While the far reaching social, economic, and political implications of the COVID-19 pandemic are, at best, uncertain and speculative, some effects are already beginning to show. In consumer trends, the adoption rates of services like food & autonomous delivery, online communication, etc. have recently gotten a massive boost in acceleration. Read more…
Ever feel like the magic has gone out of the world? Like there isn’t anything deeper to connect to than the mundane minutiae of life? If you think you’re alone in that, it might help to notice that almost all of the biggest stories of the 20th century begin with Read more…
In 2004 I utterly failed to learn to play the guitar. It all started at a…
When I was feeling down on myself, when my motivation and self confidence were at a critical low and I really needed some concrete help…
Because we are so often unclear on what motivates us, we tend to take the path of the least resistance. We work jobs we hate…
The cashier at the checkout counter smiles as she hands you your change. It’s a thin smile, the product of countless similar exchanges. As you walk out with your tube of hemorrhoid cream your mind, unprompted, begins to ask: “Was there disgust in that smile, or judgement, or perhaps even Read more…
“It has begun!” -Shang Tsung, Mortal Kombat
Here’s a story about the beginning of stories. It might even be true.
For most of my life, fiction was one of the only things that inspired me. I was a shy kid and young adult and, for me, inhabiting more forthright lives was the ultimate appeal. For that reason I was a fiction junkie, and I used fictional worlds as a placeholder for the real one.
Have you ever seen a work of fiction with characters that left you unsatisfied, or who just didn’t quite work? If you’re a consumer of fiction then the answer to that questions is probably: yes. But what is it that makes a character unsatisfying to us, and what does it Read more…
If you’re like most people, even reading the headline above causes an involuntary tightening in your chest. The same phrase, uttered by someone with whom you are debating, arguing, or even simply talking, might produce that same reaction… and quickly swell towards fury. It’s not surprising given that is usually Read more…