critique – Rachel Heston-Davis

“Old-Fashioned” markets itself as antidote to 50 Shades.

ByRachel February 9, 2015 0 Comments

Valentine’s Day sneaks up on me every year. I don’t usually think on it too seriously until about five minutes before it happens, then I run around in a panic to make a homemade card and figure out which eating establishment is passably romantic. This year, however, I started thinking about Valentine’s Day early when I was inundated with social media promotions for a new Christian movie...

What everyone missed in Partridge’s yoga pants post.

ByRachel January 26, 2015 0 Comments

I’m already tired of what I have deemed The Yoga Pants Kerfuffle of 2015. I bet you didn’t know yoga pants could kerfuffle, but they’ve caused quite a stir. Or, rather, one Christian blogger’s decision not to wear them has caused a stir. Veronica Partridge made internet headlines when she announced her conviction to ditch yoga pants in order to prevent lust in men. Many writers and...

Blessed Are Those Who Don’t Need No Therapy–and other things Jesus never said.

ByRachel August 14, 2014 0 Comments

I'm not pulling punches on this one. I was incredibly sad to see Robin Williams go this week. It's even more terrible and tragic that his death came at his own hand. And it's even worse that some people called him a coward, or belittled his supposed lack of willpower in powering through life. I'd like to see some of these people spend 63 years in constant mental pain and then see who's the...

In Defense of YA, and of Positivity in General

ByRachel June 6, 2014 13 Comments

I thought I’d better say something about the infamous "Against YA" article in Slate, since, you know…I have a degree in this subject.A few days ago, Slate contributor Ruth Graham wrote a piece in which she chided adults for reading young adult fiction. YA is alright for teens, she says, but grown-ups should be “embarrassed” if the bulk of their library consists more of YA than adult...

Heresy According to Twitter

ByRachel May 16, 2014 0 Comments

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Twitter is the worst medium for discussing controversial subject matter.The character limitations are too short to allow complexity of thought, but just long enough to tempt you into believing you can communicate complexity. The result is snappy, pithy sound bites that usually offend and almost never contain the nuance and concessions required to...