TALK TSISMIS
BY REESE PANIS (Spring 2024)
Tsismis, which means “gossip” in Tagalog, is practically a national sport in Filipino culture. The nostalgic image of being at a family party where all the moms and aunties are gathered around the dinner table gossiping. While bringing back that nostalgia, Reese is taking a twist on tsismis; instead of dishing dirt on others, she takes readers along with her as she digs deep into one’s own fears and hang-ups. While spilling her guts and sharing stories, “Talk Tsismis” will make you feel like you're right at that table with them… but in a more introspective, healthy way.
Love, Isabella
By Isabella Castelo (Spring 2024)
Recently, Isabella turned 20, and she’s feeling the mix of emotions that come with entering this new decade. She has real feelings, emotions, and ambitions that she shares with you every Tuesday with “Love, Isabella.” Isabella loves you, and you’ll love taking a look into her messy, young mind even more.
At work, a young girl taught me all there is to know about Yayoi Kusama. I was shocked at her level of knowledge and the fact that she learned it all in public school. This interaction made me reflect on my experience with art as a child and my thoughts on educating younger generations.
Working at a museum gives me plenty of time to people-watch. Guests are unaware of my presence and act like no one can see them in the dimly lit exhibits. I get to observe them in their most vulnerable state, the one where they forget the people around them.
I’d like to say I was a secure person; however, I know my habits and fears from my chubby childhood will stay with me forever.
Having a crush is humiliating and invigorating all at once. When I have a crush it consumes me, and I’m ashamed of this consumption.
Having to put effort into finding hobbies and staying healthy used to stress me out. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and become a runner like everyone else in Boston.
For me, the shower is the only place I can’t feel the eyes of anyone else on me, and I let myself do something I’d never imagine in the public eye—dance, like crazy style.
Everything I do, a little piece of my mom is with me — and now when I’m puking from cramps, I’ll have to be reminded of her, too.
I visited a former convent when I was abroad, and instead of teaching me about biblical history, I realized I’m not passionate about anything.
I’m too lazy to be passionate about anything. I wish someone would just tell me what to like so I can stop searching for something cool and unique enough to make me an interesting person.
The New Year is something that I should be celebrating, but I am spending it curled up in bed telling myself I should be applying to summer internships yet not being able to peel myself away from my phone or silly crafts.
People idolize the relatable, messy female leads of movies like Frances Ha and Shiva Baby because they make viewers feel better about their own lives.
Before leaving, I enjoyed things like laying in my bed and talking to myself or walking around aimlessly, but now I feel strange trying to force myself to be as excited about my hometown.
ShowTime!
by Karenna UmSheid (Spring 2024)
Every Wednesday, Karenna shares her “pick of the week” for movie screenings you can catch nearby — both new releases and repertory screenings. As a devoted and (in her own words) quite annoying cinephile, Karenna focuses her blog on writing about films she thinks must be seen in theaters, blending her critical lens with her personal love for the theatrical experience.
My love for Stephen King and all his works began not with any of the iconic film adaptations, but rather with the thrilling, disturbing novel Misery.
Truly great directors should not be afraid to fail, and we should support artists even when they do so.
My digital footprint contains no shortage of articles, essays, and rants about my second favorite movie of all time, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.
Sometimes there is no salve as healing as an uncontrollable, guttural fit of sobbing.
The joy in discovering a new classic, a hidden gem that when it gets a wide release, will become the movie everybody’s been talking about, is a delicious, nearly indescribable high.
I find that the haunted house is merely an empty setting, waiting to be filled with dastardly, dreadful horrors any specific imagination conjures up.
I yearn constantly for theaters like the Brattle and the Coolidge Corner Theater to release their up
If there is a cure for loneliness, for being wrought with boredom and distressed in monotony, it can likely be found at the movies.
There’s merit in film as meditative art just as there is merit in film as entertainment.
This film is just so spectacular, so over-the-top, so ridiculous and hilarious that it begs to be seen on the big screen — or for me, on any screen, as often as possible.
Like Ocean’s Eleven for the doomed generation, How To Blow Up A Pipeline is a thrilling heist film hinging on the urgency of the crime.
I’ve always, consciously or not, searched for Asian American women in media, people who looked like me. Multiple recent films have celebrated Asian-American and immigrant culture so beautifully that I will never forget how special it is that I get to exist at the same time as them.
Unlike other films that invoke fear of our unknowable futures, Her examines a persisting loneliness, one that can’t be cured by new technology. Innovative, fascinating technologies don’t squander or dispel our humanity.
