BLOG: SANTA FOR GROWN-UPS
Cultural Bombings
BOOM! Explosions. Screams. Carnage. It was a horrible sight, even through pictures and blurbs. I’m writing, of course, about the bombings in Iraq. You assumed I was writing about the bombings in Boston. Every time there is an abnormal American death — that is, usually the death of a white, middle-class person, children, or anyone else who is not a threat to the system — we as a...
Read MoreMorality Bites
Broad Background We all want to be good people. However, everyone has different definitions of what constitutes “good.” For example, I do not think going to church is good. While there are some positive aspects of church, on the whole I find it to be a delusional patchwork solution to a much deeper intrinsic human anxiety or insecurity; the positive byproducts of going to church are merely...
Read MoreTop Ten Top-10-Lists List
This year is coming to a close and, as feeble-minded Americans, we desire some sort of definitive structure to our experience. LISTS! We love lists. Rankings. Anything that grants the masses access to the same conclusions as the experts, but at a fraction of the effort and knowledge. But as the year winds down, it’s a pastime to look back and reflect on what has transpired and convert those...
Read MoreInteraction Innovation
Rather than pure calculated joy, the barista should be trained to have his/her mood mirror the customer’s. Often times I’ll trudge into a Starbucks unshaven, hair a mess, wearing the sweatpants and t-shirt I slept in, Dr. Martins with black socks underneath, a heavy coat, and a look of total disdain toward existence. At this juncture, I’m not looking for some bubbly green-capped pixie to...
Read MoreAtheists Are Wrong About Everything Except God
This is the first thing Facebook showed me when I logged on: Ugh. In light of the recent bombings in Libya and Egypt, there has been a lot of blowback from the people of the West, using their most powerful weapon: super clever Internet memes! Most of these condemn the violence of religious fanatics while (mostly explicitly) lauding the peacefulness of atheists. I am writing this to explain, as...
Read MoreHow To Properly Heckle
So, many times when a comedian gets heckled, the gripe is that the audience member has interrupted that show and potentially ruined it for everyone else, or at least for anyone who was enjoying it. Everybody is there to see the performance and to interrupt the performance is denying the rest of the crowd the entertainment they have paid for (with their money, time, or both). While we as...
Read More