Gianna's Droppings

Binger by night       Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews were the most satisfying thing to eat. Milk or dark, it didn’t matter. This was a discovery I made around the age of maybe seven—through what, I don’t remember—and once I had made it, I couldn’t stop myself from indulging. Out of all the nibs and dibs on the market at the time (2009), I had chosen Goldenberg's Peanut Chews as my vice.         My scheme went as follows: I’d hustle my grandfather into the corner store, Milk Farm, impishly slapping a pack of Peanut Chews onto the counter next to whatever he was buying that day. A lot of the time, however, he didn’t need anything from the store (we had coffee, we often had the daily newspaper on hand—he wasn’t straying from those two items very frequently), and we were only in Milk Farm for my treat. He’d pay Silva, say goodbye to Butchie, and we’d saunter out.         On the sidewalk, he’d make me promise: “Do me a favor an...

  Stop Kiss       A review by a native New Yorker living in not-New York City watching a play that takes place in New York City written (and student-directed) by someone who is not from New York City.  2.5/5 stars       Maybe it’s a little unfortunate for the cast and crew that I was in the audience last night.       Now, I did my research beforehand: I knew this play was going to take place in New York City in the 90s. I didn’t know where the playwright was from (spoiler: she is from Philly), but from the first “Rudolph Giuliani” (which was also the first time I’ve heard Giuliani referred to by his full name) joke, I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be the love letter to the Big Apple I had assumed it would be. My fault, my fault.       My diminishing hope was expedited by the fact that every third line was referring to how filthy and misfortuned the Bronx was. The characters probably brought up...

How conformity determines our consumption, fast      The Dyson Airwrap is $749.99. The Netflix you want, without ads, with all of the content recorded in Ultra HD, costs $26.99. SKIMS just collab’d with Nike, and the collection just dropped, and it’s hot, and it’ll run you $129.00 (plus shipping and handling) for a pair of leggings with a 29-inch inseam.       It’s not required that you buy any of these things (even though everyone has it/that/them, from your circle of real-life friends to the one in your phone), but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Overconsumption doesn’t stop at tangible objects; rather, it determines the types of emotional connections you create, audiences you may be a part of (or even have for yourself). We are all susceptible to this psycho-temptation. Why do we continue to consume things despite being previously left unsatisfied by them? Why do we go for another forkful when we’ve just spit out our last bite?  Streaming services: ...