As a college student, I’ve had my fair share of dreary late nights caught walking around the city, mostly because there is some sort of incredible power and self-assurance in knowing that I can.
Oh, the concert film. Swaths of fans, tight intimacy, winks to the camera, audience sing-alongs, and everything in between.
Though the popularity of Parasite has increased demand for watching more international films in America, our U.S.-centric watching habits still largely inhibit our ability to watch and learn from so many beautiful international films.
Together, agents Murtaugh and Riggs find their magnetic chemistry and humorously dangerous banter to create a fantastic partnership – and an even better friendship.
In a world marred by destruction and peril, we must persist, we must trust ourselves and our dreams, and live as colorfully as possible.
Out of two recently released, IFF (Independent Film Festival) Fall Focus-screened new releases set in Massachusetts, Eileen is definitely not the feel-good one.
It is difficult to watch and difficult to even attempt to understand – but I see this as the power and intention of the film, a skill to be celebrated and adored.
Fall, also known culturally as ‘cuffing season,’ can often feel a lot like a lower-stakes version of The Lobster.
Despite the sorrow, grief, and pain, there is something hopeful in every shot; that there is love in this emptiness.
It takes good and evil as concepts and blurs them; what happens when evil as a concept becomes evil as tangible action.
The intimacy in any movie screening can be so meaningful, but a repertory or otherwise famous, beloved cult film screening takes this to another level.
Creating a successful twist means taking full advantage of every aspect of the art of filmmaking; every step and hand movement, minuscule colors, and cinematic details, everything changes meaning when you reveal the twist.
Scorsese isn’t calling to abolish all MCU/comic book movies, but he instead is concerned about how these movies are pushing out independent, lesser-known films.
Once you mint yourself any sort of film expert, the logical next step is, of course, to assert your expertise over anyone who watches movies less ‘seriously’ than you do.
Enemies To Readers
By Charlotte Brandman
(Spring 2024)
How come the genre that keeps the literary industry alive is the same one film bros and literature professors love to hate? Charlotte invites you to join her blog/online book club to explore more about—in her opinion—the world’s best literary genre. Whether you like romance for the easy reading, happy endings, or a superbly written enemies-to-lovers plot, Charlotte’s got you covered with book recommendations, reviews, and topical articles on everything romance novels. So, pick up your favorite book (preferably with a shirtless man on the cover) and join her in her deep dive into chick-lits.
If you’re looking for a fast, sweet, and sexy read, Untether is perfect. I love me some smut.
I love lesbians and thespians. I love lesbian thespians. Did I mention my girlfriend is an actor?
While she makes it clear they’re platonic dates, that line is quickly blurred as we get to know these two…
Well, not exactly. It’s like OnlyFans circa 2014– it’s jankier and there’s no paywall to see naked people.
Does your Twilight phase ever really leave you? Or does it haunt your romance reads for the rest of your adult life?
Okay, maybe they only take over Bright Falls, Oregon. But we’ve got to start somewhere.
And people wonder why I’m a lesbian when men are acting like this…
Have you ever been trapped in a serial killer’s den with maggots on your tail and found that a fellow serial killer is your only reprieve? Me neither. But apparently, it’s all the rage.
I’m sorry if you also have an evil ex. But hey, maybe one day you’ll have a romance blog where you talk about sex and love and you too can write about them instead of committing arson.
Divorce is like a break-up but with more on the line. For example, I would only tell you to get back with your ex if he was a billionaire.
That’s right, I read about sex somewhere other than my Kindle. And it was awesome.
I know, for a fact, you can’t fix him in real life, but here’s to living vicariously through women who can.
My best friend Regan has been with me through thick and thin— and she introduced me to my first smutty romance novel. Isn’t that what friends are for?
My favorite pastime is giving my readers whiplash. Last week: sexy priests. This week: young adult romantasy.
CODE RED: My mom found my blog. I think my life is over.
This book was powerful enough to rip me right out of a reading slump and launch me back into my happy, sappy romance homeostasis.
Tropes are essential to the romance genre, but they’re also essential to your favorite Tarantino movie. Sue me, film bros.
Ana Huang has taken over the world. Okay, maybe not the entire world. But my world and for a voracious reader, that’s pretty impressive.
So, you might be wondering: Where’s the romance, Charlotte? Where’s the drama? If we didn’t get a sex scene earlier, when do we get one? Hold your horses (see what I did there?)…
“Having you think I’m out fucking everything that moves when I’ve looked at nothing and no one since the first day I laid eyes on you.” - Rhett Eaton, Flawless
When I envisioned this blog, I didn’t see myself being a mouthpiece for Mafia romance books but J.T. Gessinger continues to rope me into loving crazy plotlines.
