Monthly Archives: January 2014
Okay, so I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but I spend a lot of time on Facebook.
And seemingly overnight, I've noticed a new craze sweeping through my newsfeed -- a BuzzFeed quizzicle* wherein users can find out what career they should be in, rather than the one they are in. I don't exactly know why, but this just pushed me over the edge.
Maybe it's because it was on the heels of other hard-hitting journalistic BuzzFeed quizzes like "Which City Should You Live In?" or "Which Punctuation Mark Are You?" or "Which Monopoly Token Would Make the Best Cover Photo For Your Memoir?")
People, we can do better. We must do better.
The CBS technodrama is a fascinating take on information ethics, but it’s not half bad in the area of theology. You just have to remember where the analogies end and reality begins.
Fans of the show Person of Interest were recently treated to “4C,” a bottle episode that set in motion the reunion of Harold Finch and John Reese, the duo whose collaborative efforts comprise the central premise of the show. It’s no surprise that showrunner Jonathan Nolan goes casually by the name “Jonah,” because Reese’s journey is similar to the titular Biblical fish story, only instead of the belly of a great fish, Reese’s cathartic reversal happens in the first-class section of a commercial jet.
So in case you hadn’t heard, occasionally I get to tell jokes in front of people.
This started with the class I took through Portland ComedySportz, led by the delightful Alex Falcone, continued with a stop opening for Dustin Nickerson (originally a Seattle guy, now in San Diego), and now, thanks to my new friend Betsy Kauffman, I get to tell some jokes for the good people at the Spilt Milk Comedy Showcase in southwest Portland — Wednesday, February 19th.
I give a brief hat tip and a shout out to Lynne Childress of The Sweet Midlife, who brought this back up in her Facebook feed the other day. It rekindled all kinds of thoughts and feelings that I’ve been meaning to say for years, but never took the time to do so.
So in the spirit of resisting any further procrastination, here it is…
If you want to be my friend on any level, please see to it that you never use the phrase “the race card.”
Being someone who appreciates vivid word pictures and solid metaphors, I can appreciate its allure. “The race card” is one of those expressions that is handy for White people who wish to convey their frustration about racial discussions, particularly when they feel that race is being injected into the conversation in ways that it doesn’t belong. It’s often accompanied by the idea that such an injection is an example of “reverse racism.”
But it’s got to stop, and here’s why:
It’s a dream deeply rooted in the desire to silence the haters. But apparently, there’s a downside — racist autocorrect.
So last night as I was tooling through the web, scanning my social media feeds and enjoying the afterglow of the Seahawks NFC championship victory, it seemed like all people wanted to talk about was that Richard Sherman postgame interview.
It probably took me less than 30 seconds to become completely and totally infatuated with Damian Lillard’s game.
I remember it vividly.
