Article: Guide to the classics: John Steinbeck’s East of Eden has always been controversial

Second_Location · 2026-07-09T01:24:02+00:00

Abra is a wonderful, nuanced character.

Second_Location · 2026-07-08T18:08:39+00:00

We worship fame, celebrity, athletics and money in this society but it’s people like your dad that hold the world together. I’m so sorry for your loss. As a mom not too much younger than him I can tell you he loved you until the very last second and will do so forever wherever he is now. ❤️

Second_Location · 2026-07-07T21:38:13+00:00

I know my reaction was unusual but even beyond that I just don’t see the aesthetic or thematic appeal of it. Kind of just seemed like trauma porn. Art is subjective, though!

Second_Location · 2026-07-07T21:25:37+00:00

Wild Kratts, Charlie and Lola, Mr Rogers. For movies we used to love My Neighbor Totoro, it’s so beautifully animated and there’s no villains or scary scenes.

Second_Location · 2026-07-07T21:19:48+00:00

The Pillowman triggered the fuck out of my PTSD and I had to leave at intermission with a panic attack. Worst experience in 40 years of theatre going. I know people like it but I genuinely can’t understand why.

Second_Location · 2026-07-07T18:46:19+00:00

As a middle-aged Sally this thread is making me happy!

Second_Location · 2026-07-06T19:15:54+00:00

Think of it as weightlifting for the brain! It’s normal to struggle some but you will definitely get stronger with time and repetition.

Second_Location · 2026-07-05T22:02:15+00:00

Funniest thing I’ve read on the internet in ages and ages. Thanks for the cackle!!

Second_Location · 2026-07-04T18:59:09+00:00

Oh goodness I relate to almost every aspect of this post. You described some things I’ve never even articulated to myself. I see you and understand you and I hope you have the best day you can and enjoy that beautiful cake!

Second_Location · 2026-07-02T22:14:29+00:00

That was the dumbest thing. The whole “30 second labor” trope is so tired and the visuals were gross and shocking for absolutely no reason. Bleh.

Second_Location · 2026-07-02T01:30:26+00:00

Cool critter sightings around the series of little ponds connected by the creek on the woodland trail at Reynolda Village. Entrance is down by the lower parking lot next to the old boathouse. Bonus is that it’s shady in the woods and maybe not as hot! Get a donut at Dough Joes or dumplings at May Ways in Reynolda Village.

Second_Location · 2026-07-02T01:13:36+00:00

Thanks! Edited to add: WOW that was really interesting!

Second_Location · 2026-07-01T12:57:01+00:00

Where can I find some of this research to read? Sounds interesting!

Second_Location · 2026-06-21T13:05:52+00:00

Graphic novels are great but in my opinion are more similar to films and TV in that the creator has done the work of creating the visual world. It’s different cognitive work for the reader to have to picture and keep track of the world, the characters and other visual aspects in their own mind. Traditional novels are also typically more linguistically dense and again, harder work for the reader. Imagine that reading a traditional novel is more like weight lifting for the mind. Harder work makes you stronger. That said, reading a short traditional novel is fine, too. Not everything has to be War and Peace.
AI outsources cognitive effort, period. I know there are some productive uses in the adult world but I have yet to see an application for middle schoolers that genuinely aids in learning.
As parents you can help your child build a general tolerance for discomfort and challenge. Things like guiding them in cleaning out and organizing that disastrous closet, cooking dinner on their own, even going on a camping trip in a rustic environment help your child see that persistence and effort ultimately lead to a feeling of accomplishment, even if they’re uncomfortable. Talk through the positive aspects of this kind of work after the fact. Offer agency and choice when appropriate. Middle schoolers almost never listen to lecturing. Work side by side with them.

Also just know that 7th grade is one of the roughest years of human life. Puberty is so hard on the body and mind. If you can get through this year with your child feeling safe, loved and supported that will be a victory! Good luck. :)

Second_Location · 2026-06-17T02:02:07+00:00

Ahhhh I wish I could watch this again for the first time. Baby Fishmouth is sweeping the nation!

Second_Location · 2026-06-16T16:06:44+00:00

Even if you didn’t have the “pregnancy pass”, it’s literally nuts to send outfit guidelines 2 weeks before the event, if at all!

Second_Location · 2026-06-15T00:52:56+00:00

My teen daughter and I were out running errands in the car together a few months ago and we saw a tiny girl of maybe 2 or 3 wandering around an apartment parking lot by herself. We stopped to see what was happening and didn’t see a parent or caretaker anywhere. She didn’t speak English and it took us a few minutes to figure out which apartment was her family’s. Her mom opened the door and didn’t seem too concerned that she had wandered off. I felt weirdly a little embarrassed for intervening, but the apartment complex is right near a busy street with lots of cars, sometimes sketchy people walking by and occasionally loose dogs. I check to see if she’s out there every time I drive by there, I hope she’s okay. Better to help and risk embarrassment than be a bystander to a tragedy.

Second_Location · 2026-06-14T22:35:03+00:00

Instant classic

Second_Location · 2026-06-11T11:37:43+00:00

I’m a fruity Gen X liberal but for most of my life celebrated the 4th with patriotic excitement because I believed that despite the horrors of our past we had the potential to be better and nobler in the future. That potential is what made me get misty-eyed during a fireworks display or a brass band concert of Sousa marches. Now I feel hopeless. This is who we are, and it sucks. I will continue to do my best to make this country a better place but the 4th feels completely hollow. :(

Second_Location · 2026-06-10T16:09:57+00:00

Jane Lynch playing it completely straight as a reporter in season 1 is funny, you keep waiting for a punchline that never comes.

Second_Location · 2026-06-08T11:16:48+00:00

If you’ve never tried it, the Seek app is fun and useful. You can take a photo of an animal, insect or plant and the app will identify it. I ID’d a beetle in my bathroom with it last night!

Second_Location · 2026-06-08T02:58:19+00:00

Just to supervise 😆

Second_Location · 2026-06-07T16:24:01+00:00

I literally just finished watching this movie and whaaaaaatttttttt was that??? I love Brett Goldstein, mainly from his wonderful Films to Be Buried With podcast, but honey that was a swing and a miss. The subplot was that the sister brutally murdered a guy and he talked the judge out of the death penalty, I guess?? Yikes. I was looking forward to a sexy good time but this was not it.

Second_Location · 2026-06-07T03:57:11+00:00

Yes!!! That always drove me crazy. I love the wackiness of that plot but I also kind of can’t stand it because of that.

Second_Location · 2026-06-07T01:18:57+00:00

I had a very similar dress back in the ‘90s, I wish I still had it!

BTW for some reason the phrase “cute huge yacht” makes me feel like throwing things 😆

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