Really? Another sports romance genre? What’s the difference, the male protagonist can skate?
Lust, Lore, and Sometimes Love
By Brooke DEhaven (Spring 2024)
“Lust, Lore, and Sometimes Love” is a space to read and learn about intimacy, as well as one’s experiences with sex and romance. Brooke describes their blog as a look into their inner psyche, putting themself out there with different people and sharing their vulnerable thoughts with the reader… you! After a long-time obsession with the sex section in women’s magazines and a lack of knowledge about sexual experimentation, Brooke hopes to simultaneously give you advice and make you laugh along, providing a space for the reader to feel comfortable with themself and their inner sexuality– and the hopeful romantic inside you.
Maybe it’s all the Gemini placements in my birth chart, but long conversations are always the most intimate and exciting part of getting to know someone.
I have never felt so genuinely excited about someone before and he is a potential option for future me, but I’m truly just so bored by everyone else.
I view poetry as more sacred now; when I write about someone they have to truly mean something to me.
Being either ignored or made fun of by tween/teenage boys did a number on my psyche.
I’ve had many be taken aback at my statement, roll their eyes, or even start begging for it in a very temper tantrum-esque way.
LOVE, isabella: abroad edition
by isabella castelo (fall 2023)
After spending the majority of her life confined to a bubble of observing love in those close to her, Isabella has decided to take a new approach to exploring love in the world around her, and this time, with a change of scenery: a semester abroad in Europe. Isabella’s first blog section “Love Adjacent” takes new form through a journal-style account of her European adventures in “Love, Isabella.” With this revival of her former section, follow along as Isabella discovers love in the places she visits and the moments she experiences.
I want to spend these last days reflecting on my time here and all the great memories I made. I can’t seem to squeeze anything philosophical out, though – It just feels like any other day.
Netherlands cuisine consists of potatoes, mushrooms, fried food, and dry rice. While it doesn’t sound too bad on paper, when you have no choice but these four categories every day for three months, it starts to piss you off.
I was simultaneously relieved I didn’t have to tend to other people and unable to shake the feeling that everything I did would be better with someone at my side.
I came here looking to immerse myself in the culture of all the different places I visit. Who is to say that fast food isn’t a part of the culture as much, if not more, than actual sit-down restaurants?
I find some comfort in knowing that everyone around me feels the same as I do when the lights come on and the music stops.
Growing up with my mom is one of the most rewarding parts of my life, and something I think only a daughter could understand.
I’m sitting here, forced to watch the thousands of people around me who are either in a rush or waiting, and I’m overwhelmed by how easy it is to come and go.
This is a joke…most of the time. Hating on my skewed American education is all fun and games until I come to Europe and have to take an actual test.
This weekend I went to the drowning city of Venice and, although beautiful, I couldn’t help but notice all the people who wanted to leave.
I’d never felt more careless in my entire life, and careless and nudity are two words I never thought would exist in the same sentence.
Before this weekend I felt as though I needed to love each new country more than I love my home. That if I didn’t develop this deep-rooted connection to a place, I must not truly enjoy it.
If you remember me from last year, you might be wondering if I struck gold and have to find a new topic for my blog. Putting it simply…did I get laid this summer?
boston threads
by leo lukaszevicz (fall 2023)
The fashion scene in Boston is expanding, so follow along as Leo delves into how a diverse community, consisting of both young college students and long-time residents, expresses their unique styles within the city's vibrant fashion landscape. From emerging trends and designers to exciting fashion events, and its impact on the community, “Boston Threads” explores how Bostonians use their clothing to convey their individuality, bridging the gap between runway glamor and everyday street style.
As AI integrates into every aspect of our lives, can it now curate my wardrobe? This week, I delved into Instagram fashion ads tailored to my feed to evaluate whether they align with my tastes or miss the mark entirely.
Let's explore this year's fusion of nostalgia, innovation, and individualism, resulting in an eclectic mix of styles and catering to a wide range of fashion enthusiasts.
Beyoncé's Renaissance tour showcased a stunning array of meticulously curated and iconic fashion moments. Here are my six favorites.
How men's fashion has recently been challenging traditional norms and embracing inclusivity and individuality.
How an influencer showcased her authenticity through her style, inspiring Gen Z's interest in thrifted and eclectic pieces.
Discover the joy of DIY by personalizing your wardrobe with sewn shapes!
