7 Billion Books; 7 Billion Covers
As I sit here in the heart of one of the biggest cities in the world and contemplate the very idea of that number of human beings - of all stripes, colors, races, creeds - it's a bit staggering. The concept of seven billion people is kind of abstract and potentially awful/amazing.
A Stick Inside a Swill Bucket
I think we need to come up with some new words.
Homogenized Money Laundering and the Liberal Institutions
Too Big To Fail has its consequences.
Contenders for the 2020 Presidential Election
In today’s political climate, the line between governance and campaigning is a mythical beast. Like the Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch or a German’s sense of humor. Thus, there’s no reason to think that we shouldn’t be discussing possible contenders for the 2020 Presidential Election.
Improvising Around the Flaked Notes
I Believe...
The IRS Stole My Wife's Identity
"I’m not even a person. I’m a spouse."
Desperately Seeking Audience at the Expense of Everything Else
Plainly put, we want money and security for doing what we do just like other people (like teachers or waiters or airline pilots...or maybe we want more than that?).
Learning Curves and Game Changers Define the Path You Take
As life unfolds over what starts out as years and becomes decades and quarter centuries, there are decisions made that tend to challenge who you are at the time and stretch your boundaries beyond what you were capable of or even thought possible.
Wealth is a Value Judgment
When I write the word "wealth" on my screen and when you read that word a lot of stagnant definitions pop up in our collective mind. "Wealth," in the traditional sense, is synonymous with money and possessions and privilege, yes? "Wealth" is dogmatized by a capitalist religious sense to mean the acquisition of stuff.
Movie Reviews by an Unemployed Guy
LOGAN
Great movie. GREAT. MOVIE. Heartbreaking. Violent. Hugh Jackman brings his two decades playing the same character to bear to create a fitting send off to Wolverine. While I only had a decade of my job, I understand his torment as a figure of significance relegated to a shack in the middle of the desert, his only friends an albino and a deranged old man with psychic seizures.
I wish I had adamantium claws. Would have shot those things out and shredded that goddamn copy machine...
Chipping Away at Idealism
I recently read an article that posited that it is our expectations that often have more to do with the results of our lives than the strategies we employ to get those results.
In other words, according to this particular psychological journal, if we expect good results we are more likely to achieve good results. It is perilously close to the ridiculous concept behind The Secret - wish real hard for money or a blow job or tickets to a sold out concert and it will magically happen for you.
Working On the Job
“All professional men are handicapped by not being allowed to ignore things which are useless.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
During freshmen orientation in college, our group of about 20 was asked what our career goals were. My initial major was hotel/restaurant management. The answers provided by everyone in that small lecture hall were strikingly similar. “I want to open my own chain of hotels. And be really wealthy.” I want to own an international chain of successful restaurants and be rich.” “I want to make a lot of money.” “Riches." "Nice cars." "Big houses." "Tax breaks.”
I was the last person to go. “Being rich would be nice. But as long as I have enough money to afford a few bowls of Cocoa Puffs each day, I’ll be happy.” It got a laugh. And that’s why I said it. I also wanted to depart from the apparent theme of money. And at the time, I meant what I said. But holy god was I wrong. Well, half of what I said was wrong. Following a change in major to journalism and with the benefit of two decades’ worth of hindsight, I certainly need more than a few bowls of Cocoa Puffs to be happy. But I was right in that money wasn’t the only driver for me.
The Value is in Time and Experiences
I Believe...
Farewell to the Public Radio Mines
The trend was set. Get hired by a rule-bender looking for creative risk. New boss wants control rather than creativity. Fight the Machine for a bit. Get outta Dodge.
What Do You Value? (and how the answer determines your path...)
On occasion, I've either had to hire people or been on hiring committees in my (former) workplace. If you've ever been on a job interview, you know there are a host of pointless questions and lots of meaningless bullshit to wade through. I hate meetings as a rule and I REALLY hate the interview process as it relates to getting hired.
So I almost always only ask one question.
"In seeking out a gig, which has the highest value to you: Autonomy, Recognition, or Compensation?"
“Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely.”
A Why Not Life
The Search for Tight Post-Racial Abs
Jack realized he had, as all humans tend to, gotten older and had gotten fat. Not 'sack of lard' fat, not 'needing a scooter to get around' fat, but there was more weight on him than he preferred.
Jack joined a gym.
The second voice arrived on Thursday morning while Monte was attempting to make toast.