Without it, no narrative in any medium of any will carry color. Every viewer or reader determines the limits of that suspension, but it’s always there. Even when reading historical accounts or watching documentaries, I see the need for it. I tend to be a generally skeptical guy, but I’m not the type to deconstruct… Continue reading this entry

Take any dynamic—or relationship—between two people, or two groups of people. Now, give this dynamic enough time for both parties to discover a fair and relatively full disclosure of each other. I have come to the conclusion that whatever the consquences of that dynamic—good or bad, triumphant or tragic, whatever they may be—after a certain… Continue reading this entry

I followed a link from Radley Balko to a WaPo article about DADT that featured the ravings of one Elaine Donnelly. (Her written testimony to the House is available on the website, in PDF, along with others.) Quite frankly Elaine Donnelly is batshit crazy by today’s standards and Republicans and Democrats seemed glad to give… Continue reading this entry

I haven’t been up at 3AM since the last time I decided to get drunk, which was around May of this year. I know I wouldn’t stay up for Greg Gutfield’s Red Eye on Fox News, but I’ve read through his archives often. His piece on running stood out to me tonight. He hates runners… Continue reading this entry

It’s become conventional wisdom that the power of words lay in the parties that define them: some words have become taboo; some have lost meaning and others have gained new definitions. It’s a curious thing, this aspect of linguistics. If words are the symbols for concepts, and language is the gestalt of the concepts a… Continue reading this entry

One of the things that I find disadvantageous to doing my morning cardio at the gym is that I am faced with at least three big-screen TVs blaring out the goddamned news. Sure they have FM transmitters, so I at least don’t have to listen to them, but they have closed captioning and I can’t… Continue reading this entry

I wouldn’t so much call myself a misogynist as I would describe myself someone who appreciates and celebrates maleness. Now and again I would come across articles about the way things have changed for men and boys in this country and it does fill me with a mild sadness. A little over four years ago… Continue reading this entry

Just something strange that has bothered me for a couple of days now: are there any religions out there that treat converts as second-class citizens? I know Roman Catholic converts would be barred from receiving communion until they have received proper catechism on the nature of the sacrament, but even that is not lasting. If… Continue reading this entry

I spend a lot of time reading on random topics on Wikipedia just for shits and giggles. When I’m burning a DVD of data, or when I am running all sorts of other things in the background, I just like to read. While I have plenty of books I find it difficult to switch from… Continue reading this entry

Anyone who knows me personally knows that I value my autonomy and independence almost to a fault. Considering my living situation, I am lucky by many standards. We live in an extended family setup and we all help each other at home, logistically if not financially. I, for one, am going to driving school in… Continue reading this entry

Michele Catalano has a question for us guys, about “sexy:” So what I’m really wondering here – guys, this is for you – is this: What is sexy? And I mean physically, so don’t cop out and give me that “a woman with a brain is sooo sexy” line. Do you honestly like a woman… Continue reading this entry

The father of deconstructionism has been, well, decontsructed. May the PoMo movement follow soon after. (HT: Charles Austin at P/W)

SFGate: USA Gymnastics asks Abercrombie & Fitch to stop selling T-shirt: Abercrombie & Fitch’s latest T-shirt is getting poor marks from USA Gymnastics. USA Gymnastics president Bob Colarossi is asking the clothing retailer to stop selling a T-shirt that has the slogan “L is for Loser” next to a picture of a gymnast on the… Continue reading this entry

Kevin Aylward has compiled the MTV lexicon as a study aid for the quintessential blogger-turned-journalist-for-the-new-generation, Miss Ana Marie Cox. While he chooses terms that are quite familiar for my age bracket — and please do not call it the MTV generation for chrissakes — his usage guides are quite amusing.

Jess takes note of some signs he’s come across. One uses scare quotes needlessly: Better still, a gas station near my house has a handwritten sign on each of the pumps readying, “Sorry, ‘no checks’” – with the phrase “no checks” surrounded by quotation marks. Is the employee who drew up the sign quoting the… Continue reading this entry

Michele has a post on the upcoming cicada swarm: They were loud, annoying and crunchy. Yes, crunchy. Everywhere you stepped, the cicadas crunched underfoot. We couldn’t go barefoot that summer. We couldn’t even eat outside. These things would just randomly drop dead and fall out of trees. So we spent a few weeks crushing and… Continue reading this entry

I don’t usually go into Worldnet Daily doomcrier mode for a reason. Usually I don’t like a squealing lunatic howling about perceived threats, and as a regular reader of Worldnet I will say that they do have a knack for hyperbole. So when I do engage this luxury I consider it to be a rare… Continue reading this entry

(2004-04-04) — Bill Gates has indicated in an announcement today that Microsoft is not out to buy the world. “Rumors of a bid to buy the Planet Earth are untrue,” said the Microsoft CEO. “We’re not going to be involved in it because we’re very focused on software.” Speculation of a world takeover bid has… Continue reading this entry