Both Rock AND Roll is Required
It is my armor. Against the ravages of time and heartache and failure and despair. Attitudinal armor. Protection from self-pity and feeling small in a world of wars for oil, politicians spouting horseshit non-stop and the constant drumbeat of the the Big Countdown Clock. A layer of badassness that fights back the feeling that, as I get older, I'm simply going to lose everything I ever held dear and everyone I ever loved because that's just the way it is. My Captain America shield. My Bat Cape. My resolve to never allow the World to beat me.
Notes from the Post-it Wall | Adventures from the Bucktown-Wicker Park Library Edition
The man sitting in front of his computer loudly spoke into his phone. “Define debauchery.” I answered. “Yelling at your phone in a library instead of typing the word into your internet browser.”
Being Reminded that You are Disposable isn’t Fun but it’s Necessary
George Bailey wasn’t special. He was, on most faces of it, a real loser. That’s why he decided to end it all — he was a failure from the lens of post-modern success. Clarence didn’t change his mind, he shifted his perspective away from himself to those who surrounded him.
Chris Churchill Saves the World | The Misguided Art of Defending Misguided Art
I’ll admit, I used to love both Bill Cosby and Louis C. K. I truly thought they were good guys who were simply commenting on life’s foibles and the shortcomings of the human male.
The Minutes of Our Last Meeting | Queen Daenerys Targaryen Strategy Meeting
Your father wanted to Make Westeros Great Again. Cersei just hates foreigners.
When Mice Roar and the Rest Assume They’re Lions
My senior advisor, Tom Restivo, pulled me aside one day and said “You know, most people in the school don’t support your causes. You know that right? It seems like you think that you’re constantly on the side of right but, even if you are, without the backing of a larger group of students, you’re never going to get algebra credit for the Math Team.”
The Many Shoes of Marty Smith
I remember her,
when we were very little,
walking so fast,
my sister and I
struggling
to keep up,
in those high heels,
clicking on the sidewalk,
not waiting for traffic lights,
leaving us far behind,
trying to catch up.
She could dance
in high heels,
even The Charleston.
![I Believe… [Cosplayer is an Identity, Too]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1556686786924-XC06AD4YUHUA3E97UHOT/ibelieve....jpg)
I Believe… [Cosplayer is an Identity, Too]
…that identity may be a kind of expertise but it is only an expertise in being oneself. The desire to tribe up and gain power through identifiers is a strong one but using your culture, skin color, gender, sex, or political leanings is absolutely no different than identifying as a cosplayer, a foodie, or a sports fan.
Happy National Active Shooter Drill Day!
Reminder to our Employees…
This coming Tuesday is our National Active Shooter Drill Holiday!
We’ve got SO many fun and informative activities planned for this year’s ASD Day!
The World Is Now Your Therapist, So Have a Cheeseburger
Have you seen the new Emo Burger King ad?
I do not love the idea that in an age where nuance, humor, and snark are taken so literally that the perpetual class of whiners will take this as yet another permission to unload their emotional trash on the streets for all to see. Yes, it’s important to avoid stuffing your bad feels down under the sofa like dogshit you can smell but can’t find, but there’s a reason therapy is usually done one-on-one in a private office.
Life Hacks in The Pursuit of Surviving the Leap from the Cliff
Now new to the Mojave, I’ve had to come up with a few new hacks to make life just a bit easier, the transition a bit smoother.
Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of April 28, 2019
Those who make their birthday a month-long celebration are greedy, self-centered, and obnoxious.
Book Club Made Me Read It | The Changeling
And holy shit if this book had ended right there, I’d be writing a very different review right now. The vibrancy of their early relationship with each other, the slow creep of horror as things become more and more wrong in the Kagwa-Valentine household, the awful question of whether Emma might actually be right, the visceral brutality of the final scenes… It works. It’s good.
American Shithole #56 | Bill Barr: Bringing the Bar Down a Notch
As I watched the barrage of questions our representatives dutifully prepared, and the ease with which a professional litigator of Barr’s caliber deflected them, I realized that the dream of America as the land of the free and the home of the brave, is nearly dead.
look there instead
look here, they say,
but no; i want to look there,
my focus firmly fixed upon things
not so crowd-gazed.
look there with me —
glistening, intricate mosaics
painstakingly crafted
in the arches of the museum stairwell,
unnoticed in the upward or downward rush
to view the expected.
The Minutes of Our Last Meeting | Alabama Abortion!
Alabama. Home of the Zero Legal Abortions!
Rep. Merika Coleman (D) - “Jesus Loves the Little Children” is a song. Not a Bible verse.
Rep. Terri Collins (R) – I guess that’s depends on how you interpret the Bible.
Rep. Merika Coleman (D) – Or on your ability to read.
I Like to Watch | Cobra Kai Season 2
The first season indulged in the Gen X joy of revisiting those nostalgic moments and was so successful, they decided to do a second and, in extending the story for ten more episodes, dive into some truly profound territory.
Hey, Do You Watch "Robot Chicken"?
To do that kind of a joke could be considered totally appropriate to some or absolutely unforgivable, depending on the perspective.
![I Believe… [Discarding Mitch is More Important than Slapping Trump]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1556231416373-XSYK06TDRSN5SY501FLH/ibelieve....jpg)
I Believe… [Discarding Mitch is More Important than Slapping Trump]
…that if we truly want to get things moving on things like Medicare For All and the New Green Deal, our priority should be focused on unseating McConnell. The DNC should put every dollar possible into getting rid of that venomous little fuckface.
When Facts Dispute Ideology, What Do You Do?
When facts dispute your ideology, please — PLEASE — access that one or two brain cells that control your ability for self reflection and understand that those facts mean your failed solution doesn’t need another shot. You need to come up with a different solution, dumbass.
How do you want to be defined? By one action? By some opinion that could evolve? By a mistake, regrettable only with hindsight? Or by the sum of your parts? Okay, do that for other people. Start the trend.