Left to my own devices

* NOTE: There are some minor SPOILERS for Eternals that follow. _____________ Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund. Westley and Buttercup. Rose Dewitt Bukater and Jack Dawson. Elio and Oliver. Elisa Esposito and... Amphibian Man? For over a century, movies have featured some of the greatest love stories ever told. Sometimes, they're the core of a film, other times they're a side-plot. Regardless, when done right, a romance in a movie can be sweeping in its ability to lift -- or even deflate -- our emotions. I'd like to add another set of names of to the aforementioned couples: Thena and Gilgamesh.

Someone on Twitter shared an article about amatonormativity recently. I read it, and found it interesting. The article posits that our society places too much of an emphasis on the supposed virtues of romance, monogamy, and generally romantic and sexual coupling, to the detriment of the healthy and deeper development of platonic friendships. Indeed, it would seem to put a stigma on being single and alone (or "self-partnered," as the Harry Potter grown-up-kids prefer to call themselves ).  From the article: "Amatonormativity is, essentially, "the assumption that a central, exclusive, amorous relationship is normal for humans, in that it is a universally shared goal, and that such a relationship is normative, in the sense that it should be aimed at in preference to other relationship types," according to Elizabeth Brake." This is one of those scenarios where I don't necessarily disagree with the premise, but have doubts about what comes af...

Sometimes someone says something and it doesn't appear to make a lot of sense. It's not that they're speaking gibberish. We aren't suddenly worried about their cognitive function. More like a non sequitur. That, or you simply think what they said was a tad odd. This happened recently and, as I was on a walk later thinking about it, the thought occurred to tap into some empathy.They could, potentially, not have known what to give voice to in the moment, and therefore said whatever came to mind. Some people may not know how to handle silence.

"It is when he thinks he's past love It is then he meets his last love" I once knew a man who went through relationships like they were going out of style When yet another connection with someone had broken down, he'd say something along the lines of how he was really too busy to be with someone, anyway, so it was probably for the best they were splitting-up. And, yes, he was a very busy man, of that there was no doubt. What I always asked myself -- but never the friend directly -- was, "Why do you keep entering new relationships, then? If you know you're too busy for them, then why do you engage in these Sisyphean undertakings? You're not only hurting yourself." Alas, that friend was not unique. There are plenty of people who sometimes seem to be on emotional auto-pilot, never thinking much about what it is they want or need when it comes to romantic involvement. Of course, there are the opposite folk, the people who will sometimes...

While many of us remember our first kiss, or falling in love for the first time, how many times have we been convinced of witnessing the depiction of those same emotions on the silver screen? Granted, it may not be something a lot of folks think about, but for me, romance in the movies can have the power to incredibly stir the soul, make me flinch awkwardly in my seat, or just flat-out laugh. After recently viewing the wonderful new movie Lady Bird , and being completely swept-up in the fledgling  romance of the title character and her classmate Danny, it reminded me of how I'm a sucker for a well-done movie romance. In order for me to be convinced of the  adoration onscreen, pretty much everything has to be right -- the script, the acting, the score, the direction, editing, etc. It all has to set the right mood and believability. That isn't always an easy task. Most films run between 90 and 120 minutes. That isn't a terribly long time to introduce us to characters,...