I love TV and I there are several reasons why. First, watching TV was a lot more fun than hanging out with my family when I was a kid. That might seem kind of harsh but they know it’s true and now you do too. Second, TV taught me how to tell a good story. We’ve all heard someone try to tell a good story, but do it poorly. Not enough TV is probably the culprit. Or we could blame the schools. Just add it to the list, right? Finally, TV introduced me to the world of soap operas.

We live in a time of reboots and reimaginings and I don’t think any character has ever been rebooted or reimagined more than Batman. Sometimes he’s campy and sometimes he’s super serious and sometimes he’s wearing a rubber suit that features nipples. I feel like there are as many versions of Batman in the zeitgeist as there are different flavor variations of Mountain Dew. Is Baja Blast Batman next? My first memory of Batman was from watching Super Friends when I was a kid. H

I have mixed feelings about Taylor Swift. And when I use the phrase “mixed feelings,” I don’t mean it the same way as most people mean it when they say, “mixed feelings” (Because I’m special and unique!). I am special and unique, but that’s more of a medical/scientific discussion. When I use the term “mixed feelings” in regard to Taylor Swift, I mean that I’m impressed with not only the level of success that she’s managed to achieve, but also that she’s been able to maintain

Do you remember that time someone asked Mariah Carey about Jennifer Lopez and Mariah Carey responded with, “I don’t know her”? All due respect to Ms. Lopez, but that is some top tier shade right there. In a move very out of character for me, I will not follow Mariah Carey’s lead and I will admit that I do know Jennifer Lopez. I don’t know her personally, but I’m familiar with her career and I would like to spend the next few minutes discussing one of the films from said caree

My husband and I were at the farmers market once and we got stopped by a couple of young men that had a religious agenda that they wanted to force on us. I would have just kept walking, but my husband is kinder and more patient (aka gullible) and let them do their spiel. There were two of them, but only one was talking. The other one looked like he’d rather be doing anything – giving a cat a bath, math homework, listening to a presentation on consent – other than watching his

We’ve all heard the saying, “every pot has its lid.” Sure, it doesn’t have the same cache that “Shontay, you stay," or "You are NOT the father!” has, but it’s a valuable concept nonetheless. The saying has been applied to thousands of scenarios – everything from finding the person you want to spend the rest of your life with to finding the right outfit that says both, “I read a lot of books,” and “Those charges were dropped.” It also applies to a job that most of us will neve

I love going to the movies. Well, most of the time I love going to the movies. The thing about going to the movies is that there’s usually other people there and that means it’s a real crapshoot whether those people are going to behave themselves or act like a mildly inconvenienced Real Housewife who’s on her third chardonnay (aka a loud distraction who’s primary responsibility is to deny some questionable cosmetic surgery choices that made like Christopher Columbus and didn’

Today on Midwest Weird: A special reading of Donzerly Light, our pop culture column from Heath Smith.   Heath Smith is a special pop...

Have you ever heard someone say, “I needed that like I needed a hole in the head”? The first thing I think of when I hear this is that...

Boy bands are a young man’s game and, as a noted young person, I’d like to be the first person to welcome you to this essay about boy...

The difference between real life and how real life is portrayed on television is vast. I’m not only referring to reality shows, but I do...

There are some things I want to get off my chest. But since I can’t write an entire essay about how I think Instagram allowing people to...

Tom Cruise used to be the biggest movie star in the world. That probably sounds fully insane to a lot of people, but it’s true! Before we...

I’ve learned a lot of things throughout the course of my life. These columns may lead you to believe that that is not the case, but trust...

Getting in trouble as a kid is pretty standard stuff. At some point or another, most kids have broken the rules or made a mistake and...

Some people think that celebrities say dumb stuff a lot. I think celebrities say dumb stuff about as often as a non-celebrity, it’s just...

Why can’t daylight savings time just cool it? I’m just as eager for the end of winter as anyone else who lives in the Midwest, but the...

It’s the beginning of the second season of Midwest Weird and to quote Semisonic, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s...

Do you remember being a kid and a teacher or a trusted adult or youth pastor that was probably not legally allowed to be within 500 feet...

The TV landscape in America has really evolved over the years. I don’t mean the kind of evolution that is denied by people who believe...