Murmur

The Immense Charm of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Marcel the Shell, a tiny shell with one eye and pink shoes on, standing on top of the arm of a couch in a living room.

I watched Marcel the Shell with Shoes On on a sunny Saturday at the Onyx Theater in Nevada City. I had gone to the Yuba River with some friends that day and we felt sun-kissed and jovial as we visited a few shops in town to pass the time before the movie. We were almost […]

The Day We Make Contact

An illustration of planet earth floating in space, surrounded by pink algae and an upside down mountain range.

All of a sudden, they were here. The experience of shared mental space occurred within every one of us simultaneously and without warning. Many despaired and panicked, while many others laughed and rejoiced at the transcendental sensation, at once unfathomable and undeniable. At first, the exchange was slow and repetitious. They understood that this was […]

His Girl Friday and the Love Stories of Divorced Work Buddies

A screenshot from the movie His Girl Friday, with Cary Grant (left) looking at Rosalind Russell (right).

His Girl Friday has been on my watchlist for quite some time now and I had never watched the 1940’s classic from start to finish until last week. As a natural maker of lists, I have a complicated relationship with my movie watchlist. My longlist of yet to be seen films often feels like a […]

Agma, the Butterfly

An illustration of two yellow butterflies surrounded by lavender flowers, next to a grey circle.

Agma alighted on a bromeliad. Tepid afternoon sunlight dappled the crimson flower. Agma’s wings were yellow with an orange tint around deep black contours. Agma liked to speckle the scenery with her colors. Yellow wings on vibrant crimson bromeliad petals. Yellow on the pale, rose-gray bark of the maple tree. Yellow against a chilled, blue […]

Crying on the Drive Home from Everything Everywhere All At Once

Two round rocks sitting at the edge of a beautiful canyon view with speech text indicating that both the rocks are laughing.

The first time I watched Everything Everywhere All At Once, I cried during most of the 29-minute car ride home. It had been one week since I had flown back to California from Brazil. My sister and my mom took me to the airport to say goodbye after my two-month stay in my native country. […]

I Am Taken

Two people laying on a towel on a beach, seen from far away.

I am taken by a majesty: the unraveling of the shell. The hidden essence revealed; awkward, disheveled, unaware and blunt. The careful encasement lost could never match its appeal. It is instantly magnetic and rich with soil and weeds so overgrown they are the playground of rejoicing magpies. I do not recover, am forever marked […]