Selected work
◆ ◆ ◆
A Mini Panther Walks Into MetLife Stadium
When someone asks why I don’t follow sports, I respond with some iteration of, “I don’t need that kind of stress in my life.” The response glibly expresses a bigger truth: I don’t like feeling invested in something I don’t have any control over. In fact, I’m shocked by how many people opt into the turmoil of caring about sports. Perhaps it’s a way to sublimate a common displeasure — feeling out of control of your own life — onto a relatively low-stakes scenario: game day. Moving the troubles that are out of your hands and placing them onto a group of athletes certainly isn’t the worst way to cope with a lack of agency.
Written for Tenderly Magazine, a Medium publication
Why My Messy Room Actually Makes Me Happy
For most of my life, one thing was true: My room was usually messy, but if it was clean, you could rightly assume I was going through something. My dorm room never sparkled more than the week my thesis was due. My apartment was spick and span in the wake of a rough breakup. Making my bed would be a half-hearted attempt at feeling on top of things. Hanging up my clothes, a way to perform a demonstrably responsible act when I felt like I was dropping the ball in other parts of my life.
Written for Domino
My Mission To Bake The Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie
Perhaps as a consequence of the unfortunate conflation of “vegan” with “dieting”, vegan baking has been mostly sequestered to the realm of vegan-specific, self-published food writing. While mainstream publications are starting to embrace “plant-based” recipes, they’re often lumped in with making “healthier” choices. In other words, you’re unlikely to see a vegan Quest for the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie published in the New York Times any time soon.
Written for Tenderly Magazine, a Medium publication
Watch ‘Ratatouille’ Online for Free With Disney+, Celebrate the Humble Rat
The Lunar Calendar characterizes rats as “clever, quick thinkers” that are “successful, but content with living a quiet and peaceful life.” Ratatouille is a peasant’s dish of vegetables and herbs that Remy puts together to salute the complexity and power of humble beginnings. Ratatouille is a movie that Disney/Pixar put together to salute the unlikely dreamer who makes things happen, in spite of it all.
Written for Decider
10 Best Camping Tents for Backpackers, Families and Solo Trekkers
Camping is one of very few activities that 2020 has left untouched and uncomplicated. Is there a more social distancing-friendly adventure than setting up your own tent in the middle of nowhere, leagues away from all the covidiots in your neighborhood? Plus, escaping into nature can balance your mood and recalibrate your sleep schedule, which are both crucial adjustments if you need to re-enter the workforce anytime soon.
Written for New York Post
What to watch: 'Babette's Feast'
Babette's Feast depicts the inextricable joys of both serving and being served.
Written for Decider
What to watch: 'Searching for Sugar Man'
Searching for Sugar Man tells the story of a musical genius whose success got lost somewhere between South Africa and Detroit.
Written for Decider
What to watch: 'The Last Black Man in San Francisco'
The Last Black Man in San Francisco is one of the best movies of 2019.
Written for Decider
What to watch: 'The Squid and the Whale'
Writer/director Noah Baumbach provides a lightly fictionalized, poignant account of his parents' divorce.
Written for Decider
How to Become a Travel Photographer
Becoming a travel photographer is the ultimate way to expand your photography business across borders. Whether you want to see beyond your city, state, country, or continent, travel photography can make that adventure part of your job description.
Becoming a travel photographer isn’t just wanderlust, though. This career involves a lot of hard work and a fair amount of logistical planning. But if you’re willing and able to go through these steps, then you could very well set up a successful travel photography business.
Written for Thimble
ICO Statistics (2019): Funding, Investment, and Best ICOs
Though ICO statistics mostly deal with the state of new cryptocurrencies, they also offer valuable insights into the crypto market as a whole. ICOs—or initial coin offerings—are rounds of initial currency exchange for a new cryptocurrency.
As the relatively young world of cryptocurrency has already learned from experience, things don’t always go to plan—cryptocurrencies offering ICOs can quickly become worthless. And worse yet, ICOs pose a high potential for scams and theft. Tread carefully with ICOs, and choose wisely.
Written for Fundera
Nondescript Suit With American Flag Lapel Pin: Who Wore It Best?
With all of the political vitriol and turmoil ensuing these days, politicians have to be on their A-game at all moments. And you bet your ass that includes fashion choices. But we've already heard enough about the female candidate's choices. Plus, with Representative Joyce Betty's bold move, female fashion choices have officially become part of this election's political discourse.
Let's hold our male political figures accountable and analyze their appearances until they don't even look like humans to us anymore. It seems that they've all made the same choice of nondescript suit with American flag lapel pin. So let's see who did it best.
Written for Guest of a Guest
NYC Boutique, Archerie, Drives Growth Without Sacrificing Mission
Jillian Kaufman Grano thinks a lot about the clothes she produces.
While other fashion brands continue to rev up the velocity at which they churn out clothes, Jillian’s company Archerie remains steady—focusing on the quality of every piece.
But that’s certainly not to say this small business is moving slowly.
Written for Fundera