Tag: childhood

  • An oral history of ‘Home Alone’

    For nine-year-old me, ‘Home Alone’ struck the perfect balance between schmaltz, prepubescent irreverence, and slapstick.

  • Buy myself an iPad—and some talent.

    Buy myself an iPad—and some talent.

    Once upon a time, I drew. When I was twelve, I’d fill the margins of my school notebooks with doodles. These were ridiculous sketches: severed heads, floorplans for elaborate secret lairs, and goofy-looking comic characters. Just the sort of thing you’d expect from a pre-teenage boy. Unfortunately, that was the pinnacle of my artistic career. I would…

  • Invented adventure

    Invented adventure

    How building a spoken role-playing world for a friend eased a difficult transition.