Payton Christenberry

1938

There is little to no room for nuance on social media. Social sites are a catch-all for interaction, entertainment and distraction. They are, by design, for snippets and quickly digestible things. Yet, as is human nature, we still use them to make social or political points that usually beg for more details than a tweetContinue reading “1938”

3/∞

By the reckoning of every top google search result, the appropriate gift to celebrate a third wedding anniversary is leather. They each, seemingly copying and pasting from each other, explain that the leather anniversary marks the time when a marriage has reached its first stages of strength. Leather is durable and long-lasting while still beingContinue reading “3/∞”

Columbus

This is not necessarily a space for political writing. It’s not not a space for it either. But we still try to keep it apolitical in a bid to focus on writing and rhetoric and, increasingly, our own lives. Inevitably, however, there’s going to be crossover. Today’s blurring of the apolitical lines is spurred onContinue reading “Columbus”

On “The House of the Nightmare and Other Eerie Tales”

My grandmother and I never really got to talk books. She had a lasting legacy on my life in many other ways. She introduced me to coffee (mostly milk and sugar in a tiny “collectable” Arkansas mug), helped connect me to my Comanche heritage and was around for plenty of play dates. But we justContinue reading “On “The House of the Nightmare and Other Eerie Tales””

Memer Refuted

Here is a meme that popped up on my dad’s Facebook page. We all see tons of these everyday, but because it was shared by my father and because I want to promote open-mindedness (or at least sound debate) in the people I admire, it seemed appropriate to look at all of the claims madeContinue reading “Memer Refuted”

Creating Consistent Characters

“People don’t change, they only get moreso.” The above is a wonderful little personal axiom that was shared with me recently. It’s pithy, distilling a common bit psychological inertia down to less than ten words, yet broad enough to let each person color it as they will. I feel that in most cases unchanging personalityContinue reading “Creating Consistent Characters”

Tis the Season

In honor of the Halloween holiday today, please enjoy this scary story which is, like all traditional scary stories, told from true life events. Once upon a time, in a house just like this one… *** My uncle has been telling me for years that his house is haunted. It was never anything concrete heContinue reading “Tis the Season”

Avowed

On October 13, 2017, I married one of my best friends in the world and started an exciting new chapter of my life. Just like everyone told me, it was weeks of hard work and planning for a blur of a day that we’ll mostly remember through photographs. Even the next morning, as my newContinue reading “Avowed”

Quiet Riot

I’m not religious, but given that Rosh Hashanah is this week it seems appropriate to repent, at least as far as writing is concerned. It has been a little more than a month since I made some lofty promises on which I have yet to deliver. In fact, I haven’t written creatively or even readContinue reading “Quiet Riot”

Bespoke Consumption

An interesting article by IndieWire last week looked at Christopher Nolan’s distaste for all film consumption options outside of a cinema. The referenced interview was all about the recent release of his war film Dunkirk. To Nolan, Dunkirk is all about theatrical viewing as it is the only way to “make you feel like youContinue reading “Bespoke Consumption”