Category: Culture
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Hearts of Glass Recalibrates the Moral Compass
In a world that often asks us to settle, to compromise, or worse—to look away—Pat Green refuses. Instead, he acts and he writes. He writes about heartache, survival, and the complex human spirit that refuses to break thinly disguised as nostalgia. His latest book, Hearts of Glass: Living in the Real World, is not just
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Generational Trauma and Unexpected Hope
-by ‘Sapphire’ Generational trauma is a new term for me and a heavy burden to carry. My mother took her life when I was 20. Just like her mom did when she was 9. For most of my life, I saw her as weak—someone who chose substances over stability, over me. She couldn’t get her
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Storytelling as Resistance: The Power of Our Words
by Jenny S. You know me as Jenny in Pat’s Fem Friday’s. He’s asked me several times to write and I’ve refused. I’m not a writer. As I wept over my non-binary teenager watching people cheer as our president threatened my child’s existence, I thought about Pat’s book (spoiler alert, I’ve read all four drafts).
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Twenty Eight Days of Friendship and Top Three
All the rest have thirty-one, except February, twenty-eight days clear. It is the shortest month of the year. But you, the readers, have shown some fascinating insights based on your clicks and you clicked more this short month than last month. There seems to be a yearning for deeper than surface nostalgia based on the
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How to Celebrate National Retro Day
Happy National Retro Day! We talk about healthy and unhealthy nostalgia at Gen X Watch often. Today is the day to have fun with nostalgia, lean into it, and have a little bit of fun. Why Does National Retro Day Exist? In 2018 Hermelinda A. Aguilar and Robert and Tina Duran founded national retro day.
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Performative Allyship While High On Memes
What is Performative Allyship? Are memes harmless escape or is there a dark side? How does our brain respond to memes and is there an impact on our ability to be empathetic and think critically? Are we activists or are we in a narcissistic quest to look awesome? Is it too late to change course
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You Need Better Friends! Being There
“You need better friends! I’ll be there.” That is what she said to me. It changed my perspective and can change yours. Together we can do the same for others. Do you have the friends you deserve? What do you deserve? Not everyone has a “ride or die”. The have a “ride and bye”. Smoothie
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Joy Division and the New Order of the 80’s!
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announced its 2025 nominees for the Hall of Fame! In the list as one nominee is Joy Division/New Order. This is a bittersweet moment in musical history that not everyone knows about. In Gen X Watch, columnist Jeremy Ritch has written about the importance of not being
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Zen and the Art of Origami Texting (Passing Notes)
Before there was texting there was the art of passing notes. Experts who are teachers and teenagers report that the artform has not completely died, but is on life support. What made the notes special and what can we learn from them? Note Genres There were various types of notes that Gen X passed in
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Almost Famous and Hearts of Glass Intersect
Almost Famous, released in 2000, is a cult classic by Cameron Crowe. In a 2025 rewatch, there was something familiar in the vibe of the movie to the upcoming book, Hearts of Glass Living in the Real World. Why is this movie special and what do these two works have in common? The Movie The
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Comments
Wow, this article is so well-written! I really enjoyed how you highlighted Tina’s race as a factor that prevented her…
I endured the admittedly excellent opening band (U2) to see the even better Psychedelic Furs up close in '84 at…