Every day in the US, 48 children (or teens) are shot. (Source) It’s getting harder for middle class families to cut it. (Source. And counterpoint.) The United States is no longer a democracy; rather, it is an oligarchy, ruled by a small class of economic elites. (Source 1. Source 2. And counterpoint. ) The War […]
Author: John
#JohnsRideforMS
What is #JohnsRideForMS? I’m so glad you asked. I’ve been running marathons for over 10 years, but always said that I’d like to transition from running to bike riding; after all, I’d like to have knees left in 30 years. I’d also always wanted to start running for a charity, rather than doing it just […]
Wrestling with Emptiness
I’m finding that I have a very complex relationship with emptiness. It’s an important, and inescapable, concept; yet, like many profound things, it’s subtle. I’ve found 2 types of emptiness: the vacuum, and openness. They aren’t easy to distinguish, and I’m frankly not sure which one is more intimidating. The vacuum is laziness, selfishness; it is drifting, letting one’s […]
Ditties About Destruction, vol. 2: I Think I’m Going To Kill Myself
In the last post on this topic I discussed “Bombs Away” by the Police; in that song, we found a sobering and dark message embedded in a pert and bouncy melody, and touched on similar techniques of juxtaposition in pop art. This next song tackling a dark theme in a shockingly upbeat way is Elton John’s […]
College Student Makes Working Batsuit
Jackson Gordon, studying industrial design at Philadelphia University, is blowing up the internet with his handmade, functioning Batsuit. Well, mostly functioning. While it can handle machetes, baseball bats, and punches from a boxer wearing Kevlar gloves, it’s not bullet-proof. Still, that’s pretty awesome.