Why I'm Becoming a Chicago Cop
I’ve passed all my tests including the background investigation, which is what I was most worried about. By this time next year, as long as I can get through the training, I will be Chicago Police Officer David Himmel. I’ll have a badge, a gun, a body cam, a bulletproof vest, keys to a police cruiser, and the ability to work with the citizens of my community to create a safer city for people like Jussie Smollett.
Thought to Call
thought today
man knows
noun verb
room mess
too many problems
need to be together
Perfect Stranger
What I wasn’t prepared for was the perfect stranger, an outpatient, who I would meet later that day.
Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of March 24, 2019
Jussie Smollett’s face as he spoke to the media after the Cook County State’s Attorney dropped all charges against him struck me as way, way, way more smug than that of the MAGA hat kid.
The Online Rush to Judgment in the Court of Public Opinion is a Sword We Will All Die Upon
So many narratives that clearly demonstrate that the court of public opinion is bereft of integrity, yet we can’t help ourselves. We fall for it every time.
American Shithole #53 | The Mueller Colbert Report
It’s been a rough week for progressives, mostly because fucking democrats can’t wait to fall on their fucking swords at any given opportunity. Hey, democrats; a bit of advice: before you Seppuku, how about we see the actual Mueller Report first?
Dinners With Dead Gangsters — A Class War Notebook
Meanwhile in another house that capitalism built, the low-ceilinged “49er Bar” at the El Rancho Hotel in Gallup, New Mexico, local native dark-eyed women from the reservation gossip over sips of massive drinks at tables next to back-lit stained glass. The juke spins saccharine country in a loamy whisper while a stage, tidy and too well-lit for the rest of the place, bears a sign indicating that karaoke was just last evening. Absolutely nothing to do here but drink and be.
The Minutes of Our Last Meeting – Mueller Redacted
Please, take a look.
Problematic Movies of the '80s | Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
Oh, Nelly — there are almost a catalogue list of jokes, images, and plot points of things 2019 would consider problematic.
Dreaming of the Mueller Report
The following is a recounting of a dream had by Laura DuBois, age 36. It was documented at the American Dream Institute for Dreams (ADID) in Washington D.C. on Monday, March 25, 2019. Here, Ms. DuBois explains her dream to ADID researchers.
Just three days after the release of the Mueller Report, with impeachment proceedings occurring at an insanely rapid pace, Trump had a massive heart attack on Air Force One while flying to Mar-a-Lago. The next day, while in the ICU at some janky Florida hospital where abandoned pet boa constrictors were the orderlies, he had another massive heart attack and died. That means no more Tweets from Donald Trump!
![I Believe… [The Search for Brilliance in a Dismal Time]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1553178700599-2BCQGD3QZO0TACQ706QK/ibelieve....jpg)
I Believe… [The Search for Brilliance in a Dismal Time]
…that, in the Age of Hyperbole, perhaps it is a salve to give us some hope in the world, but the words masterpiece, brilliant, and cinematic genius are being thrown around for really good but hardly extraordinary films.
Noble X — Episode 23: Crisis & The Blue Cloud
John hears his father’s foot falls on the landing and he floats from semi-consciousness to fully aware, gaping at the gigantic mess he has made, one his dad would discover any minute.
Entirely Out of Ducks? Dubious.
But then what happens when we have no more spare ducks to teach the foolish about love and responsibility?
I'm Not a Writer
What makes someone a writer anyway? Like now, I’m putting my thoughts onto this screen like I would tell someone if they were sitting right in front of me. Does that make me a writer?
Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of March 17, 2019
According to a New York Times and Morning Consult poll, parents are so involved with their children’s lives that they’re killing the kids’ life skills. We don't want this for Harrison. And this is why now that he's one year old, he'll be wiping his own ass. And mine. Furthermore, he'll be able to rig a sailboat and navigate the health insurance marketplace by kindergarten.
A Job Interview as Full Contact Combat
“Don,” the focus shifts to me. “What do you think of her answer?”
What? Do they want me to criticize her strategy? In front of her? Is this how this is going to go?
American Shithole #52 | Vacations, Part Two: LA Waste
My first word on Los Angeles asphalt was a despondent “fuck.”
Molecular Music and Being Human
But why does music bring people together? What is its potential power in building a world with greater justice?
The Minutes of Our Last Meeting | The Xavier Institute for Mutant Education and Outreach Meets with Disney
Deadpool – We did it for the kids.
White Privilege: Still Struggling over What to Do with It
My issue is not nor has it ever been questioning the existence of white privilege but what to do about it. So far, no one seems to be able to give me a path toward sharing the privilege or shedding it aside from the Catholic admission of sin and continued confession.
...that intense and deep aren’t the same thing even if you’ve convinced yourself they are. Intense is momentary and fleeting; deep is the result of time and energy.