JK Rowling: Her Name Is Joanne

I have to start like this: the Harry Potter books saved me from a traumatic youth and possible suicide. I survived all of Harry’s deadly trials, learned all his magic spells, and grieved his lost loved ones. Escaping into his fantasy world was necessary to keep me alive. I will always be grateful to JK [...]

#AStarForCarrie: Civil Disobedience

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. kneels beside a motel bed, silently saying his evening prayers. A flash of brilliant blue light and a sound like ripping fabric filtered through autotune makes him turn and shy away from the opening in space through which a woman in a white dress gingerly steps. She smoothes the wrinkles [...]

#AStarForCarrie: There Is No Try

If you’ve ever met me on Hollywood Boulevard, cosplaying Princess Leia while petitioning for #AStarForCarrie, it may have gone something like this: Princess Leia: Help Carrie Fisher get a star? Signer: Yes! I can’t believe she doesn’t have one already! Princess Leia: I know, right? I was so surprised, I came back with a sign [...]

#AStarForCarrie: Happiness is a Sunflower

Are you happy? Happiness is a well-maintained plant. It’s not a state of being to be achieved, nor is there a standard of happiness for everyone, and someone can steal your plant if you let them. If you give your plant plenty of water, sunlight, and room to grow, it flourishes. You don’t mourn a [...]

#OccupyFamilyGuy: Lukewarm Justice

I just cried my way through Billie Lourd’s essay about her late mother, Carrie Fisher. Knowing Carrie/Leia the way only someone who has been method acting as her for months possibly could, tears flowed down my cheeks as much from pride as sympathetic grief. I feel protective of Billie the way her Momby would have, [...]

#AStarForCarrie: Updates

#AStarForCarrie "Cry Havoc" Alderaan Destruction - Princess Leia #AStarForCarrie 46 & 2 by Tool- Princess Leia cosplay dance lip sync #AStarForCarrie: Civil Disobedience #AStarForCarrie: There Is No Try #AStarForCarrie Leia plays "Friday I'm In Love" on the Ukulele #AStarForCarrie: ASMR Book Reading "Siddhartha" by Herman Hesse - Voice Only #AStarForCarrie: Happiness is a Sunflower #AStarForCarrie: [...]

#OccupyFamilyGuy: I would like to speak to your manager

I believe there are very few jobs left which don’t involve customer service in some capacity. Yoga teachers serve a horde of new moms sweating off the baby weight. Nurses serve morphine to cancer patients. Actors serve a performance to an audience they could lose with the slightest slip. Writers serve readers, watchers, consumers of [...]

#AStarForCarrie: Street Harassment

The worst response to the worst question you could possibly ask the victim of harassment “What were you wearing?”: “A Princess Leia Costume…” Stop laughing. I can feel some of you laughing. Laughter is a natural reflex. You can’t help it, but it’s wrong. The image is funny because you didn’t realize you expect Princess [...]

#AStarForCarrie: Script Doctor

Last night, I achieved 5,001 hand signatures on the #AStarForCarrie petition. The number 5,001 feels so powerful, so representative of the insane dedication I've sunk into this project, and I have so much more work to do. 5,000 was a personal goal I set for myself by 10/29/19. I ended up two days past deadline, [...]

#AStarForCarrie: #StealThisMovement

In the 1960’s, counter-culture political activist Abby Hoffman wrote a book titled “Steal This Book”, which was full of ideas about and practical tips for living outside of the capitalist system as much as humanly possible by stealing. The book’s very title commands it. Hoffman suggests that corporate globalization will consume us all if we [...]