Jan 23Member-onlyAI Art Is the Least of Our ProblemsI don’t think about AI a lot, but it’s on my radar. If you haven’t been following along at all, ChatGPT has gotten some people orgasmic and others screamingly anxious about the possibilities of AI-assisted writing. The shortest version I can give here is that if you give the right…Ai Generated Content5 min readAi Generated Content5 min read
Dec 6, 2022Member-onlyI Don’t Want to ‘Be’ SomebodyI just want to buy a coat — I understand that I might be tricky to shop for. In fact, I spend more time shopping for myself at Christmas than anyone else. My wife and my mom want “ideas” of things I would like. I don’t like most things. In fact, I am at least as good at…Ecommerce4 min readEcommerce4 min read
Dec 3, 2022Member-onlyI Don’t Want a Wasp NeckaceOr: Trying to Live With Nature I would like to take you down a thought train. We all have them. One minute you’re thinking about Motley Crue and what a pretentious ass you’ve become. …Nonfiction2 min readNonfiction2 min read
Nov 30, 2022Member-onlySunshine NostalgiaThis is not just a cookie jar in a junk shop. It is a Sunshine Biscuit cookie jar in a junk shop in Red Bank, N.J. I would die before I went “antiquing” but I sure love looking at junk. …Photography2 min readPhotography2 min read
Nov 21, 2022Member-onlyNotes on a Murder SpongeDeride domestic cleaning issues at your own risk — On the off chance my wife murders me, I want to tell you something: I’ve been dipping into “The Best American Short Stories of the Century” and wanted to quick-shout-out A Jury of Her Peers, by Susan Glaspell, published in 1917 and based on the one-act play of the same…Short Form2 min readShort Form2 min read
Apr 28, 2022Member-onlyThere Aren’t Any White Hats on the InternetEverybody is somebody’s villain — If there’s anything difficult about nonfiction writing, it’s closing the gap between the story and the reader. It’s easy enough to tell what happened and why it matters, but that doesn’t bring people along for the ride. Managing a reader’s reaction means tapping into their point of view. If you…Facebook8 min readFacebook8 min read
Published in Coffee Time Reviews·Apr 1, 2022Member-onlyReading Nonfiction Is Always a Matter of TrustA review of ‘Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World’s Most Notorious Diaries’ by Rick Emerson — My wife reads me a few books each year. She chooses the book, there’s no theme. She is one of those gifted individuals capable of just putting a book down, sometimes for weeks, sometimes forever. I don’t have that skill. …Fraud7 min readFraud7 min read
Feb 24, 2022Member-onlyLosing the Mask Debate Was Hard, Living With It Will Be Even HarderThe trick is to avoid feeling persecuted about it — Listen to Losing the Mask Debate Was Hard, Living With It Will Be Even Harder on Apple Podcasts With mandates coming to an end living together may not get any easier. podcasts.apple.com I had my first mask confrontation recently, which was too bad because I had hoped to never have one. Mask-wearing has become such a tribal thing, we have let it become such a tribal thing, that confronting people over it is pointless.Mask Mandate7 min readMask Mandate7 min read
Jan 7, 2022Member-onlyWhat the Orgone Deception Says About Our Fractured RealityIt isn’t OK to believe whatever you want — Listen to A Fake Cure for Real Problems on Apple Podcasts Orgone is supposedly a kind of energy, but it is completely made up. podcasts.apple.com One of my first insights into how fragile reality is was when I finally got a handle on how many people truly believed in the power of orgone and how diverse those people were. Orgone is a mystical element powered by such a strong delusion that it is embraced by…Culture9 min readCulture9 min read
Dec 17, 2021Member-onlyLetting Your Fuck Flag FlyTrigger warning: This story contains frequent use of the “F” word. I’ve always said that flags are bumper stickers for your house, but I never took seriously the idea that people would start turning bumper stickers into actual flags. Now, before anyone reaches for pearls to clutch, saying, “Fuck X”…Fuck5 min readFuck5 min read
