During college, I spent four years living with a guy who loved The Legend of Zelda. Not only did he own the classic Zelda video games, but he enjoyed playing through them all in release order. He would start with Ocarina of Time, follow that up with Majora’s Mask, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess, andContinue reading ““The Guy in the Green Hat”: Life Lessons from The Legend of Zelda”
Author Archives: jeshuahayden
Light, Love, and Lyricism: A Review of Josh Ritter’s “Spectral Lines”
On Spectral Lines, a cartographer of the strange and fantastical traverses more familiar territory, patiently seeking glimmers of magic in the mundane. There are few people who could use the words “brindled” and “bergamot” in a song and get away with it. Josh Ritter is one of them. The Idaho native has always been aContinue reading “Light, Love, and Lyricism: A Review of Josh Ritter’s “Spectral Lines””
Ten Books that Changed My Life
Recently, my wife and I sat at our kitchen table, trying to recall the books which had most influenced us. The exercise was a tricky one. We weren’t listing our favorite books; we were trying to identify books which had altered our thinking, shaped our ambitions, and redirected the course of our lives. We hadContinue reading “Ten Books that Changed My Life”
Gifts from the Sea
Imagine that you’re about to be stranded on a desert island. You’re allowed to take one fragment of a piece of art from any genre with you – not a complete work of art, but a tiny piece of that work of art, such as a chunk of a painting or sculpture, a chapter fromContinue reading “Gifts from the Sea”
The Return of the Last Jedi: Why Rian Johnson’s controversial film is better than you remember
Shortly after my wife and I started dating, I made a horrifying discovery: She had never seen the original Star Wars trilogy. Well…that wasn’t exactly true. She had seen the opening minutes of George Lucas’ sci-fi epics, which are consistently ranked among the most influential works of cinema ever created. She had just fallen asleepContinue reading “The Return of the Last Jedi: Why Rian Johnson’s controversial film is better than you remember”
The Lamb in the Cockpit: Christ-Like Leadership in “Top Gun: Maverick”
What makes a trustworthy leader? In the opening scenes of Top Gun: Maverick, we’re invited to eavesdrop on an elite group of fighter pilots, each of whom is pondering this question. It’s no mere intellectual curiosity. For these young aviators, the answer will spell the difference between life and death. They’ve been given a seeminglyContinue reading “The Lamb in the Cockpit: Christ-Like Leadership in “Top Gun: Maverick””
Jesse’s Favorites of 2021
Welcome! It’s that time of year again – the time when we get to look back on the past year and reflect on which parts of it were most meaningful to us. One of my favorite ways to do this is by listing the five music albums, five books, and five movies that were mostContinue reading “Jesse’s Favorites of 2021”
Joy in the Journey: Chasing Sehnsucht in Zhao’s “Nomadland”
“Home, is it just a word? Or is it something you carry within you?” In the opening minutes of Chloe Zhao’s film Nomadland, we see these words inked on the arm of an Amazon employee named Angela, who is showing off tattoos to her new friend, Fern. It’s a quick scene that may not seemContinue reading “Joy in the Journey: Chasing Sehnsucht in Zhao’s “Nomadland””
The Music of the Mundane
It was almost the best day of his life. Joe Gardner, a resident of New York City, had spent most of his years teaching jazz band classes for middle-schoolers. The work had its own peculiar charm. Sure, the racket cooked up by distracted brains, untrained ears, and clumsy fingers could be grating. But there were momentsContinue reading “The Music of the Mundane”
Jesse’s Favorites of 2020
Hello there! Well, it’s time for my favorite year-end activity: the annual favorites list! In many ways, 2020 was an incredibly tough year for art and artists. On the other hand, I found that quarantine provided lots of downtime to make art, explore new art, and catch up on great art that I’d missed inContinue reading “Jesse’s Favorites of 2020”
Words for Wayfarers 