My memories are all artificial. Pre-packaged marketing tools designed to foster brand identity or sell toys. A twisted commercial entourage of ‘80s icons. Thundercats, TMNT, Transformers, Gumby, Ghostbusters, G.I. Joe, Smurfs, Care Bears, Popples. X-men comics. The Olsen twins. That impatient owl licking to the center of Tootsie Roll Pops. Me begging to stop at McDonald’s and get a Happy Meal. Or even better, to go inside and play in the ball pit.
These are the chronicles of my perfect upbringing. I am a walking, talking fulfillment of the American Dream. [...]
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Tags: Opinion · '80s · Childhood · Commercialism · Consumerism
I had a tragic epiphany while watching Bob Barker on The Price is Right the other day [...]
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Tags: Opinion · Bob Barker · Fame · Roles · Society
Those Worthless Wastes of Space we all Know and Love
There was a time when the lives of Hollywood actors and media grabbing darlings wasn’t so connected with our own. A time when we weren’t saturated with headlines dealing with the night lives of “out of control” pop music stars or the birth of a pompous actor’s baby. But it’s not that time today. Here right now, I’m on a computer with internet access. Let me check out a few news and information sites.
I take a gander at yahoo.com and what’s this…Britney Spears’ former friends are boycotting her current album? Holy crap, this totally deserves preferential placement at the top of the first page! [...]
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Tags: Opinion · Entertainment · Fame · Hollywood
A Short Guide to Debunking Common Creationist Claims
Religious fundamentalists who still espouse belief in a geocentric Universe are now met with ridicule and scorn; not due to discrimination but a lack of evidence for their cause. Unfortunately, the same can not be said about the 40-50% of Americans who, despite a near unanimous consensus among scientists, refuse to accept the theory of evolution. Ever since Darwin published The Origin of the Species in 1859, the idea of common descent has been hard for many religious individuals to swallow. The refusal to accept anything as truth that contradicts the Biblical account of creation has resulted in a massive war of misinformation waged by anti-evolutionists in our courts, schools, and places of worship.[…]
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Tags: Nonfiction · Creationism · Evolution · Religion · Science
Let’s be humbly honest. We don’t really know what folks are describing when they use words like God or Allah or Oneness. None of us can be absolutely sure if the beliefs entire afterlives are gambled on are the least bit valid. And even assuming the unlikely scenario that one of the world’s religions is right about everything it purports, what are the odds that you’re lucky enough to be counted among its adherents? Certainly not very high, considering the number of possible choices.
Why then are most of us so sure about things we can’t possibly be sure about? [...]
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Tags: Opinion · Religion · Society · Spirituality
