Shifting the TV/Film Paradigm

Original television programming was one the sole purview of the big three – later big four — networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, and later, Fox. They were the only ones with the budget and the facilities to produce episodic programs for consumer viewing. That strangle hold has all but disappeared now, challenged beginning in the 1980s […]

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Between a Rock and a Facebook

We’ve probably all heard by now about how Mark Zuckerberg, founder and head of Facebook, admitted to a US Congressional committee that Facebook will not fact-check political ads, opening the floodgates for smear campaigns that will stagger the imagination. It is a decision born of greed, and – dare I say it? – evil. Couple […]

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Too Much Media!

I was looking over the list of things I wanted to experience: films, books, TV series — all of it. It turns out that there’s more I want to see, read, and do than the time that exists to do it in! I can’t keep up with all the films I want to see. We […]

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Necessary Evils

I was at the Henry Vilas Zoo recently, and before that the Indianapolis Zoo during GenCon weekend. I enjoy visiting zoos because I love animals — even reptiles, bugs, and fish. They don’t have to be cuddly for me to find them fascinating — though if they aren’t cuddly mammals, odds are good that I […]

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Who Comes Up With This Stuff?

Several months ago, I came across PBS’s “Great American Read” quiz, encouraging visitors to see how many of these “Great American Reads” they themselves had read. I have to admit I was puzzled by this list: it contained an awful lot of the dusty old classics of yore — things our English Lit. instructors insisted […]

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Asshole Culture

As if the title weren’t obvious enough, this post contains harsh language and depressing themes. Be warned. ***** It occurs to me that, more and more, Americans (and possibly the world) revel in being complete jerks to other people. Cries of “He speaks his mind.” or “She tells it like it is!” seem to be […]

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The Facebook Dilemma

With the recent reveal that Facebook user data was compiled in such a way to sway voters in the United States, many have called for a boycott — or outright abandonment — of Facebook as a social media platform. I completely understand these concerns, but I’d like to share a bit of wisdom I heard […]

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Numb

After last week’s events, the post I was going to put up will wait for another week or two. I was going to write about an experience going target shooting with a friend of mine, but right now I can’t stomach even seeming to sympathize — in ANY way — with the psychotic horror show […]

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What Do You Want To Read?

I’ve been trying to provide a good mix of content for people to read here on my blog, but after more than four years of weekly posts, I’m running out of ideas again. So I’d like to offer up some choices of subjects for future posts and have my readers vote on them. Please make […]

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Take A Knee

Once upon a time it would’ve amazed me how many white people are up in arms about athletes taking a knee in peaceful protest over police brutality applied selectively against people of color: not any more. To be succinct: YOU don’t get to tell someone the “right” way to protest. YOU don’t get to decide […]

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