Highlighting seven celebrity costumes, from Megan Thee Stallion as a flower to Kendall Jenner's Marilyn Monroe tribute.
In the world of fashion, red emerges as the undeniable star for Fall/Winter 2023/2024, gracing runways and street corners alike. Explore the power and passion of this bold hue as we delve into why it's the reigning color of the season.
How to utilize art theory to transform your fashion to make any look effortlessly chic.
Singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams has revolutionized street style by embracing her signature bows and '“Parisian Girl” fashion, inspiring a wave of creativity and individuality in the fashion world.
Exploring the impact of a hub of young creatives in the heart of the city, blending New York and LA style into Boston's fashion scene.
How Bostonian’s Fall/Winter 2023 style goes against the runways’ trends of maximalism, leaning towards neutral colors and minimalist fashion, featuring insights from Boston designer Nathalia Castrillon.
Protect
Your Peace
by Leo Lukaszevicz (spring 2023)
From affirmations to wellness, to goal setting, every Monday Leo discusses easy ways to reinforce a positive mindset and healthy lifestyle. Deciding where you put your energy and how you use it can be difficult, but with careful consideration, you can redistribute the power and spend it on things that make you feel strong, confident, and secure. Join Leo on a journey toward reclaiming your peace and protecting your mindfulness, one day at a time.
It takes a lot of courage to say “NO” to the people we love, but it doesn't have to make us feel guilty.
Social media can have some harmful effects on our mind. How can we prevent these and keep our phones as a positive way to connect with others?
Confidence allows us to take on new challenges and opportunities head-on. How do we find this trust in ourselves and how do we help it grow?
How can the way we talk to ourselves transform negative situations into positive achievements?
Setting goals and finding motivation are two valuable skills to help reach your ideal reality.
Your energy is valuable and the key to unlocking a balanced life. Spend it on activities and people that make you feel strong, confident, and secure.
Love Adjacent
by Isabella Castelo (Spring 2023)
“Love Adjacent” talks all about love, or rather, Isabella Castelo’s lack thereof. Isabella’s been observing love all her life and now – fortunately for you – she’s gained a platform to share her unsolicited opinions about YOUR relationship. Whether you’re looking for a wake-up call, a pity laugh, or you relate a little too much to only ever being almost in love… “Love Adjacent” is for you! Through her weekly posts, Isabella will show you what it’s like to move through life without everyone’s most sought-after emotion, and how she thinks her loveless lifestyle has shaped her into who she is. Catch Isabella’s newest borderline love story, published every Wednesday on “Love Adjacent.”
As I walk down the street, skipping around like I just had my first kiss, I might look crazy, but in my mind it all makes sense.
Does being in love with someone doom you to a life belonging to someone else? I want to think no…in favor of being the optimist I am (in case you can’t tell, this is 100% sarcastic).
Everyone is so creative, so flirty… but after the initial excitement wears off, everyone is SO over it.
I know they love me very much, and I need to remind myself that their aversion to me crawling inside their skin is a completely normal thing to feel.
Meyers-Briggs, Cattell, Buzzfeed, Cosmo. I’m sure these names are familiar to most of you; if not, be aware they know all your secrets.
Considering we just met, I feel you may still think that my seemingly inevitable singleness is sad. That’s totally understandable – and at times I would agree with you…
Seeing how seemingly easy it is for everyone else used to make me insecure…now I can’t imagine living a life any less “lonely.”
for the record
by Claire Dunham (spring 2023)
How do the albums we love shape our lives? How does music influence our cultures at large? Music writer Claire Dunham explores these questions and more on “For the Record”: A blog where music, pop culture, and personal anecdotes combine to create a truly unique blog experience. “For the Record” features the world’s most iconic albums, spanning a variety of musical genres and eras. From Lauryn Hill to My Chemical Romance, this blog is sure to satisfy music lovers of all kinds. Start your weekend off right with Claire by tuning in to “For the Record,” published every Friday.
If you are at a party and a guy pulls out an acoustic guitar, there is a 50% chance that he will play “Wonderwall,” and a 50% chance that he plays “Cigarette Daydreams.”
I wake up thinking about boygenius. I eat in the dining hall, and I ponder boygenius. I even spent my entire Friday night talking about boygenius with my suitemate’s friends.
At a time when everything was changing, Swift’s artistry shifted as well.
With her stunning voice and painfully candid lyrics, SZA made her mark on the music world with Ctrl.
There are no rainbows without rain, and there would be no Solar Power without Pure Heroine.
“They sounded like a train wreck, acted like idiots… but it was awesome. Very wild and fun. One of the best shows ever.”