“Raising Awareness” vs. Getting Results

I really don’t want to write this post. I probably shouldn’t. I guess I can take solace in the fact that nobody reads my blog, so I can write whatever I want. But I also don’t want somebody to stumble by and misunderstand me. Some people can be incredibly irrational, and from the depths of [...]

The Burning of Any Book

I’ve been tempted to write this only as a journal entry. I want to organize my thoughts, but not to take any real risks. But few people read my blog anyway. I pay very little attention to the media. Too much bias, and too many non-issues blown out of proportion. Normally, anything important enough for [...]

Vampires In Contemporary Culture

Back in February, I wrote a post asking what the deal is with the current cultural obsession with vampires. Since them, I’ve seen elements of Twilight pop up in some interesting places. Oh, come on, where else could this come from? First up, we have “teen wolves” running around a San Antonio high school. I’m [...]

How Madoff Got Away With It: The SEC Was Surfing for Porn

I stumbled across this today, ironically enough, through a humor site. And I am not surprised at all. Apparently, while Madoff was ripping people off and banks were getting ready to siphon billions off the economy and collapse, the SEC was too busy surfing for porn to care. “During the past five years, the SEC [...]

MSN: 8 Lottery Winners Who Lost Their Millions

I’ve written several times about why I don’t waste my money on the lottery. I waste it on a lot of things, but not lottery tickets. I know a lot of people who believe they can become “rich” through the lottery. I don’t buy it. I’m hardly an expert, but I have done more research [...]

Cracked: The 6 Most Insane Moral Panics in American History

I came across an interesting article at Cracked about the 6 Most Insane Moral Panics in American History. As with all Cracked material, the language can be a little raw, so you should know that going in if it's an issue for you. The article discusses moral panics like Comic Books, Dungeons and Dragons, Satanic [...]

Cracked: Lotteries

Looks like somebody wrote a topic page for Cracked about lotteries. I figure I’m better off linking to it than quoting much of it directly. This is almost exactly what I would write about the lottery if I were capable of the kind of biting satire Cracked is known for. From the page: Even the [...]

What Is The Deal With The Current Cultural Obsession With Vampires?

I’m trying to figure out exactly what it is about Vampires right now. They’re everywhere. Every time I turn around, there’s a new show or movie about them. They have long since come to my house. My wife and her sister have read all the Twilight novels. I’ve even seen the movies. I guess the [...]

An Exciting Project: 10 Million Words

For 2010, Tim Challies has embarked on what I consider to be an exciting challenge: 10 Million Words. 10 Million Words is a year-long project by Tim Challies to learn about life and culture through the lens of all of America’s bestselling books. Tim, a Canadian, will be reading all of the New York Times’ [...]

This Is Why I Pay So Little Attention To The News

Here’s an RT hitpiece on Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. I believe RT stands for “Russia Today”. Apparently, RT interviewed Bill Ayers, a known former terrorist and close associate of our current President. O’Reilly attempted to “no-spin” the whole thing, which resulted in motion sickness for most of his viewers. Hannity also devoted 4 minutes [...]