Hi Toasties! Toast Points will be short and sweet this week, because I have to go meet my kids' teachers this afternoon. (oh thank you Lord Jesus the end of the summer is nigh, HIGH-FIVE ME ONE AND ALL) This week, we got to read Texts from H.P. Lovecraft. Our beloved Green Gables got the Great House Therapy treatment. Christienna Fryar wrote about her years as a competitive swimmer and the need for…
Happy Friday, Toasties! It's my dad's birthday, so I'd like to wish a very happy birthday to the man who is never too busy to take my calls or challenge my deeply held beliefs about Star Trek and sports.
This week, Mallory launched the Convert Series with this great interview of poet and publicist Kima Jones, who converted to Islam when she was a teenager: I spent my eighth grade summer, the summer before high school, away from my home with my father. We would talk long into the night about God, but especially the Trinity and especially the Holy Spirit. We were very close, very very close, and he gave me books to…
This week brought us the "If so-and-so were your boyfriend" entry The Toast's faithful legion of Harry Potter fans were waiting for. (Well, truthfully, I think you're probably all waiting for If Emma Watson Were Your Girlfriend, but this will do for a start.) ENGORGIO.
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"What have you taught him about the value of his own labor? Nothing": Ayn Rand's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
Hi Toasties, how are you this Friday afternoon? I have just acquired three new books, lots of good beer, and a shoe cabinet the size of Rhode Island, so I cannot complain.
Hi Toasties, I hope you've all had a fun week. I can't believe it's August tomorrow -- this summer is FLYING BY. My dad is having surgery next week and my husband is switching jobs and my preschooler is switching schools and we are soon to have houseguests for 5-7 days and then all the back-to-school busy-ness really kicks in, so I have been floundering a bit. I'm ready for the weekend! I'm ready to at…
Hi Toasties, how was your week? Did you do anything exciting? Yesterday I talked to some grad students about this job, and I was nervous at first but it was actually really fun. Of course I said lots of nice things about all of you. I also realized, during the conversation, that my one-year Toast-versary is coming up pretty soon. If you've been wondering what to get me, I like expensive jewelry and homemade popsicles and John Cho gifs…
In her new book, The Internet of Garbage, Sarah Jeong states that "the Internet is, and always has been, mostly garbage." She talked with The Toast about topics discussed in her book, including online harassment, doxing, spam, free speech, and the challenges of moderating content platforms and social media networks. You can buy Sarah's book on iTunes or Amazon. The Toast: If the Internet has always been mostly garbage, why did you write this book now?…
Previously in this series. You are a woman of modest means, yet you only seem to date men who own hotels. You are a nice girl who knows exactly one nice guy. You forget about him a lot, but gosh, he sure is nice. Whoever he is. You spend roughly 35% of your day sitting in fashionable cafés having very intense conversations. You own like three Samsung Galaxy S6s and so do all your friends.
Friends, I don't know about you, but my heart has still not recovered from Abbey Fenbert's perfect piece about Wishbone. Some crew members from the series happened upon the post and have been sharing show anecdotes in the comments, SUCH AS: <3 <3 would read an entire biography about Soccer and his career, does one exist yet <3 <3
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Just published today -- maybe you started the weekend early, but…
I've loved Alexander Chee's writing for some time, from the powerful essays that served as my introduction to his work to his debut novel, Edinburgh. Chee won a Whiting Award for Edinburgh, and is a recipient of the NEA fellowship in fiction and residencies from the MacDowell Colony, Ledig House, and Civitella Ranieri. His writing has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, Tin House, Slate, and on NPR. The Toast asked Alexander to talk with us about writing, teaching, changes…
Carvell Wallace's letter to his late mother following the murders in Charleston:
Today, they killed nine people in an AME church. And I’m glad you’re not here because you’d just be shaking your head and clucking low and quiet, calling on Jesus’ name. You’d be asking what the world was coming to. You’d call Aunt Shirley and Aunt Bev and the three of you would repeat the same things over and over. It’s
Hey Toast, what did you all do this week? I took twelve little Daisy Scouts bowling yesterday afternoon and I SURVIVED, so high fives all around. I also learned just how slow a bowling ball can roll without ever...actually...stopping...or traveling backwards? It was loud but great fun, and I've really enjoyed being a troop leader this year. I only thought about the Pete & Pete "Rolling Thunder" episode a couple of times while we were…
“Making films has never just been a job to me, it is my life. I have some interests outside of acting...but acting is what keeps me going, it’s what I do, it gives life purpose.” --Christopher Lee, 1922-2015
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The Life-Altering Decisions We Let 17-Year-Olds Make About Loans: I was 17 years old as I sat at my parent’s kitchen table in somewhat rural Oregon with a pile of FAFSA paperwork in…
