Crasstalk Staff

484 posts

Super Squats Challenge

When I started this year’s challenge, life was cruising along just fine. I had it set that I would do a Super Squats post every Wednesday to guide other eager participants through the first six months of the year with a series of core exercises evolving from the plank position. Then life happened. I suffered a terrible and sudden death in my family that threw everything into chaos where it largely remains three weeks later. I have difficulty expressing myself with more frequency and my inability to find laughter in normally humorous things is troubling (though some would argue that I have always struggled with humor). The odd thing is that when trapped in the sad house, surrounded by the stunned and grieving family and friends, my sister and I were able to do one thing to help keep our sanity – we did plank. Continue reading →

Every Brown Boy

This post originally appeared on March 21, 2012. We are re-running it today on the anniversary of the death of Trayvon Martin.

Last night, I put a fleece hoodie on my five year old nephew so we could go for our routine walk through the neighborhood. He likes going for our walks as much as I do. We race down the street – him burning off sugar energy before bed, me (hopefully) burning off belly-fat creating calories. As we walk/run our several blocks, sometimes, often times, he gets ahead of me then looks back, pleading for me to catch him. It’s when he is away from me that I feel the most fear.

He is a sweet boy. Very smart and observant. He can replicate dance moves that he sees on Glee, always wants to watch SpongeBob, and never misses the opportunity to flirt with a pretty girl. Last night, he made a derogatory racial gesture at the dinner table and I explained to him why it is not okay to do that. I explained that it hurts people’s feelings and that it’s not acceptable to hurt or be mean to other people. I demonstrated the point by asking him what color his skin is, to which he replied: brown. I asked him how he would feel if a classmate put dirt on his body and then pretended to be like my nephew. He said he wouldn’t like it. Continue reading →

The Hell Are They Wearing? 2013 Oscars

Ladies in silver, white, blue, and FLOTUS! lit up Hollywood in celebration of the year in film. The men looked hipster handsome, many accessorizing with vests and beards (the ones that go on your face). The couples sizzled: Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, Naomi Watts and Liev Schrieber, George Clooney and his date for a second season, Stacey Kiebler, and Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner gave us hope that they actually enjoy each other in real life…they are the true thespians.

All in all, very good fashion show! It was full-on glitz and glamour with no notable disasters if you don’t count the anatomically correct darts in Anne Hathaway’s dress. Continue reading →

85th Annual Academy Awards Liveblog!

Welcome to the television show about movies, featuring Seth MacFarlane as this year’s host! We’ve been promised a singing death match between Barbra Streisand and Adele. Anne Hathaway will decompose into burlap tatters while giving her acceptance speech for best supporting actress in the character of Fantine. Angelina’s leg make a return appearance, this time without that pesky body to drag around. Join us for all the excitement! Continue reading →