The Language of Flowers begins with the surreal image of one match lighting another, and then another. Victoria, on her 18th birthday, jumps out of bed to avoid being burned to death on this, her 18th birthday and emancipation from the California foster care system, of which she has been a ward since birth. The … Continue reading
Author Archives: Colleen
New Eyes
Tonight I watched Lost in Translation again for the first time in several years. When I first saw it, in college, I remember loving it for its moody, dreamy long sequences of Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) winding her way through shrines and neon-lit streets of Tokyo. It’s the perfect movie for introverts. Of course, the point … Continue reading
No Matter What We Call It?
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege to view an advance copy of a short film depicting two people in conversation about sex trafficking. Faces obscured and voices altered, a man and a teenage girl gave parallel accounts. She describes how she joined a gang in early adolescence. He describes how as a gang … Continue reading
Game of Thrones: Learning to Care About Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things
I’ll admit that I wasn’t an early adopter when it came to George R. R. Martin’s epic fantasy novels, The Song of Ice and Fire series, turned wildly successful HBO TV series, Game of Thrones. Not even close. The first book in the series (titled A Game of Thrones) was published in 1996, when I was 14 years … Continue reading
Game of Thrones: Learning to Care About Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things
I’ll admit that I wasn’t an early adopter when it came to George R. R. Martin’s epic fantasy novels, The Song of Ice and Fire series, turned wildly successful HBO TV series, Game of Thrones. Not even close. The first book in the series (titled A Game of Thrones) was published in 1996, when I was 14 years … Continue reading
Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
Two and a half years ago, my husband and I (newlyweds) moved to a part of the country and a city where neither one of us had ever lived. We came to a position in ministry and left behind all our previous connections. Now our families live a plane-ride away and our friends, while scattered … Continue reading
Why I Love The Justice Conference
This weekend, I and 4,600 others descended on Portland in pursuit of justice. We came from 42 states and 8 countries with one thing in common: we love the word justice and we hope it’s a word that the church (and then our world) starts to love just as much as we do. The Justice … Continue reading
Merry Christmas, Vincent
I’ve been reading Van Gogh: The Life this month. My first immersion in the art of Vincent Van Gogh was in college, viewing the exhibit “Van Gogh & Gauguin: The Studio in the South” at the Art Institute in Chicago. It was one of the most incredible installations I’ve ever seen, with rooms of Vincent’s work … Continue reading
Chasing Lisbeth
Confession: I have owned The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for over a year. I finally read it this month because I couldn’t get the sound of Karen O’s haunting song/scream from the trailer for the American version of the film out of my head, nor the relentless parade of images, all cutting back to a single continuous … Continue reading
Paris Time
They are questions that beg nostalgia: If you could have drinks with anyone, living or dead, who would it be? If you could live one day in any city, any time, where would you go? Midnight in Paris captures the wonder of those time-traveling fantasies and still manages to celebrate the possibilities of reality. Gil (Owen … Continue reading
Sabbath: Saying No
I’ve been making my way through a book of spiritual practices, An Altar in the World, by Barbara Brown Taylor. It’s best read a piece at a time, with some space for reflection. As I am usually one to devour a book I enjoy, this slow-paced reading is a new discipline for me. I just finished … Continue reading
Checkerboard Collective 