“I Don’t Regret My Past but I Do Regret That There is Proof of It...”
Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall

“I Don’t Regret My Past but I Do Regret That There is Proof of It...”

“I don’t regret my past but I do regret that there is proof it.”

That statement says an awful lot about where we are in the ongoing evolution of modern society. I can hear Weinstein, Spacey and even Trump saying the same thing. I can imagine certain police officers saying it. Politicians saying it. Internet trolls saying it.

Christ, that statement could be the lasting meme that defines this particular era of social media, call out culture and unrelenting intolerance for disagreement on moralistic grounds.

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 Reasons I Went Home with Them: an Alphabet of One-Night Stands
Elizabeth Harper, Poetry Elizabeth Harper Elizabeth Harper, Poetry Elizabeth Harper

Reasons I Went Home with Them: an Alphabet of One-Night Stands

A seemed tormented and sad and was into history and Existentialism and porn and played basketball and piano.
B was planning on going to nursing school, and he saved me from the guy at the bar I didn't want to talk to.
C could talk about Foucault, philosophy, and sociology at length. I guess you could say he had me at "Foucault." And he played in a band.

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The Unexpected Third Wheel Experience
Contributing Writer Contributing Writer

The Unexpected Third Wheel Experience

I always thought relationships were just nuisances. My first boyfriend was annoying. My second boyfriend was even more annoying.

My third boyfriend was — wait — this was something real. His name was Mike.

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How to Redefine Normal
Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall

How to Redefine Normal

In order for any deviation from what the majority of people in this country consider normal to change course and become a part of a paradigm shift, it must be seen and understand as such first. To be considered normal, one must change that which is the "standard; usual, typical or expected."

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When The Sandman Slumbers
J.L. Thurston, Fiction Jenni Thurston J.L. Thurston, Fiction Jenni Thurston

When The Sandman Slumbers

The world has turned. People now have the option to avoid sleep indefinitely. A simple pill puts part of the brain in a sleep-like state while the conscious mind continues. People spend more time enjoying life, being with family, working more. On average, most only sleep once or twice a week. The manufacturers of the Awaquen pill are formulating a pediatric version of this for children over two. This will introduce night schools and better education opportunities. The world is now much more productive and fast-paced. It is a better world for everyone.

            Except the Sandman.

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Notes from the Post-it Wall — Week of January 14, 2018
David Himmel, Post-It Wall Notes David Himmel David Himmel, Post-It Wall Notes David Himmel

Notes from the Post-it Wall — Week of January 14, 2018

• When I hear Chicagoans complain about how harsh and foul the sub-freezing and sub-zero weather is, I think of the city’s earliest settlers. I think of their toughness, their resolve to thrive without central or radiator heat, or hand warmers or hot water heaters. And I think that Chicago’s earliest settlers were goddamn idiots for not saying, “Fuck the fur trade and this livestock shit. I’m going out west and becoming a professional surfer.”

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American Shithole #0 — Introductions
American Shithole Contributing Writer American Shithole Contributing Writer

American Shithole #0 — Introductions

I fully understand I am signing up for something that will likely offer as a return, many self-righteous kicks to my junk, public shaming, little remuneration and probably additional junk punches for a closer. For example, I am sure I will rue the day I write about Al Franken, but you know, fuck it, I’m definitely going to write about Franken.

Of course, at the breakneck speed this country is barreling toward an inescapable permanent shithole event horizon, perhaps that article will be met with an “Al who?”

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I Believe… [If Only Trump Ended Sentences With "Meathead!"]
I Believe..., Don Hall Don Hall I Believe..., Don Hall Don Hall

I Believe… [If Only Trump Ended Sentences With "Meathead!"]

…that Donald Trump is like having Archie Bunker as president. Imagine the late Carroll O'Connor asking "Why would we want all these people from shithole countries when the United States should admit more people from places like Norway, Meathead." If fact, from now on, no matter what the TrumpsterFire says, I'm going to hear it in Bunker's voice and my life will be funnier.

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Gentrification is a Progressive Boon
David Himmel David Himmel David Himmel David Himmel

Gentrification is a Progressive Boon

Think of how much better your life is with a neighborhood Target. You can get your clothes, your groceries, electronics and prescriptions filled all at one stop. You can’t do that at a small business shoe store or a bodega or a Radio Shack or a standalone pharmacy. And those smaller stores employ only a handful of people. Each Target employs hundreds. Sometimes those small stores are family owned and operated, so only one family makes the money. With Target, hundreds of families are able to earn money, in some cases with health benefits, too. This would not be possible without gentrification — without the renovation of a deteriorated neighborhood.

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Notes from the Post-it Wall — Week of January 7, 2018
David Himmel, Post-It Wall Notes David Himmel David Himmel, Post-It Wall Notes David Himmel

Notes from the Post-it Wall — Week of January 7, 2018

• It’s funny to me that when it comes to reproductive rights, pro-choicers want women to be directly responsible for what happens to their bodies — no one else — when the reality is that a pregnant woman has very little choice as to what happens to her body once the fetus gets comfortable. And that’s even funnier to me if the fetus is a boy. And even funnier still if the fetus is a white boy. Pro-choice women pregnant with white males make me want to listen to Alanis Morissette’s Ironic on repeat.

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Decisions Suck: One Step Toward My Dreams and Back Again
Roberta Miles Roberta Miles Roberta Miles Roberta Miles

Decisions Suck: One Step Toward My Dreams and Back Again

I always planned on being a singer and as it turns out I am a pretty successful jazz singer in the city. But at 18, I had decided to be an opera singer. In my search for a teacher, ballsy me, courageous me, determined me, sent a letter to Beverly Sills, one of the greatest coloratura soprano’s in the world, asking her for a voice teacher recommendation.

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