Once a month, my mother would choose a single-parenting experience she thought to be humorous or poignant and would write it down for the whole world to read (or at least the subscribers of North Texas). My mother didn’t just archive my brother’s and my childhood, she created public records of all our most embarrassing moments.
by Hadley Newton on
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò pushes Kim Davis through a set of oak double doors. She teeters on her kitten heels, stumbling into a dark, velvety interior. She blinks, swirls of smoke stinging her eyes and clouding her vision, and sneezes. … Read More
by Hadley Newton on
I noticed that Stefan talked quite a bit about balancing things. Before you find an optimal outcome, you must first find if your equation is balanced (or something like that). I pictured Stefan looking into his closet that morning. He selects a pair of jeans and then couples it with a chambray shirt. He knows the jean on jean would create a balanced, uniform look, but is it optimal?
by Hadley Newton on
Sex and product placement in Big Sean’s “I Don’t Fuck With You” music video.
by Hadley Newton on
When you sign up to be a mentor, you can’t help but imagine what the child will be like before you meet him or her. I think most Bigs hope they will be paired with a Little who is outgoing but thoughtful, creative but humble, cute, but mature. Needless to say, this child most likely does not exist.
by Hadley Newton on
“Instead of gazing into the smoky sky, or cheering with friends, or simply staring in awe at the majesty of destruction, most students pulled out their camera phones, and watched the flames through their handheld device.”
by Hadley Newton on
I grew up with a brother who, since age four, abstained from eating animals and shouted things like “Meat is murder!” when he saw a plate of chicken nuggets. To this day, when I sit on a leather couch, I hear his voice, whispering, “Is that carcass comfortable?” This is not to say that I don’t enjoy eating meat, or indulge in leather accessories, but I feel a certain guilt in doing so.
by Hadley Newton on
When the Body Combat instructor pushed to the front of the crowd and introduced herself, I could not help but be reminded of a bygone era. Her thick pink headband, stretch pants, and neon athletic top made her seem as if she had just arrived in a time machine from an 80s aerobics class. Of course, I have never experienced the 80s for myself, so I cannot be sure that all aerobics instructors wore such tight, shiny fabric, but the movies of the time seem to indicate they did.
by Hadley Newton on
This summer, I went to prison. Well, not actually, but I did watch Netflix’s original series “Orange is the New Black,” and therefore feel as though I am something of an authority on the subject of federal penitentiary. Piper Chapman, the show’s WASPy, neurotic protagonist, has led me on a tour of prison life, providing a kind of personal “scared straight” program.
by Hadley Newton on
When Taylor Swift pranced onto the stage dressed in a white circus ringmaster’s costume at the most recent Grammy Awards, I thought fleetingly that perhaps this girl was not Swift, but rather Britney Spears performing an homage to her 2008 album Circus. This fantasy was quickly quashed as the first twangs of “We Are Never Getting Back Together” filled the auditorium.
by Hadley Newton on
According to the charter of the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic Games are held every four years to preserve the integrity of athletics, placing “sport at the service of humanity and thereby to promote peace.” Citizens of different nations come together and interact to strengthen the international community. The original Olympic Games of Athens served a similar function: to improve relations between the different city-states and create a common culture.
by Hadley Newton on
On a cold November evening, I sat down with Ella, Will, and Molly on the floor of the African Art room in the Princeton University Art Museum for their first-ever joint interview to discuss fashion, the experience of time and waffle fries.
by Hadley Newton on