Case studies
Simulating the sacred
A few nights ago, I received a massage at an upscale location in my area on a coupon some students had given me. At this location, massages run around $200, although this price also affords one access to the grounds’ saunas, hot tubs, and meditation spaces. While employing the latter of these services in anticipation… Continue reading Simulating the sacred
Why I’m a nihilist and a hedonist
A prayer for rain
New Mexico, where I live, is currently swaddled by fires, And so it feels incumbent to pray for rain. * And yet my prayer is not only for New Mexico, nor for literal rain: It is for all people, places, and times, and for all soothing, quenching liquids for various states of distress. * My… Continue reading A prayer for rain
The beauty and subtlety of Spider-Man 2
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 (2004) is one of my favorite films. While the original Spider-Man (2002) sees Peter Parker internalizing the adage that “with great power, comes great responsibility,” Spider-Man 2 takes this message further: Peter learns the meaning not only of responsibility, but of commitment, which in this film signals choosing responsibility even despite… Continue reading The beauty and subtlety of Spider-Man 2
Jackson Holzberg Buckley 