm in written form.”

    That would actually be a sensible idea, you know.

    I’m enjoying reading your blog.

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  19. Dude, Netflix was my idea. I just can’t prove it – TOTALLY MY IDEA. (or both ours, and we must have chatted openly on our blogs about it and in comments to one another – and that idea was stolen by another!)

    “Seriously,” convinced about that. 🙂

    And…yes, where has common sense gone? I find myself often saying, “So…it didn’t occur to you that (insert something ridiculous) could be a result (or okay?)”

    And, yes, I have a dry sense of humor / sarcasm – in fact, I love when people comment on my blog and then I respond with my wit and they get offended. It’s like, how long have you been following my blog to not know I wouldn’t call you out on lame stuff – I’m going to be sarcastic and poke fun. I’m also facetious.

    That’s why we are blog pals!

    And guess what, God loves us this way!

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  20. Pingback: The Mystery Blogger Award | The Confusing Middle

  22. It was nice to learn a bit about you. I can tell I’m going to enjoy your blog. The coffee and chocolate thing however…I’m not sure you’re to be trusted…😉 just teasing. Looking forward to reading more posts.

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  23. Pingback: The Versatile Blogger Award | The Confusing Middle

  24. Pingback: The A to Z Challenge Begins! | The Confusing Middle

  25. I don’t think I can think of 100 things about myself. Some of your 100 things are part of me.

    1. I love to hike
    2. I also was born and raised in the United States
    3. But had to move twice- it was Charlotte I grew up in
    4. Love that Charlotte is home to Blumenthal Performing
    5. I love Charlotte’s Greenways
    6. I am working on three books
    7. Unlike you, I love chocolate and coffee
    8. I actually was a double minor (theater and Spanish Cultural Studies)
    9. Been abroad three times- Costa Rica, France, and the UK
    10. My favorite color is pink

    Just 10 things I love

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  32. Hi, I’ve read this just as you’re about to take a break. Enjoy it!
    So many of these hundred resonated with me – except, sorry. I liked the Twilight series. I’m an eclectic reader and these low brow ones found their place in my library.
    On the bright side, Stephen King is my favourite author – I’ve read everything! See, things in common.
    One day, I’ll sit down and do a random 100. They’ll be just as exciting as yours 😁😇

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