Being Against Things is Easy; Finding Reasons for Hope is the Challenge
Sitting in the 109 degree heat in the desert, contemplating my own mortality in the wake of climate change, civil unrest, the looming economic cesspool, and, oh yeah, a pandemic causes me to gaze hard into the abyss of my soul. I find it wanting of less to be against and more to be for.
Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of July 19, 2020
• The polls say Biden is ahead of Trump. Why are we listening to polls? Why do we have any faith in pools? Has 2016 taught us nothing?
The Minutes of Our Last Meeting | The Battle of Portland Letters
It is with good cheer that I tell you all the statues still stand, and all the Target stores remain unsullied.
Neither Left nor Right: Eventually Embracing Ethical Universalism
I, being the Traditional Liberal I am (maybe I should start a bowling league?), favor ethical universalism, that is the position that there is a universal ethic which applies to all people, regardless of culture, race, sex, religion, nationality, sexuality or other distinguishing feature, and all the time.
How Americans Learned to Despise Learning
For three generations the benefits of completing a high school education became less obvious. The best and most well-paying jobs required a college diploma and the halcyon days of graduating with solid grades in high school decayed year after year.
![I Believe.. [DiAngelo’s Fragility]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1594929694233-MYPZKZSW78QKTIMHJUXN/IMG_1272.jpeg)
I Believe.. [DiAngelo’s Fragility]
…that Robin DiAngelo looked in the mirror, saw that she was deeply racist, and decided that she was looking into a mirror of society instead of just herself.
Ditch the Desktop and the Laptop and Switch to an iPad
Keep in mind, if I needed high-powered graphic design or video making technology, this set up would not do. When I recommend you ditch your computers for the iPad Pro, I advise from the perspective of my own specific workflow.
Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of July 12, 2020
Side-by-side refrigerators with narrow, vertical freezers are humanity’s most despicable creation. Worse than pollution, weapons of war, and blind American patriotism combined.
Training People to Expect Reward for Outrage
Sometime in corporate culture overseeing the idea of customer service, it was decided that the customer is always right and that very powerful framework has slowly infected all aspects of our culture.
Go Away White-Marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar
I love being outside. Love sitting in the grass and feeling the blades tickle my ankles. Ah, that’s a pretty active tickle. That’s not grass, something’s crawling on me. Yikes! What is that thing!? Yellow, fuzzy thing with a red head and… is that a stinger? What are those white balls on its back? Are those eggs? Is this thing poisonous? Get off me scary caterpillar! Go away you white-marked tussock moth caterpillar!
The Minutes of Our Last Meeting | Politicians Meet on Tracks to Discuss Likelihood of Trains
The politicians celebrate their victory as the train continues to run over people.
Everyone Has Magically Transformed Into Lenny Bruce
Bruce was fighting for his right to say things that could be taken the wrong way at a contentious time in the country’s history. His often brilliant but off-color observations were shut down by a moralistic authority who deigned his language and ideas were unacceptable. Sound familiar?
A Society That Values Quantity of Life Over Quality of Living is Just Churning Out Chicken Farms of Humanity
The ethical dilemma is presented as thus for we myriad chickens.
![I Believe… [We Are All Florida Man]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1594520007760-XJX9H343Y0BPQWHWF9EQ/IMG_1272.jpeg)
I Believe… [We Are All Florida Man]
…that the United States has officially become the Florida of the world. Blindingly stupid, naked, snorting bath salts and screaming at each other about getting that ‘gator off my property.
My Ascent to Greatness Will Not Be Compromised by the Likes of You
When I was twenty, I went to work for a captain of industry. A titan really.
I met him through the fraternity I had just pledged.
He said, he saw something in me — I had ambition, I had smarts, I had just what he was looking for.
I had reminded him of himself when he was my age.
That was a long time ago. More than twice my life thus far.
Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of July 5, 2020
I think Donald Trump’s biggest problem is that he didn’t spent enough time around campfires as a kid.
I Like to Watch: Hamilton
I sat down and prepared myself to be blown away and embarrassed by my snobbery at the few songs I had heard and my natural inclination to be suspicious of hype.
I wasn’t wrong.
The Minutes of Our Last Meeting | Hogwart's, Go Online!!!
The students of Hogwart’s and their instructors should not be meeting in person. Not until there’s a vaccine. I’m just a part-timer. They’re not listening to me. Parents, it’s your child and your money. They’ll listen to you.
Competing Visions of the Future Society
Five blind men encounter an elephant. Each touches a part of the animal but, due to the limited exposure to each element, misidentifies what they are interpreting. The guy who touches the ear thinks they have stopped at a palm tree. The guy who grabs the trunk thinks it’s a python. And so on. Until the five confer with one another, they can’t know the bigger picture.
We are blind men and the pandemic is the elephant.
![I Believe... [Choose Love But FUCK YOU!]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1593818032109-A2W3AF8M17V7NGTVXBW7/40E91B1E-9F3D-4814-8809-12B601562A08.jpeg)
I Believe... [Choose Love But FUCK YOU!]
I believe… that when you post things like “Choose Love” and follow it up with a strident hatred for someone you disagree with, you have clearly demonstrated how completely full of shit you are.
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.