Welcome back to Blogmas 2025, day four of my annual December marathon where I post holiday-themed content every single day until Christmas. For those keeping track, yes, I'm still doing this to myself voluntarily. This year's twist is that I'm letting AI generate my daily prompts, because apparently I needed to add an element of … Continue reading The Rotating Tree and the Smell of Pipe Tobacco: Excavating My Earliest Christmas Memory
Writing
How Dan Harmon’s Story Circle Made Community Brilliant
If you've ever wondered why Community felt simultaneously familiar and revolutionary, congratulations—you've stumbled onto one of television's most fascinating storytelling experiments. Dan Harmon, the show's creator and the man who somehow convinced NBC to air five out of six seasons of increasingly meta television, had a secret weapon: an eight-step storytelling formula he called the … Continue reading How Dan Harmon’s Story Circle Made Community Brilliant
A Chronological Journey Through TV’s Greatest Christmas Episodes
Day 3 of Blogmas 2025! For those just tuning in, Blogmas is my annual tradition of posting holiday-themed content every day from December 1st through Christmas Day. It's like an advent calendar, except instead of chocolate, you get my opinions about things. This year, I've outsourced my creative prompts to AI because apparently, I enjoy … Continue reading A Chronological Journey Through TV’s Greatest Christmas Episodes
Rewatching Smallville – Episode 73
Welcome back to Rewatching Smallville, my weekly dive into the iconic series that explores Clark Kent’s journey before becoming Superman. Whether you’re a long-time fan or new to the show, you’re invited to join in each Tuesday as I revisit episodes and share my thoughts and observations. Be sure to share your own memories and … Continue reading Rewatching Smallville – Episode 73
The Gift No One Gave
Welcome back to Blogmas 2025! If you're just joining us, Blogmas is my annual December tradition of posting holiday-themed content every single day from now through Christmas Day. It's ambitious, occasionally exhausting, and somehow I keep doing it year after year. This year, I've enlisted AI to provide daily writing prompts to keep things interesting. … Continue reading The Gift No One Gave
Disney 18 – The Sword in the Stone
The Sword in the Stone 1963 Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman Welcome back to Movie Monday, dear readers! Since this is the first Monday of the month, we're taking our customary break from my ongoing exploration of cinema's most spectacular failures to enjoy a palate cleanser. Think of it as hitting the reset button on your … Continue reading Disney 18 – The Sword in the Stone
The One Christmas Movie That Gets Me Every Single Time
Welcome to Blogmas 2025, folks! For those new to The Confusing Middle, Blogmas is my annual tradition of posting holiday-themed content every single day from December 1st through Christmas Day. It's ambitious, it's exhausting, and by December 15th I usually question all my life choices—but here we are again. This year, I decided to shake … Continue reading The One Christmas Movie That Gets Me Every Single Time
The Barometer of Hearts
The first thing Maya noticed about Millbrook wasn't the quaint Main Street or the way corn fields stretched endlessly in every direction. It was the weather app on her phone, which had been stuck on the same forecast for three days straight: Conditions variable. Check local atmospheric readings. "What kind of forecast is that?" she … Continue reading The Barometer of Hearts
Question of the Week #462
As usual, this week's question comes from Gregory Stock's The Book of Questions: What problems might arise from having a child much brighter and more attractive than yourself? If you caught last week's question about genetic engineering and designer babies (click here if you missed it), you might remember my rather old-fashioned stance: I'd rather … Continue reading Question of the Week #462
Maximum Carnage: When Symbiotes Ran Wild in New York
In the summer of 1993, Marvel Comics did something that would make modern crossover events look quaint by comparison: they unleashed pure, unfiltered chaos across New York City in the form of a 14-part storyline that spanned five different Spider-Man titles. Maximum Carnage wasn't just a comic book story—it was a publishing experiment, a merchandising … Continue reading Maximum Carnage: When Symbiotes Ran Wild in New York
The Confusing Middle 